What a great end to the trip. we stayed with Auntie Anne and my Mum is there visiting for a month. Also my wee brother Colm & sister Anne and Anne's friend Caoimhe are in Alabama for 3 weeks. Mum & Auntie Anne are in Mobile & thats where we stayed, Colm & Anne were in Birmingham, Alabama but came down to Mobile for the time we were there. We had a great time. Lots of eating & drinking & shopping. we all went to this outlet mall - the riviera centre down near the Gilf shores, lets just say the [View Full Entry]

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Well just sitting in the airport now about to head of on our final leg of this journey. New Zealand is an awesome place. we both just loved it here. the scenery is beautiful and the people and lovely. even when you just stop at a garage everyone is so helpful and friendly. It was fantastic to see our friends Declan and Geoff and they really made us feel welcome and 'at home' the campervan is a must do way to explore the islands. the camper parks are well located and have great facilities. we had such a laugh in our [View Full Entry]

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Wellington is a cute city. with loads of eateries. spoilt for choice there. definitely worth a visit is the 'Te Papa' the national museum. you could easily spend a full day here. and its free entry!!! it has so much information. Lots about the Maori cultute and about the imigrants who have come here. the holiday park which we chose to stay in is the Top Ten in the Lower Hutt. fantastic facilities but be warned, hard to find in the dark when you get of the boat!!!! [View Full Entry]

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we went Kayaking on this beautiful lake which was created by the glacier many many years ago. it is surrounded on one side by mountains and by rain forest on the other. the rain forest is a national park and they leave everything to nature, even when a tree falls down they just leave it there and let nature do its thing. this is a natual habitat of the kiwi bird. we spent about 3 hours on the lake and went up this tiny river through the rainforest. there was a group of about 6 of us but the guide let [View Full Entry]

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oh my GOD just done a skydive over the glacier. we were planning to do this and almost did in a few of the other places we've stopped but when we heard about this one we just had to do it. it was awesome. actually hanging out of the plane before the jump I was a bit nervous but after that its fantastic, just like your flying and we had the best view of Fox glacier. the guy was doing spins on the way down, i was quite dizzy but soo much fun. it is amazing but as you are going [View Full Entry]

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Mount Hutt we went for a days snowboarding here, it is really beautiful and there was loads of snow. Martyn managed a full day on the piste except when he had to help me to the medical centre. i had a great time until i tumbled and twisted my knee & ankle. it was so sore. i was not allowed to board the rest of the day. oh well Franz Josef Glacier we actually spent a day climbing up the glacier. it is magical. they kit you out in all the gear including boots and crampons ( metal spikes on the [View Full Entry]

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Mount Mauganui Just across from Tauranga is Mount Mauganui, we climbed it with Declan & Geoff. It was a beautiful sunny day; of course we took the wrong path and ended going half way around before realizing we weren’t going up so we took a short cut across some fields of sheep. The view at the top was fantastic. Afterwards we had a stroll through Tauranga and a wee drink at the seafront that evening Declan cooked a lovely dinner and yes you guessed it plenty more wine. Campervan This has got to be the best way to see New Zealand [View Full Entry]

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We have picked up our camprvan woo hoo.......... [View Full Entry]

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Lovin New Zealand. Declan & Geoff live on a 'Plantation' with a beautiful Avocado orchard. He has not changed a bit we arrived here on the nite before my birthday so we started on the champagne in true Declan style and brought in my birthday in at midnight. it was great craic. we were dancing around the pace until 2am. Martyn gave me a Tiffany Charm for my bracelet!! he bought it when we were in Singapore. LOVE it. on the day of my birthday we walked the plantation and picked some fruit then we went to the Waitomo caves where [View Full Entry]

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We had couple of days dosed with the cold, imagine, come all this way to have the cold. We spent a morning walking round the opera house, it is amazing, was a lovely day sun was shinning, we had a lovely lunch on circular quay. Opal museum had a look at how they are mined & how much thy cost!!! Crunulla BreachA lovely little beach in the suburbs where we had a walk aroud & then lovely fish & chips. Martyn spent a few days in Brisbane visiting is mate. Paddys markets-Crazy indoor market where you can buy anything! Tourist bus, [View Full Entry]

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