New Zealand South Island - what a place!

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so we left wellington to catch the 3hr boat trip over to Picton in the south. this was nothing exciting - basically 3 hrs extra sleep!

we didnt stay in picton as it is just a passing through sort of pace! so we headed to Nelson! now there were 2 buses heading down the south island in convoy which meant there were 100 of us altogthee (obv our bus had the better ppl on!) we stayed in a lovely hostel in Nelson but once again we only had 1 night here so we didnt do or see much! from what we did see around the town, Nelson was a lovely place - not too big not too small! and from what we heard from our 2 friends we met in Fraser island who worked and lived in nelson for a while, it was a great place to live! we couldnt face another night of drinking so we played a ridiculous game i made up called guess the card!! you literally had to guess the exact card the other person had in their hand!! and strangely enough, me ellie and amy guessed t a few times coz which we think is because we are on the same wavelength as we had been living in eachother{s pockets for sooooo long!! freaky deaky!

on our way to Westport the next day we stopped off at the Bulla Falls where did the activity Jet Boating! this was a boat that blasted through this river doing 360 degrees spins and basically soaking us!! the driver was really good and went so close to the rocks turned away last second! my heart skipped a few beats! once again - FREEZING!
back at the ranch we could again, omre successfully this time and tucked into the 2 bottles of wine amy and ellie had bought the day before in a vineyard we got taken to!! amy{s rose tasted like strawberries and ice cream!
then we walked to this random pub called the Denniston Dog and had a great time meeting new ppl and bumping into people we had met in different countries! its such a small world! there were a group of middle aged men in fancy dress all with different types of accessories on!! i managed to get a waistcoat which my ruck sack wore for the next week!! random!

the next day we experienced a kiwi bus tradition - The Poo Pub!! we stayed in this place called Mahinapua, which was basically like an old farm on the edge of the road in the middle of nowhere and it was a fancy dress night which the kiwi bus do on every trip! our theme was "anything but clothes"! so we got taken to a litlle village with a few shops for 2 hours to buy our outfits! i ended up going as a suit bag and just cut a hole in the top and 2 holes for my arms! ellie made an outfit out of newspaper, amy looked amazin and went as a flower by making the petals out of card and putting plant pots around her wrists and ankles! chris went as the midnight sky (or he liked to call it Mr Universe) by wearing bin liners and sticking polystyrene stars on himself and a small stress ball that looked like the globe around his neck! rob went as a shower by wrapping a shower curtain around him and putting a shower cap on! there were some fantasticly creative costumes on show! someone went as an octapus and 2 lads went as a goal post and there was a tinman there!! dont know how they made their costumes! prizes were won though!

our next stop was the glacier Franz Joseph. we stayed here for 2 nights and on the 2nd day we did the 3/4 day ce climb. we got given spikes for our shoes and the guide had a pick axe to clear the way up for us! we had to slide down a little ice tunnel which recked your back and got you absolutely soaked but it was good fun! then we had to squeeze into crevasses which had huge walls - again, got soaked! we had to climb out of one of these cravasses by holding onto a rope!! the steps were so big, my little legs nearly didnt make it! there were once again stunnign views from the top! my blisters (which i originally picked up in fiji when diving and had been made ten times worse on the tongariro crossing) had now multiplied by about 7 as plasters had rubbed and alsorts were going on down there!!

next stop = wanaka.
I had been looking forward to Wanaka for ages as my brother had told me it was one of his favourite places in NZ! and for once, he was right!! theres nothing much to do there mind, but that didnt matter too much because we were only there one night again! all these places we could have stayed longer but we wanted to stay with the same bus and the same group of people so we didnt have to make new friends all over again!!! we got to stay in a proper hotel here for only $23!!! bargain!! we were relishing the fact that we had single beds as opposed to bunk beds and we werent in a dorm and we had a tv!! what more can you ask for???

next stop = QUEENSTOWN (one of my favourite places!)
as we had been travelling pretty much everyday for the whole time in NZ, we decided, as a group to stay in queenstown for 8 whole nights!! it felt like forever!! every1 stays here a while and you get to catch up with people that got off your bus earlier on in the trip so its a big reunion!!
on the bus on the way to QT we had stupidly decided to put our names down for the biggest bungy jump in NZ and the 3rd biggest in the world - ´THE NEVIS´!! i came to NZ with every intention NOT to bungy jump!! but we talked ourselves into it!! so the next day after we had arrived we were picked up to drive to the valley where there is a cable car suspended in the middle from which you jump!! after syking myself up and being nervous for a day and night, the bus stopped and said we cannot do the jump that day because it was too windy!! so went back into QT and booked it for the next day! so i had another 24hrs of being incredibly nervous! the time came around quick enough and before we knew it, we were at the bungy site getting harnessed up and being shipped over to the cable car by this tiny cart thing which was scary enough as it was still quite windy! out of our friends, Rob went 1st and as i arrived in the cable car he was on the edge taking deep breaths, then he was gone!! the cable car has a glass bottom floor so you can him jump all the way!! it seemed like he was falling for ages!! ge got hauled back up and he looked like he had enjoyed himself! Chris was next to go and after his jump, when he reached the cable car again, the 1st he said was "i hate bungys!!" that did not fill me with confidence as i was next in line to go!! they sat me in the chair and checked my harnesses and strapped my feet together, then the guy before me got hauled up which meant it was my turn!! i stood up, shuffled to the edge, my heart was thumping and all i could about was not to hesitate otherwise i prob would never jump! i could every1 shouting and encouraging me from behind but i soon blocked that out when the guy said "3, 2....." then i was gone! i didnt want 2 wait for "1" to make sure i didnt hesitate!! when i jumped, for 1st few mili seconds my brain was saying to me "what on earth are you doing?" . it was the most unnatural feeling to jump of a platform into oblivion! but the falling feeling was cool!! i really enjoyed it!! felt like it went on 4ever though! on the 2nd bounce, you had to pull this cord that was tucked into your left leg to put you in an upright sitting position so you could be hauled back up comfortably!! the cord was so hard to pull and youfelt like you shouldnt be messing with any of the ropes incase something went wrong!! but after a few tugs it was released and for a few secs, i thought i had fully released myself and i clung onto the cord for dear life!! the i realised i was safe and just took in the wonderful scenery as i got lifted back up to the cable car! ellie and amy didnt manage to pull the cords so got lifted up upside down! quite uncomfortable!!
i forgot to mention that on the 1st night in QT we had a massive toga party coz there was 100 of us! i think it was the most glamorous some of us had looked in months!! some girls managed to make proper dresses out of their sheet!!

one of the most legendary things about QT is this burger place called FERGBURGER! you may think that sounds quite sad but until youve tried one, you cant judge! its about AUS$10 per burger and there are loads of different types!! all as nice as the other!! my favourite was ´sweet julie´ which contained a juicy chicken breast, sweet chilli sauce, aioli, tomato salsa, lettuce and onions!!! i dont know why they are so nice but something just works!!

anyway, we did a couple more activities in QT inclusing outdoor mini golf, frisbee golf (which is like golf in a aprk using frisbees to hit the targets), luging (like go karting with no engine down a hill and over bumps etc - can be dangerous!)

luckily our frined we had met and travelled with in thailand and bali turned up in QT and he was a toni and guy hairdresser so i finally got my haircut!! it was well overdue!

our last night in QT was sad because everybody was splitting off apart from us 3 with chris and rob!

we got the kiwi bus to Christchurch which is the worst place in NZ in my opinion!! because its a big city, tehre are lots of weirdos around!! and we hadnt been in a big city for a while so wasnt used to them! we literlly did nothing here apart from eat, go to cinema and play in the park!

thank god our next stop was Kaikora! such a gorgeous place on the coast! we chose to stay in this lovely laid back, quiet hospital which had its own thai restaurant and spa pool!! here we swam with dolphins on our 1st day! this experience was something else!! we were in the ocean with 800+ dusky wild dolphins!! they were so playful! we were told to keep eye contact with them and when they swam round you we should follow them!! i did this and swam in a circle for a while and got quite dizzy!! they also loved it when you swam down into the water, but this proved to be quite difficult as the wetsuits were so buoyant! we also had 2 make singing noises through our snorkel because they react to sound quite well!! every1 seems to say that one particular dolphin stuck with them most of the time, which is what i found because i could recognise the scar above his eye!
after rob left us in kaikora to make his way 2 fiji, we went for a walk all along the coastline to visit the seal colony!! there werent many tehre but the ones that were were big and aggressive if you got close!
the next day we went on a mammoth bike ride up and down the coast! wewere in need of some exercise! we really enjoed kaikora! i want to go back to go whale watching as we couldnt afford it this time!
after kaikora, where we left chris, we made our way back up to auckland, stopping off in a few places we had been to before i.e. wellington, taupo and auckland. we didnt do much in those places as we had seen them before!

after celebrating ellie´s 22nd bday in auckland and amy´s last night it was time to say a tearful goodbye to amy as she flew home because she had run out of money! it was so sad to see her leave and i still wake up wondering where she is and thinking there is someone missing! that night we went to a rugby union match - all blacks vs. france! we got to see the hacka which was great!! weird story: sat next to a guy who i found out that he was tryin to get me and amy to come to a toga party when we were in Cairns 6 weeks previously!! only spoke 2 him 4 about 5 mins! such a small world!

i had one of the best times of my life in NZ! its such an untouched country and i want to go back to see a lot more!

next south america!

then there were two..............................

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Photos

Jet Boating in the Bulla Falls
another snazzy outfit!

The Poo pub
The gang in our ridiculous fancy dress outfits!

Snow capped mountains
One of the millions of stunning views New Zealand has to offer

Franz Joseph Glacier
this is what we walked up

Ice walking
tight squeeze!!

Lake Mathisson
perfect mirror image

Lake Wanaka
best rainbow I have ever seen

Lake Wanaka
sunset

Queenstown
view of the lake

Queenstown
some of the gang!

Kaikora
some of the hundreds of dolphins

Kaikora
lazy seal

The Kiwi Bus
This is what we travelled around in for 5 weeks

Nevis
the bungy jump!

Nevis
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh