To kick start this entry, I doubt this applies to many, but your patience has paid off waiting for some photos, as I've gone a little crazy and added over 30 of the little blighers to my previous blog. If you thus fancy seeing even more mountains, or a car-destroying parrot, just click that 'previous entry' buttom above. I figured, as this will be the last set of photos I can upload until I next put some on CD, I thought I'd treat you lucky lucky people. So where did I finish last time? Something about looking forward to saying hello [View Full Entry]

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SUB NOTE: HAVE ADDED PHOTOS. LOTS TO MAKE UP FOR THESE BEING THE LAST ONES. ENJOY! x (This is a long one guys, you have been warned - New year, mad jumping, Milford and an epic walk all in one. I was going to mention that you would be rewarded your reading efforts by showing you lots of photos, but alas I've misplaced my USB wire after the last blog, so sadly there will be no more photos - which I'm actually quite sad about. I can still transfer photos to CD though with weird things known as chip readers, and [View Full Entry]

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Merry Christmas to you; I hope you all have had a wonderful day giving gifts, receiving presents, stuffing yourself with food and playing with the cardboard boxes. Christmas was just slightly diffeent for me this year, despite the fact i was in Mt Cook National Park. I went to bed late, and loe I woke up on Christmas Day to the sound of hiphop. "So you wanna be me, you bitch" is not the most christmassy of lyrics. No turkey, chocolate money or Mum's gorgeous Xmas cake, no presents to open or give, or Vicar of Dibley to watch on TV. [View Full Entry]

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I broke a new personal record last night, sleeping in a 28 bed dorm. Packing us in like sheep, I felt used and degraded, ah but it was cheap, so who cares?! I challenge anyone to find a larger dorm. It was in Picton, the gateway to the South Island, surrounded by the picturesque Marlborough Sounds. I got the ferry over a few days ago, meant to be one of the most scenic in the world, and I wouldn't doubt it, drifting past the numerous sheltered bays and inlets of the wooded Sounds. It's a big transport route, and whole trains [View Full Entry]

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The Wanganui River, once known as the Rhîne of the South Sea, winds its way through the heart of NZ's North Island, starting off where I had finished the Tongariro Track (if you agree to ignore the 200km trip I annoyingly had to take down to Wellington 1st). I decided to get away from the stress of travelling for a few days - yes, it's a hard life: even travelling can be stressful. However, I would hedge a bet that everyone at some point has, for a moment, wanted to completely immerse themselves in nature, away from the hustle and bustle [View Full Entry]

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Hey all. Thanks for all the comments, I'll get round to replying soon, I promise. This blog simply covers my 4 days of the Tongariro hike, so I'll try not to waffle..too much. Deciding to do the Tongariro Northern Circuit itself was the 1st difficult decision; most just do the famous 1-day 'Tongariro Crossing' and leave satisfied with it ticked off their list. But to do the Northern Circuit, and to do it justice, takes 3 to 4 days. I hadn't done a serious hike since my curtain-hairstyle school days of Iceland and DofE, and not sure if my body was [View Full Entry]

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First, apologies to those who got the email to my last blog 3 times - that wasn't meant to happen. Secondly, to those who may be jealous of me spending Xmas in New Zealand's summer, don't be; up to Tuesday we've been getting freak cold weather here, which is just typical isn't it?! Including giant hailstones in Auckland. Ah well, c'est la vie. Nevertheless, travelling around NZ's north island is starting to get really fun and interesting now. You'll be glad...maybe...to know that I survived the 12000ft skydive. Who'd have thought being strapped to another man would give me such a [View Full Entry]

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Kia Ora from New Zealand! In lazy, British fashion, it's the only Mauri word I've learnt so far, so don't be too impressed. I've only been here a few days and I'm already realising the majesty of this country's natural environment. Auckland city region is covering in 2 things - boats (known as the 'City of Sails', Auckland has more boats per population head than any other city in the world) and volcanoes. Stretching out to sea are little volcanic clumps everywhere. Naturally, I felt I had to climb a couple, both on Devonport, a quaint little island north of Auckland [View Full Entry]

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Writing this, ahead of me I can see a local tourist attraction for Belizians - one of only 2 sets of traffic lights in all the country, fascinating I can tell you! Which is next to a wobbly, old suspension bridge that you risk your life on every time you cross. I'm in a busy little place called San Ignacio, which translates from Spanish as 'The Island', highlighting its remote nature in the Macal River Valley. Been relaxing here for a few days, learning Spanish, getting lost in Jungles and drinking lime juice that's nearly as good as Singapore's. I survived [View Full Entry]

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(sorry it's a bit of a long one) Wandering around Belize City, it's surprisingly hard to find anything you want. For example, finding a tourist information place was an hour's quest that eventually failed, all the places having moved countless times in recent years so that not even locals know where they are. Nevertheless, although slightly irritating from a personal perspective, this is a prime example highlighting what a dynamic and vibrant place this small city is, and one that is constantly developing and changing. After spending about 30 hours travelling (and what felt like a similar [View Full Entry]

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