31.12.2011 We all got ready with a big picnic and headed down to the park where we would watch the fireworks from. We transferred vodka into plastic bottles and hid jagermeister in the pram. We got the train to Waverton were Lauren (Kates mate) had got up early and baggsied a spot. The spot they got was the best one! You could see the bridge, opera house and the city. The weather was great not a cloud in the sky. We had a good feed and started drinking. We watched the 21:00 fireworks which were amazing. The whole sky lit up with fireworks that were sent off barges along the harbour. After them Stu mananged to get us free passes into Shore Thing which was in Bondi. We had to get the train across the city ... read more

28.12.2011 Baby sitting Charlie today. Kate and Stu had to work so he was all ours for the day. Sophie made him some weetabix while I got showered. We took it in turns to play with him while the other was getting ready. We checked we had everything in the pram and walked to the mall. We headed straight for the play area to keep Charlie happy. He loved it in there watching the bigger children play and bashing the spinny things and driving this big car. We walked round the shops whilst Charlie slept. On the way home we took him to the park. He loved the swings laughing all the time he was on them. Got home and put his dinner on. Brilliant day with little Charlie. 29.12.2011 Charlie day again today. We eventually ... read more

25.12.2011 Christmas day!! Has he been?? Yes! Up early with Charlie to find stockings on the stairs full of presents that Santa had brought. We didn't think we were getting anything as we were in Australia. Me and Sophie got spoilt with very good presents from here and from back home aswell. Charlie had mounds of presents from all the family. We had eggy bread for breakfast that Sophie made for everyone and got ready to go the beach! The sun was shining and very warm which meant I was swimming in the sea on Xmas day! We came home after a couple of hours and got ready to go to Stu and Kate's friends house. We had a BBQ with huge prawns and snapper with a massive salad and rice. Was different from the traditional ... read more

22.12.2011 Fly to Sydney today! Got to the airport to find the flight was delayed by an hour. I watched the re run of Liverpool v Wigan at the bar. It ended 0-0 which was a bit dissapointing. Stu came to pick us up from Sydney airport. Short drive later we arrived at there home to be welcomed by Mr Charlie and Kate. It was great to see them all! Charlie is so handsome, he was a bit wary of us both at first but he came round after a bit and started showing off running around with his trolly. He is such a happy baby and we were both looking forwrd to spending the next few weeks with him. 23.12.2011 An early wake up call from Charlie at 5.30. We received an early Xmas present ... read more

19.12.2011 We went on a walk to the top of the mountain overlooking Queenstown. It took us an hour and was very steep. The views from the top were fantastic, it was a very nice day again so we had lunch up there. We jumped on the gondola on the way down which supposed to be $14 but we snook on. We then headed for the small stoney beach on the side of the lake. Was still nice so we did some sunbathing and I went for a swim. The water was freezing and only lasted about a minute in there. 20.12.2011 On the way to Christchurch we stopped off at a few lakes on the way. It took about 7 hours so was good to have a few breaks. One was called the Pukaki which ... read more

16.12.2011 Headed to Queenstown this morning. First stop was to Puzzleworld, where we completed the worlds first 3D maze - was quite hard and confusing, but we completed it. We then went into an illusion room which played tricks on your eyes. We arrived into Queenstown about 3pm and checked into our double room for the next 4 nights. We treated to ourselves to an ensuite double and it was very nice. It had everything in it, TV, aircon, kingsize bed, balcony, fridge etc. It was far from the 8 bed dorms we had been staying in! We were able to unpack and hang our cloths up, which is very rare whilst backpacking. After sorting our things out we went for a walk around to get our bearings. Was a nice town with lots goin on, ... read more

13.12.2011 Woke up hungover this morning with Sophie still wearing the granny nighty that she wore for the fancy dress. After a cold shower to wake us up, we headed to a Bushmans museum where it showed us how people made a living on the coast by farming deer. Then did a quick interactive tour around the museum with some practcal jokes in there aswell. We got back on the bus to hear the winners of the fancy dress competition. In 3rd place was a guy dressed as a printer, 2nd place was Emily dressed as pin up girl (she won free pics to a bungee jump), and 1st place was me and Sophie who won a free canyon swing! Which is said to be the best activity in New Zealand. Everyone said they voted for ... read more

10.12.2011 Only 15 days until Christmas!!! wooo. Back on the Kiwi Bus this morning and joined by Jess, Lizzy, Emily and Amy!! Straight onto the ferry to take us from the North Island to the South Island, it took 3 hours to get to Picton, 45 minutes of which spent looking at the young calves in transport below us. They squeezed 12 calves in each tiny compartment, I just hope they were going to greener pastures! We arrived at Kaiteriteri a small seaside resort, where my Dad apparently lived for a year! We arrived about 4pm so went for a quick walk along the beach and as the tide was out we went exploring the rock pools, finding lots of mussels and cats eyes. Me and michael then went for a game of mini golf, I ... read more

7.12.11 Up early this morning to check the weather to see if the Tongariro crossing was going ahead. Its a 8 hour hike up and over Mount Doom and through Lord of the Rings scenery. Said to be one of the best walks to do in New Zealand. We phoned the company that was organising the hike and they said that it was raining and it was upto us whether we did it or not. Me and Sophie decided to go back to bed, which was the right choice as the people who went got soaked through and said it was freezing cold and couldn't see a thing. Instead we decided to walk to a local hot spring which ran into the river. We took our packed lunch and our swimming gear and headed down. The ... read more

6.11.2011 Off to Taupo today pronounced 'toe-paw', where I had planned to do a sky dive! We stopped off at some bubbling mud pit and a red wood forewst for a walk on the way. After a long think Sophie decidede to join me at doing a skydive. I think she didn't want me doing it on my own and missing out. The weather was on and off so we had to waot around for a couple of hours till it cleared, which built up the suspense a little. Sophie was nervous and she wasn't hiding it. Half way through watching a film and we got the call to get our jumpsuits on and get ready. We were fitted with our harnesses, goggles and helmets by our instructers, and the people we were jumping tandem with. ... read more