Sunday 28th Help me! I cant find my way around, addresses in ·Hong Kong are not just the street and the number but they just for good measure add the building and which level it is to. Then there are closed in shopping centres and walkways connecting you to everywhere if you want you very rarely have to set foot on the street. Its bizarre trying to find your way around. The underground is a very good service but each station has about 6 to8 exits and they can be streets away from each other. I however did mange to do something I have dreamed of doing for a long time today I caught the Star Ferry across to Kowloon. It was a fantastic trip and was all over too quick so I went back and ... read more

Thursday 25th got up a bit late today it’s the first time I have slept in I guess it’s the air here its so clean and fresh. It make me feel so tired. Not to worry just time for breakfast then off to the airport back to Auckland. Friday 26th Spent the day in Auckland shopping and sightseeing wit Juan. We rested in the afternoon as I have planned to take Martin & Juan out for dinner. We had booked a table at the Sky Tower Orbit restaurant. This restaurant is 328 metres from the ground and revolves too. This is the highest building in the city and you can see for 87 km on a clear day. The views and food were very good and it was a good time to reflect on my trip ... read more

Tuesday 23rd set off mid morning to the airport to fly down to the South Island. After a short 2 hour flight I arrived in Queenstown, a very busy little town, full of backpackers and Japanese tourists. The scenery is stunning and well worth a visit. The South Island is the home to the Extreme Sport Culture. You can do pretty much anything you want to here from bungy jumping off the top of a mountain to swinging through the canyon on some very dangerous looking equipment. I settled for a ride on a Jet powered boat that was a very scary but exciting experience and booked myself onto a flight to Milford Sound. I had dinner in Queenstown and walked back as the sun was setting at around 10pm. It’s nice to have long days ... read more

Sunday 21st Had a fantastic day in Rotorua starting with shopping at the waterfront followed by coffee. The day then really took of when we went up the Gondola ride up to the top of Mountain where we were able to have a go on the Luge, this is like a small go-kart that you sit in and steer down several tracks that go back down the mountain. We had five tickets to ride the Luge so once you had taken the exciting ride down you just get back on the cable car to the top again. We had a really great day finishing up with dinner and another visit to the hot pools. ... read more

Friday 19th today it was a glorious day and the true beauty of this place was unveiled as I stepped out onto the deck and saw the view, this place reminded me of something out of Swallows and Amazons. We got the motor boat out of the boathouse and got it running it was such fun zooming round the lake exploring its many different little bays and coves. During the afternoon we go by boat to visit the Hot Pools and take a bath in the naturally hot springs. The water is very hot and a little smelly as it has high sulphur content; I am assured that it is good for me and after having been in them for a while you didn’t notice the sulphur smell at all. I was amazed at how hot ... read more