LIBBY GREENHALGH

Big thanks to everyone here in New Zealand who has helped make my stay a really fantastic time. Firstly Sandy - thank for having and all the extended family for taking good care of me up in the Bay of Islands- I will be back Secondly and most recently thank to Mike and Prue for showing me around Auckland to a city I had previously been told not to hang about in wonderful place wonderful food and again I look forward to returning Thirdly to the really cool people in the experience taupo info place foe hooking me up with some wicked things to do including the fly fishing Today was my last day of my holidays and I am now at the airport waitign for my flight afte having a lovely a tour of Auckalnd including One Tree Hill, Newmarkey- the Priministers and house and little trip out on the water. There is so much more to Auckland than first meets the eye and whole heap more for me to discover another time x

Last day in Lake Taupo and squeezed in my first attempt at fly fishing. Thanks to a very good guide 'Fishy Steve' I managed to catch 4 fish.....twice as many prawns as I had caught the day before- but absolutely wicked fun. I am quite sure there were moments where he despaired at my casting skills but after a while I was doing ok and then I just kept catching them.....love it love it love it  Fully reccommend it to everyone as well. Look how smiley I am - I did put all the fish back So today I am heading up to Auckland again to see Mike and Prue (Mum and Dad's friends) and hopefully they will show me aorund Auckland before I fly home to a cold and icy UK- I hear the snow has already gone!

I had a relatively relaxed day after my trek yesterday with a few things planned and not many acheived. First of all was wakeboarding after a leisurely breakfast- and basically a rude awakening whish resulted in the loss of contact lenses and for those spectating some pretty comical wipeouts!!! I then returned to shore and things that you can't get hurt at. First up shopping - who let me go in the jewellery store.....oooops. Then some prawn fishing Now this I was very excited about use to go 'prawning' as we called it as kids so thought I am an old hat at this and here was what I had to show for it!! I would like to first point out the implement with which I had to catch the tricky little buggers...... Yes a bamboo poles with a thin line and hook  on it....no net...no scooping Never- the- less I had them cooked in a bit of garlic and proudly ate my two prawns which I thought were large. Apparently some German dude caught a 44cm long one in October - clearly not a pr...

Whiel the UK is covered in snow and many are relishing in the unfortunate situation of being unable to get work I set out to find some snow over here! Not really, I actually did the Tongariro crossing which is 19.4KM of hiking plus a 3 KM detour to one of the summits So the bus collected a whole bunch of us at 0540 and by 0740 we were at the start of the crossing and in fair bit of cloud. Anyway I went to summit just for you all back home so I could send you this snowball and not miss out! I have never really done any hiking and did a 3 hour thing up Bluff Knoll in Australia but 7 hours is slightly different especially with things labelled Devil's Staircase!I have to say I am not sure it has really won me over as a hobby. This all makes for one sleepy Libby in need of a shower and a massage ahead of planning tomorrow which I think will require minimal walking maybe some prawn fishing with a difference and hopefully some wakeboarding Take care and enjoy the snow x 

I am sure it works if you scratch and sniff the screen you can smell the muds of Rotorua- which despite three showers (yes a very unusual amount for me!) I still smell of the mud and the sulpher but pretty cool. I got up this morning and the wind had changed the smell was fairly prevalent all I could think was thank god I am not hungover. I went white water rafting this morning down the only commercial grade 5 white water ride in the world - or is it the most popular- worth doing but slightly overated I suspect a slightly busier grade 3 or 4 would have been better with more paddling- but all good pictures to follow and a 7m waterfall to drop down! After that I went to the bubbling muds which my mother had filmed for me back in 1997/1998 when her and dad came over but they are much cooler in person. I am off on the Tongaria crossing tomorrow- 0540 start - night x

I am not sure I could ever live outside of the UK....at least I have always said that...... but then there are many places I have yet to go, of which, until this week, the Bay of Islands was one Firstly thank you Sandy for looking after me despite pointing out my beautiful muffin top you didn't hold back on keeping me well fed and watered particularly in the ice cream department and thank you family Kiff for my day on the water in the Bay of Islands amazing. Having got to Auckland jumped off the Tower I headed to the Bay of Islands and have been hanging catching some surf, going to ninety mile beach (which is actually only 64 miles long) watching someone break their collar bone sand boarding shortly before I threw my self down the dune and I am now in Rotorua having been to a Maori Hangi...... Tomorrow I off to whiteraft a grade 5 - the highlight being a 7m waterfall and then to discover the sweet smell of Rotorua bubbling muds- fear not Mum I won't come back with hours ...