Hi! The last week or so has been busy trying to sort out my time here. In brief I've been in Cairns, Cape Tribulation, Port Douglas then Cairns again. ............ When I arrived in Cairns it was 25 degrees and really humid. It has since cooled down but I'm still in shorts, flip flops, bikini, sunglasses, sunhat etc having ditched the fleece, raincoat, covered shoes, headscarf etc (for now, apparently down south is very cold!) The first few days I solidly trawled the many, many tourist agencies (all hostels double up as these as well) and read brochures. The price [View Full Entry]

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In two days time I will be in Cairns! So...the end of my NZ time: My 5 days in the Bay of Islands was wonderful, I really felt like I was on holiday rather than epic backpacking! The hostel was wonderful and homely, the bays were gorgeous, the weather was fantastic. I went on a day trip to Cape Reinga, the tip of NZ North Island, which is a sacred place for the Maori people who believe that when people of Maori descent die their spirits come to this point (even if they were settled outside NZ) before starting the journey [View Full Entry]

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What an incredible day! I was up at 6.45am for early morning dolphin encounters. We found two pods early on in the trip. Unfortunately we couldn't swim because they had young. However they were swimming and jumping alongside the boat. We were able to lie on our fronts with our head over the front of the boat under the rails (there were only 7 on the trip) so the dolphins swim right under you. Often they turn to look up at watch you since they are curious creatures and sometimes blow water in your face! (Photos to come, my camera card [View Full Entry]

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After 4 nights in Rotorua (in a fantastic, relaxing newly built hostel) I have spent two nights in Auckland and am currently in Paihia, The Bay of Islands for 5 nights. Auckland is such a contrast to the rest of New Zealand. It's enormous, lively and bustling (with a network of large motorway type roads). I'm still travelling with David since we have the same itinerary. The last couple of weeks have been very different to the first few since I'm spending more time in each place and am not travelling and staying with lots and lots of people. I've been [View Full Entry]

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The Black Abyss at Waitomo Caves was for me the most fun and interesting activity I have done so far; though it's not for the faint hearted! David and I were up at 6.30 today to get the 2 hour bus from Rotorua to Waitomo (home of glow worm caves) to go to the Black Water Rafting company. The company offers various options and The Black Abyss is the most challenging but (I think) most fun, taking 5 hours in total. Our group consisted of eight people with two fun guides. Once kitted out in wetsuit, wetsuit jacket, booties, rubber [View Full Entry]

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Today I skydived from 1500ft. Taupo is the cheapest place to skydive in the world, and today was glorious clear sky and sunshine. I had intended to do the 1200ft jump with no photos, dvd etc which is only $219 dollars, but when I got there I ended up signing up for the 1500ft jump with full package (dvd, photos, t-shirt) at $465 - oops! (The extra price is for the camera man to skydive with you!) My weakness came from the conversion prices - the original was 76 pounds, the full wack was 169 pounds...so not too bad, hmm! [View Full Entry]

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Today I hiked one of the (reputedly) world's top ten one day walks - the Tongariro crossing. It was fantastic. Up at 5am, on bus 5.40am to start the 18.5km gruelling walk at 7am across mountainous volcanic terrain for 3.30pm pick up. This was definitely one of my best days so far. The walk covers four 'terrains' - first general mountainous region including the high and long climb up the devils staircase (This hurt a lot, especially since I strained my muscles dancing and limboing during my last night in Wellington, and then even more last night when I was [View Full Entry]

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Rubbish day, awesome night. My last day in Wellington I was alone without energy. Attempted to do Te Papa but for some reason my body and mind was elsewhere so I had to go back to the hostel, before spending the afternoon walking. All I wanted to do that eve was chill infront of a film and sleep...but I was on my own and felt I should meet people. I chatted to two girls, Gill and Kate, in the kitchen and ended up signing up for the hostel pub crawl that night, which they were going on. 5 bars in 5 [View Full Entry]

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Since last writing I have travelled to Christchurch and Kairkoura again, and then Wellington where I am now. The drive from Queenstown to Christchurch took all day but the scenery was fantastic. We stopped to look at Mount Cook and various other little stops, including a toilet and icecream break in a little town called Grenadine (I think!) As I approached the cafe I suddenly remembered that I had been there before and visited the same shops. It's funny how such an indescript memory can suddenly pop out. I have spent the last few days with Meg and Megan, two [View Full Entry]

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Oh yeah...In all my excitement/bemusement/emotion re. Nevis I forgot to say I went to Milford Sound yesterday. 6am rise for 4 1/2 hour bus journey (each way) in order to spend 2 hours on a boat! Was worth it though, especially as the scenery on route was fantastic. Milford Sound (Fiordland) is one of the wettest places on Earth, receiving much rainfall...and it was drizzly, grey and misty when I saw it! (Until the last 15mins of boat trip when the sun gloriously came out and made the landscape look divine) The rain brings out hundred of temporary waterfalls, which [View Full Entry]

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