Oh Look, Another Flipping Great Big Beautiful Mountian - must be in New Zealand.

---

Well, I’ve been in the Campervan for almost two weeks now and it’s been the least fun I’ve had since I came away so I’m not really going to write much about it because I don’t really want to go on about it. I will say I’d never agree to do this sort of thing again where I’m in a tiny space with someone I’ve never met before, especially as you can end up with someone you can’t stand. It’s a lesson in life though and hopefully I won’t end up being in this sort of situation again. Anyway, I have done some really cool things in the last two weeks so that‘s what I‘m going to write about.

I saw Mount Cook up close, went right up to the Sir Edmund Hilary Centre, not far from the foot of the mountain. The centre must have cost a fortune because it was really smart and I got a really good cup of tea! You could see the top of Mount Cook, all snow capped and imposing. It was awesome and it looked stunning at the end of the massive lake and it turns out it was really lucky to see the top as people can go 4, 5, 6 times and they still don’t see the top because of clouds and bad weather, so it was brilliant to see it like that and on such a glorious day, all blue skies and now clouds.

I saw some actual real life penguins in Oamaru and stayed with an absolutely lovely couple who couldn’t have been nicer or more hospitable. It’s not really somewhere you’d stop on the tourist trail but it was more than worth it for the penguin spotting and being mothered for a couple of nights!

In Dunedin I had a great time visiting my wwoofing family again. They were really happy to see me and the little girl, Pepa threw herself at me and wouldn’t stop hugging me till I left. It was so nice and it was just really great to catch up with them all again and see how they were getting on. I went to the Cadburys factory and got lots of free chocolate :-) and also the Speights Brewery and got lots of free beer :-D They actually had this really really nice apricot beer that I could get fat on but luckily it was a summer brew so they're stopping it now. I also caught up with Sam and Lal from the Kiwi Bus who were in town and hostled with them one night to get out the van. We hung out the next day and visited the museum in Dunedin which I hadn’t managed to get to in all the time I had already spent there!

After heading south through the Catlins and onto Invercargill there was serious flooding on the route to Milford Sound so I ended up being in Queenstown when Kat, Ella and Dave were all there which was totally awesome. I ended up doing the Nevis Bungy with Dave, which was totally ridiculous and not great for the budget but I am so glad I did it and it was totally brilliant. I did a proper dive again and when I got back up all the guys said I did it like a pro, and I acted all modest but I was well pleased with myself really! Haha! We did the jump is absolutely gorgeous weather but by the time we got back into Queenstown the weather was awful and the lake flooded the water front! It was pretty exciting though. I had a really nice evening with the gang but then had to say goodbye to Ella and Dave who are off again before they head home in a couple of weeks. Very sad to say goodbye to those guys. But I’ll see them again when I get home, hopefully for their wedding - party!

The other day I climbed the Franz Josef Glacier and it was definitely one of the best things I’ve done in New Zealand. Our guide kept telling our group how lucky we were to get such a good day as it had been raining every day for about the last month, it was absolutely horrendous weather the day before in Franz Josef, some of the worst I’ve seen in New Zealand. It was amazing to wake up to such a clear, sunny day where you could see the top of the Glacier and the mountains around it. The climb was amazing and great fun. Our guide was awesome and our group was really good and we ended up going the highest up the glacier of all the groups that day. Some of it was pretty challenging but I totally loved it and had a fantastic time. Very sore legs and feet today though!

I’ve been back to Queenstown and saw Sam and Lal, who I also managed to see in Wanaka on the way up to Franz Josef, once more before they left the south island! I stayed with Kat at her hostel (for free the first night cause she just snuck me in, I love her) and now I’m doing the last four days of my Kiwi bus pass - in Dunedin at the moment (super great bus driver guide today, very informative), down to Invercargill tomorrow then up to Te Anau Thursday and then to Milford Sound and back to Queenstown Friday. I so glad to be on the bus again and finishing my south island pass. It’s great to be properly travelling for a few days. When I get back to Queenstown it will be back to the van again but there will only be two of us so I’m hoping it will be better. Me and Scott will have 8 days in the van and then 5 days together in Hawaii, hopefully we will have a lot more fun than I’ve had in the last two weeks. Got to think positive!

Anyway, that’s all the fun I’ve been having covered. Hopefully much more still to come.

Miss everyone a lot at the moment, hugs please!

Love Char xx

PS It's taken me ages to post this so I've almost finished my bus pass and it's been awesome, but I'll tell you all about it soon!

---