Swimming with Dolphins..and Orcas!!

We checked back into Base Backpackers in Christchurch and caught up with Sam that night. Next morning we were rudely awakened by the fire alarm at 5:45am!!! It seems to be a running theme throughout our trip!!! We were not impressed. Still, we had to get the 7am bus to Kaikora so it didn't really affect us!

We checked into the Adelphi Lodge and borrowed the hostel's bikes and rode along up the coast. My bike didn't seem capable of getting out of first gear but it was a great ride anyway! We stopped at the end of the beach and went for a walk where we saw some sea lions in the sea and took a brief stroll up the cliffs to see the amazing view of the place.

The next morning we were up early to walk to Dolphin Encounter - the company who are taking us out to sea to swim with the dolphins. We watched a video and got dressed in our wetsuits (and hats), flippers and goggles and headed out.

There were 12 of us on a small boat, along with the guide and the captain. Within 10 minutes of being out on the water, the sea became very choppy and we bounced over large waves. We'd been told to keep an eye out for any sign of the dolphins. It didn't take long for them to be spotted - a group of about 20 Dusky Dolphins. We cut the engine and were instructed to slide off the back of the boat into the sea!

The video had told us that, as we were in the dolphins environment, we had to try and entertain them so we had to make noises or sing, swim in circles and keep eye contact with them. If we were brave enough, we could dive down. So we began making noises at the dolphins which is quite a task when you're trying to breathe through a snorkel!

We became surrounded by them. Everywhere you looked you could see dolphins - it was really amazing! Kate & I had bought a disposable camera but the dolphins were too fast to be able to get a decent photo. In the end, we gave up and just concentrated on watching them!

After about 15 minutes, they all disappeared so we'd assumed that they'd given up playing with us so we got back into the boat. Then we realised why they had gone - to the left of the boat was a pack of Orca Whales!!! We couldn't believe it. We stood and watched each time they came to the surface - one of them swam right under the boat! We were so lucky to see them, especially this close to shore!

Once the Whales left, the dolphins returned and we watched them

swim around the boat, leaping into the air and doing somersaults before we headed back to shore.

It was such an amazing experience. We couldn't believe that the dolphins had come to close to us and the Orca Whales had just made a brilliant day even better!

We dried off and got the coach back to Christchurch.

Bar Bungy, Proposals and Hair Dye!

We left Dunedin early the following morning for our drive to Queenstown. We stopped on the way at little villages including Lawrence, Alexandra (with its 10 foot tall clock on the mountain side) and Clyde, where we had lunch in a place that looked like it had come straight from a western movie! We arrived in Wanaka by mid afternoon and stopped by the lake (which we'd not got to see last time due to us going to Illusion World!)

Just before arriving into Queenstown, we stopped off at the Kawarua Bridge Bungy site but could not persuade Ben & Helen to throw themselves off the top!

That night we met up with Fiona and went to the Altitude Bar for drinks. We also caught up with Bridget (who we'd met in the Bay of Islands). The bar did a competition to win a jump at the Nevis Bungy Jump (which is 134m tall) which needed 4 girls to participate so Kate, Fiona, Bridget and I volunteered! We then found out what we had to do - it was a Bar Bungy! Basically, we had a bungy rope tied to our waists and had to run the length of the bar, grab a half yard of beer, fly back across the bar without spilling the drink and then drink it and the person with the quickest time one! It sounded pretty simple!!!

I was 2nd to go and ended up flying backwards across the bar on my rear end, spilling half of the drink all over the place!!! Needless to say I didn't win!! Fiona decided that this would hurt her cracked sternum too much and pulled out at the last minute and Bridget broke the record (19 seconds!) and won the prize!! Kate came second with a better effort than me - I won't publish the photo of her doing it to save embarrassment as you can see how hard she was trying!!

The next evening, Helen & Ben came back from exploring the little villages around Queenstown with Helen sporting a very sparkly ring on her engagement finger (Ben had finally popped the question!) To celebrate, we went out for teapots (as you do!) Congratulations guys!

On our final day Ben and Jimmy (our English room mate who has spent most of his life in Dubai) decided that they wanted to dye their hair - blonde! They took ages going around the pharmacy deciding which colour they wanted (after we persuaded them that bleach wasn't a good idea!!). It was left to me to play hairdresser! The results weren't too bad - Jimmy was already a dark shade of blonde so his didn't show to much but Ben was brunette and ended up going a shade of ginger (but he liked it)!!! It made us laugh though!

The next morning Kate & I are up early to catch the Stray bus back to Christchurch.

Cadburys, a Steep Street & Albatroi!

We arrived in Dunedin and our first stop was the Cadbury's factory! We decided to do the tour, which began with a self guided tour of the history of the cocoa bean and the development of chocolate. We went to see a short film about the Dunedin plant and were given a Cadburys Chocolate Fish to eat (chocolate covered marsh mellows).

We then went around the factory. We saw how they make chocolate buttons (like the opening scene from the original Charlie & the Chocolate Factory film), Moro bars (the Cadbury equivalent of Mars Bars) and Easter eggs. We were given some samples along the way which included a Pokenana (banana flavoured chocolate).

At the end of the tour, we got to see a tonne of Cadburys chocolate drop into a container which we could test to make sure it was chocolate! Then we went into the shop - Kate got a bit carried away with the Cadbury Dessert range (which they should import to the UK, especially the Fudge Brownie one!)

We dropped Helen & Ben off at their hostel and Kate & I went to St Leonards to stay with Ron & Nicky (who are friends with one of Kate's brothers) and their children Daniel & Abigail. It was great to be in a 'home' environment again and we were made to feel like part of the family. Daniel spent ages teaching me & Kate how to play his 'monsters in my pocket' game.

Once the children were in bed, Kate & I were taken on a tour of Dunedin, which included Baldwin Street - the steepest street in the world! Kate & I walked down a bit to try and get photos that do it justice and the walk back up was a good as a workout in the gym!

We then went to Signal Hill and got a great view of the city. We stayed there watching the sun go down before home (the temperature had also dropped and it was a little cold!)

The next day we met up with Helen & Ben and drove to the Royal Albatross Centre. Kate & I had been discussing what the plural of Albatross was and we'd decided that it should be Albatroi - it sounded better that Albatross! We had a brief lesson about Albatross and their life before heading out to see them. Currently they were nesting and we go to see 3 of them sitting on their nests.

We then drove around the headland to Allans Bay and saw some seals on the beach and some sea lions in the sea.

That afternoon, Kate & I went to the beach with Ron, Daniel, his mate Lennox and their neighbour Ted and their dog, Odd. The boys decided to play in the waves so we threw the Frisbee for Odd and kicked around a football. The fun part was trying to get the Frisbee back from Odd who was determined not to let go of it! The boys ended up totally soaked and decided to get themselves covered in sand as well! It was a fun afternoon!

That night the adults played a hard-fought game of Risk!, which carried on well into the night. It became very competitive and it was probably a good thing that a draw was called!

Big Balls

The next day we left Oamaru and headed further south towards Dunedin.

We stopped on the way at the Moeraki Boulders - a group of large rocks on the beach. The Maori's believe that the rocks were gourds from their ancestor's canoes (Woka's) which crashed and the gourds and food supplies were washed ashore and turned into stone.

We took some sensible photos of them before taking a few 'silly' ones!

We stayed a while before carrying on to Dunedin.

Road Trip & Penguins

We set off at lunchtime towards Oamaru. To keep the child in Ben occupied for the journey, we played various games including 'I spy', 'Who am I' and, newly invented for the trip, 'Guess the Population'! The aim of the game was to (as you can probably guess) correctly guess the population of the small towns that we were driving through before checking the answer in a Lonely Planet guide. Some towns, however, were too small to be in the book!

We checked into our hostel (after Kate had successfully managed to do a 3-point turn in the smallest of spaces while we tried to park the car!)

That night we boarded the Penguin Express and went to see some rare Yellow Eyed Penguins. We paid extra and got taken on a 'close up' tour. We certainly weren't expecting how close we got! We were walking along a path and came across a family of penguins (2 adults and 2 juveniles). We stood there for about 20 minutes watching the penguins. They didn't seem bothered that we were watching them. They then walked off down the cliff. It was amazing that we managed to get so close to them!

We then walked up to the cliff and joined the rest of the bus who had only seen them from a distance.

We carried on the trip and drove to a spot to see some Little Blue Penguins. It was dark by the time we arrived at the spot and we had to sit on a wooden stand and wait for them to come in from the water, re-waterproof their feathers and walk up the cliff in front of us. It was funny to see them pause at the road before one or two brave ones would lead the walk across!

We went back to the hostel extremely happy that we'd been so close to the penguins!

Christchurch

Kate & I got back onto the Stray Bus with Fido, our driver (don't they have 'normal' names?!) and headed north to Christchurch.

We were due to pass by Mount Cook and were very excited about it until we realised that the weather was not on our side and all we saw were clouds! We stopped at Lake Tekapo for lunch. In the nearby fields were lots of Mountain Lupins in all colours of pink and purple and Kate spent ages trying to get the perfect shot of them - I ended up getting a picture of her lying in them trying to get her shot!!

From here, we travelled across the Canterbury Plains through to Christchurch. Fido decided to make an impromptu stop at the Cookie Time factory and we all piled out into the shop to stock up! They were yummy!!!

We checked into Base Backpackers, shattered from our trip, but decided to catch up with our friends Helen & Ben from home (who were holidaying in the South Island) and went out for dinner.

The next day we explored the city. The World Buskers Convention was taking place while we were there and we spent ages watching the various acts which included a man who climbed up a lamppost and pretended to be a flag and some mime artists.

We then decided to jump on the tram and do the city tour (which only covered about 2 streets of the city!) We went past the museum and across the River Avon, where we saw punts going along - it was all very English! We also took a walk through the Botanical Gardens and their rose garden, saw the main Cathedral and their art piece that had been designed for the Millennium.

In the afternoon, we caught the bus to the bottom of the gondola and took the cable car to the top of it (with Ben worrying the whole journey that the cable was going to break and that we were going to fall!!) The view at the top was great but the weather was against us yet again and, to begin with, all we saw was cloud! It cleared a bit and we got to see the city.

They also had an exhibition ride about the history of New Zealand which we went on. We discovered that Ben is also very jumpy in the dark!

The next day, we picked up our hire car (which had to seat 4 people and carry 4 backpacks and 4 day bags). We expected the car to be a medium sized car (it looked like it in the photos!) but we ended up with a small car and we had to cram ourselves into, surrounded by the luggage that didn't fit into the boot!!

We drove to the nearby Antarctic Centre, which told of Scott's fatal trip there and we got to experience a blizzard and Ben went on the ice slide! We also got to see some penguins up close that had been rescued and were being cared for at the centre.

We then left for our road trip!

Milford Sound and the Dolphins

We got up early this morning as we were doing a day trip to Milford Sound with Kiwi Experience. We said our goodbyes to the rest of the group and walked outside to see the Kiwi Experience bus about to pull off so we ran down the street and managed to flag it down!!!

As we'd been partying the night before, I spent the first part of the journey asleep (also my eye was hurting and it was difficult to keep it open!) before waking up at Te Anau for a mid-morning stop at a cafe while Jase, our driver, went to the petrol station. After re-fuelling ourselves (and waking up a bit), we carried on passing some amazing scenery!

We stopped at some mirror lakes and managed to get a couple of great shots before the rain came in! At least it was better than at Lake Matheson! The drive continued on through the Eglington Valley and interestingly named places like Knob's Flat and the Divide! We had to stop at the traffic lights at Homer Tunnel so used this as a great opportunity to get out and stretch our legs, marvel at the snow-capped mountains around us and watch the Kea (alpine parrots) try and dismantle unsuspecting tourists' cars - they have a thing for the rubber around car windows! Through the tunnel, we hit a wall of mist and couldn't see anything! Glad I wasn't driving!

We stopped at the Chasm, a waterfall which had eroded the surrounding rocks and created giant holes. We'd walked through the surrounding forest with the noise of the waterfall getting louder and louder and it was worth the walk!

We then raced to the docks to catch the Spirit of Milford as we were running a little late! We were given a free cup of tea and a chance to warm up a little bit as the boat began its 2 hour journey around the sound. It began to rain very lightly (the type that gets you soaking wet!) and Kate & I were unprepared for this, only wearing hoodies and not waterproof jackets so spent our time between standing on the top deck and standing next to to driver of the boat looking out the front window!

We got to see seals on the rocks and plenty of waterfalls and then along came a group of dolphins who decided that they wanted to swim around by the front of the boat. We got to watch them for a bit before they got bored with us and moved on!

We stopped off briefly at the Underwater Observatory to see the mixture of sea creatures in that survive here before going back to shore and onto the bus for the trip back to Queenstown (which I fell asleep during and woke up half way through the Family Guy movie!)

Bungy Jumping, Jet Boating and Tea Pots!!

Just before we arrived into Queenstown, we stopped off at the AJ Hackett Bungy site at the Kawarau Bridge - a 43m high bungy jump over a river. Well it was just screaming out to be jumped!! We saw a video about the history of bungy and how AJ Hackett and Henry von Asch developed the modern day bungy jump (even doing a test jump from the Eiffel Tower!)

Fiona and I had already signed up to do the jump and, after seeing the jump, Kate decided to risk it too! Dermot & Ian point blank refused to do it so they were left in charge of the cameras!

While we were queueing up though, Ian changed his mind and decided to join us insane people and jump (using nothing more than several layers of knicker elastic tied to our ankles!!!)

Up on the bridge they were playing upbeat music whilst we watched others from our tour bus jump. Kate was before me and (despite her fear of heights) only screamed all the way day and back up again. It was pretty impressive that she managed to fling herself off the top in the first place!

Then it was my turn - the guy asked if I wanted to get dunked into the water and I decided that I only wanted to get my finger tips wet (but what I wanted and what I got were totally different!!) I then penguin shuffled to the edge (very embarrassingly!) and smiled for the photo before being counted down and diving off the bridge! The fall was brilliant and very soon I was near the water so I closed my eyes and felt myself get a little wet (which was very refreshing on a warm day).

After bouncing a few times, the recovery boat came out and I was hauled into it and unstrapped. It was in here that I realised that I'd been dunked in up to my waist and I was now looking like a contestant in a wet t-shirt competition! watching the DVD of it was really funny and had to be bought!

Once all the jumps had been done (everyone survived!) we journeyed on into Queenstown. That night we ventured into Altitude Bar which was underneath our hostel (Discovery Lodge). Not before too long, most of our bus had joined us party animals and were dancing on the chairs with us! Princess, our driver, then bought two rounds of shots for us all - I'm not sure what they were but they tasted great! We danced on into the night (well until the bar closed and they kicked us out)!

The next day Kate, Fiona & I went on the Shotover Jet - a jet boat ride that does 360 degree spins in very shallow water! It lasted about 25 minutes and we had about 7-8 360 degree spins and got a little wet down one side. It was great fun thought!

That evening Sam, Ian, Chad, Jon, Henrik, a German girl and I headed up on the gondola to race each other in the luge! We got 6 rides each down an 800 metre track and, due to limited time, racing each other was the only way to go! We were made to do the 'scenic route' first to get used to the luge cars then we could go on the faster route.

To get up to the start, we had to go on a mini chairlift. On our 2nd time up there, Sam lost one of his flip flops and had to race with his one remaining flip flop (and rescue his other one once we'd finished!) I seemed to not get the hang of the cars (its my excuse!) and came last, except in the last race when Sam & Ian were too busy trying to ram each other off the course that I was able to almost finish the race before they realised I was ahead but it was too late to do anything!

We stayed up at the top admiring the amazing views of Queenstown and got our photos taken by a passing group of Japanese tourists!

That night we went for dinner at Fergburger (which is a must for anyone going to Queenstown)! They are huge and very yummy! We'd decided to go speed dating in one of the local pubs and spent the time over dinner trying to come up with abstract questions!! We turned up at the pub, only to see the people who were going to be taking part and decided to leg it out of the pub as quickly as possible!!

So we decided to go to The World Bar and have a teapot. This may sound strange to many people - why would we want to have a cup of tea on a night out but they actually serve their cocktails in white teapots! Carrying on with our 'illusion' theme, we had to go with 'The Illusion' cocktail - gin, vodka, Bacardi, triple sec, coconut, melon and pineapple juice. The gave us shot glasses to pour our drinks into or straws (to put into the spout) but eventually we ended up just drinking from the spout (so classy!) We spent the rest of the night dancing away until we got bored of the DJ changing the music to dodgy dance tunes and went off to bed!

It was our last night as a group and we are really going to miss the Stray Bus people! We haven't laughed so much and for so long for a very long time! Cheers for the memories guys - its been one of the highlights of my trip! xx

Laughing Until We Cried and Illusions!

The next morning we (except Sam who was feeling a little under the weather and couldn't get out of bed!) got on the bus and headed to Makarora. Our first stop was at Lake Matheson, the reflective lake. It was just our luck that the wind decided to blow that morning and we were unable to get any decent photos!

We then headed to the Roaring Billy Falls, which were the other side from a fast flowing river. So we sat on a rock and watched the falls, while Fiona began liberating rocks from the path (by throwing them back into the river)! Ian & Merris decided to go for a swim in a rock pool only to discover that it was ice cold water!

Our next stop was at Thunder Creek Falls the silly photos continue. I think it was Ian's idea to stand on one foot, which is easier said that done on small wobbly rocks! Thankfully, no-one fell in!

We then arrived at an area that was called a 'pleasant flat recreational area'! It was true to its word! We got some great photos of the mountains in the distance and helped Ian get a crazy photo - he wanted to do a handstand with his head just above the mountain but couldn't get his balance so Kate & I held his legs while Dermot took the photo!

We arrived in Makorara and stayed in Alpine style lodges. The girls decided to have a quick swim before dinner in the very cold pool with lots of dead things floating in the shallow end! Needless to say, we didn't stay in the water long! That night, we ended up in the bar (again!), and tried to listen to Ian (on the piano) and Jon (on the guitar) but the pub wouldn't turn down their music so we headed back to our room.

We got into bed but no-one was in the mood for sleeping and we ended up making each other laugh so much that tears were running down our cheeks!!

The next day we had a lazy morning before getting back on the bus and headed towards Queenstown. On the way, we stopped at Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka to take pictures of the beautiful scenery. We then arrived in Wanaka and were given the option of going to the main town or being dropped off at Puzzling World - after Dermot's photo, there was no choice but to go to Puzzling World and see their Illusion Rooms!!

We began by attempting the Giant Maze - we had to go to the four towers in each of the corners and then make our way back out again! Ian & I spent most of the time climbing onto the bridges and trying to strategically plan our route. There were celebrations all round when we got to the final tower! On the way back out of the maze, some of the group gave up and took the short cut through the emergency exit (you know who you are you cheaters!!!)

We then went into the Illusion Rooms and Dermot decided to pose with the globe (practising his 'Illusionist' look for the camera!). We also had fun in the Ames Illusion Room - where you can make people appear to be a giant or a dwarf. But the best part was in the Tilted House where Dermot was able to perform an Illusion trick - rolling a pool ball uphill on a pool table and into the pocket. We laughed so much our sides ached!



Then it was back on the bus as we made our way to Queenstown.

Franz Josef Glacier - a Very Big Lump of Ice!!

We went to Hokitika the home of green stone, where I finally managed to buy myself a green stone necklace (and also some earrings!!) Our next stop was at a Bushman's centre in Pukekura and were met by the owner, Pete. We saw a video about deer hunting and export in New Zealand (we'd been warned that if we liked Bambi, this wouldn't be an easy film to watch!).

We then saw the wild pig that was resident there. It was JP's job to feed it bread (making sure that it sat first). He looked pretty scared when he saw the big teeth! They also had possums there and a little feature offering the 'Weta Experience' - which fired out water at whoever pressed the button. Sam got hit straight in his face!

Back on the bus, we headed to Franz Josef Glacier and gave the bus our rendition to Bohemian Rhapsody at the tops of our voices! I don't think the rest of them were very impressed!

That night, Dermot showed us his driving licence photo which looked like an illusionist doing a publicity shot. He then became "Dermot Lavelle - Illusionist", a name that he will be forever known as! After a few drinks, Dermot decided to tell us a bedtime story - his rendition of Goldilocks and the Three Bears! He made us laugh so much that our sides were splitting and Fiona was reduced to a heap on the floor as it was the only way that she could laugh without too much pain from her cracked sternum!!!

The next day we climbed the Franz Josef Glacier. We arrived at 8:15 and were given our waterproof trousers, socks and boots, jackets, hats and gloves. We were driven to the glacier park and had a 45 minute walk through the forest until we saw the glacier. We were lagging behind the rest of the group due to the fact that we were doing silly poses for the cameras! We came to a sign warning us of 'Extreme Danger' if we proceeded but that didn't bother us! We also saw some other bizarre signs!

We walked to the terminal face of the glacier and were shown how to put on our crampons (spiky shoes to help us grip the ice).

Sam & Ian decided to show off their crampons in a 'Kung Fu' style! (It was to be the day for silly photos!!)

We began climbing up man-made steps, using the rope to help. We had to cross two small bridges that crossed deep chasms - we were told not to look down if we were scared of heights! We were also told not to stop on the bridges because, if they broke and we fell, our guide (AJ) was not going to rescue us today! We left the steps and AJ began carving a new route through the ice (why not!).

We stopped to pick up ice picks, which was a big mistake as the boys decided to attack the ice at every given opportunity and use it to play golf with!! Although they didn't manage to get many 4's! They ended up being told that 'ice is not the enemy'!!!! They really shouldn't have been given ice picks!!

We stopped for lunch on some rocks and had a chance to admire the amazing views of this large piece of ice! It did beg the question - 'how much Baileys would it take to cover this much ice?' - a fair few bottles me'thinks!

We climbed a little higher, through ice tunnels before crossing the glacier and heading back down. We came across and small hole which we were encouraged to climb into. The only problem was that it was a small angled hole that really didn't suit people with hips! Still, I managed to get into it and have my photo taken. I then had difficulties getting out, so our guide took a photo of that before hauling me out of the hole! It was such an attractive photo!!

Back at the hostel, we all jumped into the hot tub (which could fit about 15 people in). Sam got surrounded by blondes (and continued to wear his shades) so gained the nickname - the Heff (after Hugh Heffner)!! After the others had finished having an alcohol fight in the tub, we headed off to the bar for another night of drinking (lots of) red wine!!!

Pancake Rocks & Cross Dressing!

We headed off from Abel Tasmen and Princess handed round some white board markers - we had to write our names on the window (so that she could learn our names). Some people even drew pictures - I just put 'H' (and drew a flower as I'm no good at art)! We were sitting in front of Sam and Fiona, who we got chatting to straight away! The rest of the bus seemed very quiet - it could have been due to the dodgy French music that was being played! - but the four of us made up for it!

Princess played a game called 'Driver Wants' with the left side v the right side of the bus. Princess would ask for certain items and we had to race to the front with them before the other side. She began with easier things - like 3 Lonely Planet books, 5 socks, 4 mobile phones etc. Our side of the bus was very boring. We tried to get them going but as we were at the back, it was a little difficult and, despite our effects to get the left side joining in, we side lost!

We stopped off at Punakaiki to see the Pancake Rocks. We took a short walk in the rain and the wind to see them but they were worth it! It was here that Fiona, Sam, Ian, Dermot, Kate & I became an inseparable group of troublemakers!!!!!

That night we stayed in Barrytown (or BarryVegas) - population 40! We were in the accommodation at the back of the only pub in the Village and we were having a fancy dress party - with cross dressing as the theme! We only had a few hours to come up with an idea. After a small shopping trip in Westport, Kate & I had our costumes!

Fiona & Sam went as 'Posh and Becks' (with Fiona donning Sam's leather jacket and Sam squeezing his massive balloon breasts into Fiona's top), Ian as Madonna (complete with cone breasts), Merris as a guy in a suit(!?), Kate and I as paratroopers (complete with our own waterpistols!!!) and Dermot as a stylish woman (with his tinsel feather boa and great pout!!!!)

We had assisted the boys in their 'getting ready' preparations, including putting on their makeup. It was worrying that they seemed to enjoy that part and, even after the competition was over, were still asking to have their lipgloss reapplied!!!

We knew that the evening was going to be messy when Kate started a waterfight with the guy who owned the pub and he brought out his own, bigger, water pistol! The bar staff were even willing to top us up when we ran out! Kate ended up being soaked!!!! Sam was impressed at having such large breasts and he soon found a good use for them!

There was a competition to win a bungy jump in Queenstown for the best dressed person. There was a dance off on the bar, which included Posh & Becks (although Fiona was unable to get onto the bar due to a fractured sternum from a freak surfing accident!), Merris and a French guy called Guilliame. Unfortunately for the rest, Guilliame was a born performer (who was calling himself 'Marilyn' for the night!) and he was the best 'female' dancer (it was pretty scary!!!!)

We carried on partying (and getting involved in some dodgy dance moves ourselves!). The boys started a limbo competition and another game involving picking up a cereal box from the floor with your teeth and it getting lower and lower. There were some really bendy people around!!!

Back in our room, the six of us played the cards, with Ian loosing each time and finally crashed into bed!!!

We spent the next morning in Barrytown and walked down to the beach - only for it to start raining (and we were dressed in t-shirts!) Still, it didn't matter! We'd had an amazing time in BarryVegas!

Abel Tasman & Sea Kayaking

We got the Stray Bus and met our driver - Princess. We were heading to the Abel Tasman National Park. We stopped at a winery and tasted some of their produce (but they were very stingy with what they gave us!) We got chatting to some of our fellow Stray Bus-ers - Ian, Sam & Rob.

Back on the bus, Princess tried to get people talking to each other and we played Speed Dating (with the people on the outside of the bus having to move back a row each time). I got chatting to Dermot who was sitting behind me & Kate. The Speed Dating was a bit of a failure with about 5 people taking part! I also spent 2 rounds chatting with Dermot (as he is off to South America next)!

That night, we stayed at Old MacDonald's Farm. They even had llamas there! Over dinner, we met a few more people - Henrik, Jon & Lucy.

The next morning (while most people were on the booze cruise!), Kate & I went sea kayaking. We spent half an hour learning how to row, launch the boat, land the boat and what to do if we capsize! We put on our 'skirts', shoes and life jackets and set off to the beach. We began rowing towards Fisherman Island which took us about an hour to row to. Kate was at the front, setting the speed and I was at the back with the steering! I had just about got the hang of it (although sometimes I did steer the wrong way!)

We stopped at Fisherman Island for a mid-morning tea break (which was a cup of tea and a piece of chocolate cake!!) We then headed off around Adele's Island. Here we saw a seal eating an octopus - it was thrashing its head around to rip off the legs and eating them whole. As we were in the kayak, we silently rowed towards it to get a better look! We also saw some Blue Penguins and lots of Shags!

We stopped at Te Pukatea Bay for lunch. We had a swim in the crystal blue (and cold!) waters before walking up the cliff to get a brilliant view of the bay. We headed back, which took a few hours and our arms and shoulders ached by the time we landed back on the beach!

The Night of Fire Alarms!

We took the Inter-Islander Ferry from Wellington to Picton. It would have been a nice view but the weather decided to turn very British on us and it rained the whole trip (and was foggy so we couldn't see much!).

We checked into our hostel and prepared ourselves for the Stray Bus tour that we're doing tomorrow. We planned to get an early night but we weren't going to be so lucky! The fire alarm at the hostel went off during the night - not just once though but FOUR times!! The first was at 1:30am, then 3am, the 5am and 8am (but we slept through that one!). The first time, we all got out of bed and walked out to the street. After that, we stayed in the room while the owner turned the alarm off!

That morning, feeling a little tired, we were dropped back at the Ferry Terminal to wait for the Stray Bus.

Wellington & Elf Ear Wearing!!!

We took another Intercity bus to Wellington. The driver stopped en route to allow us to get photos of Mount Ruapehu & Mount Ngaragoe as well as giving us a running commentary on New Zealand!

The next day we did a Lord of the Rings Tour with a guide (Jack) who constantly got sidetracked and we realised exactly how much of the film was produced by computers! We were overloaded with stats and records that the film had broken! Rhys - you would have loved it!

We saw where they filmed the hobbits leaving The Shire, rolling down the hill and Frodo sensing the Nazgol (which we re-enacted!), Helm's Deep, Minas Tirith, Rivendell, Isengard and The Great River Anduin. We also got to see where the Weta Studios are (the place where they made all the props!)

We also got to wear Elf Ears and re-create the publicity photos that Orlando Bloom did as Legolas! I don't think I'd quite make it as an Elf!!

The next day we walked down Cuba Street looking in the funky little shops and went to the Te Papa Museum. It was a great place which included an Earthquake Room so we could experience an earthquake (rather than sleeping through one like in Peru!). We also walked along Oriental Parade, along the edge of the harbour. That night, we went and saw The Holiday at the cinema!

Turangi & the Tongariro Crossing

We got the Intercity bus to Turangi, near Lake Taupo. The following day we'd booked on to do the Tongariro Crossing - an 18km trek through the National Park.

The day started with a bitter wind (but it was only 7am and the weather was to improve!). We walked from the car park to Soda Springs which was a nice gentle hike. We then had to climb the Devils Staircase - which was just as the name suggests! It was a 45 minute hike up a big mountain and our legs were hurting at the top! Here we got to see Mout Ngauruhoe, which is used as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings! We also saw an Irish guy in tight leathers taking a photo of Mount Doom with some kind of goblin stuffed toy in view - you get some strange people here!

We then walked up the Red Crater Ridge. It was steep and narrow and the wind was blowing a gale (it can get up to 60 kph!). There was also quite a bit of loose rocks there. The view at the top was great but then we had to go down - we ended up sliding down on our heels towards the Emerald Lakes (which smelt!). We had lunch (inside the Central Crater) and then walked along to the Blue Lake.

We followed the path down the Rotopaunga Valley (past a large patch of snow, which we played in!) for about 2 hours until we arrived back in the car park. It took us 6 hours and we even had time to sunbathe before the bus took us back to Turangi.

Kate's Birthday - Jumping off tall things!

Met up again with Kate (who'd been travelling around the North Island with her boyfriend Rod) in Auckland. As it was Kate's 26th birthday, she'd decided that she was going to do something crazy (why not!!) and was going to jump off the Sky Tower in Auckland (its a mere 192m!!) . I had to jump as well to help her celebrate (any excuse!).

We were taken into the tower and made to put on very sexy blue, red and yellow jump suits and we were harnessed up. Then we walked outside to the 'landing mat' and left Rod there to take photos. We then took the lift to the top of the tower and got to see an amazing view of Auckland!!

Kate went first (she is scared of heights and wanted to get the jump over as soon as she could!) She screamed all the way to the bottom (but at least she did it!)

Then it was my turn. They take you out to the edge and get you to pose before jumping! It was really windy out there (hence the dodgy hair). Then I had to grab the poles at the edge of the ledge, lean forward and jump!

You free fall for about 10 seconds, stop and then have to turn around and smile at the camera before falling at 86km to the bottom (you are harnessed on front & back so its not like a bungy!) You are aiming for the little red square - I ended up landing on my knees but it was great fun!

That night, Kate & I stayed at Graham & Jo's and they bought Kate birthday cake, complete with candles!

Rarotongo - a wedding & 2007!

Huw & I flew over to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands just after Christmas for my cousin Louise's wedding to Paul. To say that Rarotonga is a paradise island is an understatement! After the flight was delayed to 'mechanical reasons' we finally left Auckland and arrived just before midnight. The view from my room the next day blew me away!!

Spent the first day catching up with my cousins Sian, Matthew & Ceri (and of course the bride to be - Louise) as well as their parents Dawn & Elwyn. We spent the first day swimming and snorkelling in the crystal blue waters of the lagoon. There were a few fish around including Picasso Triggerfish, who are currently raising their newborns and are very territorial! I got bitten by one but it was just a little nip!! We caught the sunset that evening which was amazing.

The next day was Wedding Day and it was all hands on deck as we prepared the reception venue which included french plating coconut tree ferns which proved quite tricky!

The wedding was beautiful (and the setting amazing). We had champagne on the beach before heading back for the reception which carried on long into the night, accompanied by some swimming in the lagoon at midnight in only inches of water!

The following day was clear up day (and surprisingly no hangover!) We then got onto the hired motorbikes and drove around the island to a waterfall with the intention of swimming in it. When we got there, it was filled with locals who were jumped into the shallow waters from the rocks around (about 3 metres high) and almost landing on each other! We decided to pass on that!

That night we took our drinks and headed off down the beach to celebrate New Year. The party was still in full flow when we left it gone 3am!

The next morning, we had to catch our flight back to Auckland and I very nearly missed the taxi to the airport due to sleeping through my alarm (the alcohol played no part in this!!!) Arrived back in Auckland on the 2nd Jan (due to crossing the date line) still feeling a little worse for wear!!! Happy New Year everyone!