My short stay at Rotorua had come to an end as the rest of New Zealand beckoned me. I felt in a silly mood this morning as I was off to Hobbiton, one of the places I dearly wanted to see. I hoped it would live up to my expectations, but just being there would be enough to put a big smile on my face.

So far Rotorua has proven itself to be every bit as fun and exciting as Taupo had been. What a great part of the world this is, with everything you could want all within an hour drive away. I had no idea what today would bring, but I hoped it would be something equally as memorable, especially as today was White Water Rafting day. But would it be everything I had hoped it would be?

After the fun and games that Taupo had to offer, Rotorua had a lot to live up to for me. As it turns out, though, Rotorua is a whole new playground, and being bored is not an option. What did day one have up its sleeve for me?

After the day spent hiking through the mountains yesterday, I had an idea to rest and relax today, perhaps sit by the lake in Taupo. I didn’t feel particularly energetic, and the thought of any more activities could not have been further from my mind. I wondered how I would end up spending the day…

With part of the reason for visiting New Zealand being my love of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ films, it was pencilled into my pre-travel plans to try and see as much of the locations and sets used in the film as possible. It was inevitable, therefor, that this day would come, and I was thoroughly excited at the prospect. Today I would be hiking through ‘Orc’ territory as I decided to complete the Tongariro Crossing.

It was a day of exploration today around the surrounding areas of Taupo. The first stop was the ‘Buried Village’ in Te Wairoa, the second stop was Wai-o-Tapu. It was sure to be an interesting day.

The past few days had really taken it out of me it has to be said, and I wanted to have a day to just relax a little, maybe take in some of the sights. I also had the daunting task of shaving today – the first time since the beginning of the trip.

After the adrenaline-fuelled day of yesterday, you could be forgiven for thinking that I would choose to relax today, and reflect on the past day with appreciation, but Taupo isn’t the type of place to just sit back and do nothing. Today would be another busy day…

Today was possibly one of the most adrenaline-fuelled days of my entire life, and it’s fair to say I was literally buzzing by the end of it

Lake Taupo was my destination today, and it just might prove to be one of my favourite places so far