Day 520 (30.08.08) Following the Buller Gorge we left our little pad and were soon at the Buller Swing Bridge. Keeping it cheap we both decided to pay for our ticket to go across on the impressive 110m bridge and do the bush walk the other side, however Mum and Dad splashed out the little extra for the 'flying fox' route back - Extreme NZ fever was hitting the olds! Walking across the bridge gave us a great view and the walk was fantastic, however when it came to the zip wire - Mum had a bout of nerves and passed her ticket onto Mark! It was great fun and if we get the chance we'll upload a video for you guys. Pushing on we stopped at the beach in Westport for yet another stunning picnic ... read more

Day 518 (28.08.08) One of the areas we'd really wanted to explore was the Abel Tasman National Park with it's coastal tracks and tiny beaches and inlets making for a great place to tramp. We headed up the coast on a water taxi stopping briefly for a look at the Split Apple Rock and the Seal Colony on the way. Towards the end of our journey we were also joined by a friendly bottlenose dolphin who had a great time ducking and diving in the wake from our boat. We disembarked at Tonga Bay and began our walk along the excellent track that hugs the coastline of the park. We tramped through native bushland and past waterfalls, streams and bays with barely a soul for company (the benefits of being here in the winter time). It ... read more

Day 514 (24.08.08) We planned to travel up the coast a little today and so we were up early and on the road before 9. The weather was a little grey and drizzly so we were glad to be in the comfort of our little van. After a short drive we stopped for coffee at a beautiful restaurant called The Store where we toasted ourselves by the open fire (although stopping for coffee is apparently not something Jean and Mike 'usually' do!). A little way up the road is a place called Ohau Point where you can again view fur seals along the coast. The extra bonus here though is that if you walk just 5 minutes up a track from the road you can follow a stream up to the Ohau waterfall where you will ... read more

Day 511-512 (21.08.08 - 22.08.08) After some manic last days in Oz we had decided we needed to have a day or so to do something really relaxing once we arrived in New Zealand and Hanmer Springs was just the place. At the foot of snow covered mountains the little town is renowned for it's thermal pools and this seemed like a perfect place for our 'chill out' time. We checked into the pools and spent the next couple of hours relaxing in beautiful rock pools at a variety of temperatures (anywhere from about 29 - 41 degrees) as we looked on to the mountains beyond. The weather was beautiful despite being pretty chilly when we hopped between pools and we had a fantastic time. We decided to explore the area a little more and after ... read more

Day 503 to 509 (11.08.08 - 17.08.08) Well this would be our last full week in Melbourne so we were to be busy getting stuff sorted and continuing to catch up with people before we left. On Monday night Tiana came round to start moving the larger things from the flat as we parted with the bed frame, table and chairs and the flat began to look emptier and emptier. We went to our last dance class on Tuesday night which was the usual fun but very sad to say goodbye to all our fellow dancers who were a great bunch. We were now starting to say goodbyes to people for the last time and feeling the sadness that comes with leaving a place that you've made your home. It's almost stranger for us to leave ... read more