New Zealand - North Island: a hot bath on a cold beach

Our first two nights in New Zealand were spent in Auckland at a hotel which must be one of the skinniest buildings in the world. We felt like giants as we squeezed around our room which measured only half the width of the thin building. While there we climbed One Tree Hill for 360-degree views of Auckland - a view however that should at least have been obstructed by one tree. The original tree was cut down by British settlers in 1852 and their replacement was cut down by Maori activists in 2000.

After Auckland we headed off to explore the Coromandel Peninsula in search of Hot Water Beach, where we'd heard that hot water bubbles up from under the sand. Two hours before low-tide we headed down to the beach with a shovel to dig our own personal spa pool. It was a cold morning and when our first hole filled with cold water we became skeptical - however our second attempt incredibly filled with scalding water oozing up from beneath the surface. We needed to dig a trench to the sea to bring in some cold water before we were able to climb in.

Our next destinations on the North Island were Rotorua to see the bubbling mud pools while holding our noses to keep out the eggy sulphurous gas smells; Taupo for a great four-hour hike around the scenic lake; and Napier for its Art Deco architecture - the town was rebuilt after a deadly 1931 earthquake in the popular style of the time.

We arrived into Wellington on Saturday afternoon and stayed with Mark's friend Tom and his girlfriend, Rhi. After a trip around the botanic gardens and a ride on the cable car, we went for dinner and drinks around the lively areas of Courtenay Place and Cuba Street. On Sunday we woke slowly and went for a walk to the seal colony at Sinclair Head. It was the end of the season but we were lucky enough to find a few seals lounging around on the rocks- their smell gave them away! On the return leg of the walk we understood why the city is nicknamed 'Windy Welly' as we struggled against gale-forced gusts whipping sand, gravel and sea-spray into our faces.

In the evening we were entertained with a Bollywood dance competition and a bite of curry at a Diwali festival. We then met up with Tom's housemate, Stu who took us up to his city-centre office for front-row seats of the Diwali fireworks display. It had been a nice relaxing Sunday until we arrived home and Stu spotted and then caught a Tunnelweb spider (related to the Funnelweb but not quite as poisonous!) which had emerged from our bedding!

The next morning we did a whistle-stop tour of the Te Papa museum before taking the inter-island ferry to Picton where we would commence our tour of the South Island.