bpgarlick

Hi All Just have a wee bit of time to update you all. Since I last wrote we were excited about the worm caves. However, it snowed heavily in town the night before and snow was still on the ground, making it pretty, cold and extremely difficult to walk. As a result, we missed the bus because we didn't allow enough time to catch it. Ah well... you win some, you lose some! Then to Dunedin which was absolutely magic. Already need to go back! Now Contiki has started. IT HAS BEEN AMAZING. Yesterday i did a scenic flight of Mt Cook (NZ highest mountain) and the glaciers on the west coast. I was co-pilot. It was mad! Although, others where queasy from the weaving and turbulence in a small plane. I loved it!!! Today I ... read more

We have made it to Queenstown (QT)!!!! It was quite a long trip from Christchurch to QT on the coach today but very bearable. The scenery was slightly disappointing, since there has been NO snow on the mountains. Brown mountains did get a bit boring after awhile!!! However, we did see plenty of merino sheep, pigs, cattle, vineyards, bee hives and even a salmon farm. We didn't spend much time in Christchurch and haven't explored the city (or what's left of it) yet. Partly due to the fact our accommodation was nearer the airport and also because Alex caused mayhem at customs! Both in Australia and here! Not to mention standing in the NZ/AU passport queue when he is a UK passport holder! Anyway, after sucking up they finally let him out of Australia and into ... read more

This is my first blog. There are six more sleeps before my first trip overseas and I am super excited!!! I will be leaving on Monday 4th July with Alex , a school friend, imported from the UK in 2006. We will return on July 21st. We are flying to Christchurch (CC) and heading down to Queenstown (QT) to ski for a week. There has been limited snow in QT. Resorts are not even open yet and it has been the latest start to the ski season in over 50 years for our friends over the ditch. After skiing, we will head across to Dunedin (DD), mainly to visit the Cadbury chocolate factory. Since Alex is a massive Chocoholic. We will end up back in CC before heading off on a 7 day Contiki tour. This ... read more