Sydney It was a little wierd to be settled for a week after having to move on so frequently while we were in New Zealand, as we had a whole week booked in the same hostel. The other thing that was a little wierd was having to think for yourself again, as while we were on the bus in New Zealand everything was pretty much taken care of for us, all we generally had to do was turn up and hand over what ever money was required. It was nice to be in a big city again and it was certainly [View Full Entry]

---

---

Christchurch Although queenstown was our last proper stop in New Zealand, our last nights stay was in Christchurch. We really didnt see much of it, as arrived at night and then left in the morning, so wont comment on it other than to say that it seemed a very nice place with the trams passing through the centre. From what ive heard its not the most exciting place to visit though. So long New Zealand [View Full Entry]

---

---

Queenstown As you have probably gathered im more than a little bit behind in the writing of this blog at the moment so will do the best i can from memory. Unfortunately theres not actually too much to report from here because we sort of messed up and didnt leave to long here, wasnt really our fault as such, but was frustrating all the same. In the end we were only here for 2 nights and one full day, which basically gave me enough time for 2 nights out and one day of snowboarding. Was a bit of a strain on [View Full Entry]

---

---

Finally! Finally got to do a sky dive in Wanaka at the fifth attempt, it was all quite surreal in the end, because after so many nearly attempts (including one that very morning when the plane didnt work) I dont think that i ever really thought that the jump would actually go ahead. The way that it all went ahead made it all the more surreal because within half an hour of arriving at the centre we were back down on the ground having finished the jump. I think because it was all so surreal i didnt really get nervous at [View Full Entry]

---

---

Franz Josef Another sleepy little place consisting of only a couple of roads and a few shops and cafes, what set this one apart though was the fact that it was in the shadows of the worlds fastest moving glacier. i cant remember the exact facts relating to its speed, but i think that it is incomparably faster moving than any other in the world. The main purpose of our stay in Franz Josef was to take the glacier walk right up into the heart of it, so the first night we had there was an early one in preparation for [View Full Entry]

---

---

Probably the Strangest Stop on the Trip Yes, this was a little strange, the stop was literally in the middle of nowhere and consisted pretty much of a bar and a load of portacabins that we were expected to sleep in. its the sort of place where you imagine that various members of the party are likely to go missing during the night (if you look at the photo you will see hundreds of hats on the ceiling of the bar, i couldnt tell if the scalps were still attached or not). I'm not sure how the manager of this place [View Full Entry]

---

---

White Water Rafting and Jet Boating Finally got the chance to white water rafting after the weather conspiring against us in River Valley, unfortunately this river was only a grade 3-4 compared to river valleys 5. Though as it was the first time i had ever done it, this made little difference as had no real point of reference. Mind you when you were on the rapids you could tell they were quite a bit tamer, than you would have expected. Was all good fun though, and we were offered the chance to go down one of the rapids in [View Full Entry]

---

---

Nelson The day started off with a ridiculously early ferry crossing from the North to the South Island, spent most of the crossing sleeping, but did manage to venture out to take in some of the breathtaking scenery. Which to be honest i was already starting to get a little desensitised to because there is so much amazing scenery around. Nelson was a little bit of a nothing stop really, despite the fact that its one of the larger places on the route. Did manage to take a walk up to the centre of New Zealand, which is apparently a spot [View Full Entry]

---

---

Wellington So the place for my turning of a quarter of a century old was to be Wellington, which i guess is not too bad a place to celebrate such an event. To be honest most of my actual birthday was spent on the coach. But still got to have a night in Wellington which was all good fun. Trouble was felt a little worse for wear the next day, and so didnt really get to see too much of the city. Did manage to do a couple of bits though, went on the famous (pictured) cable car, which went about [View Full Entry]

---

---

First off before i begin i have to admit that despite the claim, we were not actually in Wairarapa, in fact i have never even heard of the place. Its just that River Valley the place we actually stopped is so small that it didnt warrant a mention on this site or seemingly on any map. To make matters worse the whole reason that we were going to the place (white water rafting) was cancelled due to excessive rain fall. To make up for it though we went on the flying fox (as pictured) which is basically a massive zip wire [View Full Entry]

---

---