New Zealand

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I arrived into Christchurch to start with and to my suprise bumped into someone on the same flight who i originally met in Byron Bay. After an overnight stay there i took the TransAlpine train across to Greymouth on the west coast. The journey was great and the train journey apparently ranks within the top ten scenic train journeys in the world....i can see why. After another overnight stop i took the bus south to the Franz Josef Glacier where i did a full day glacier walk. The scenery along the way was spectacular and like nothing i have ever seen before. There were a few ice caves that were a brilliant shade of icy blue and you were able to walk through them so i was able to get some great photos. From there i went to Queenstown and it was here that i tried snowboarding for the first time. I fell over many times but by the end i was able to turn a few corners. In Queenstown i also made a lot of new friends...i think all in all there were about 15 of us so we did lots of partying and we all had loads of fun together...it was really sad having to say goodbye but thats how it goes all the time when you travel. From Queenstown i went on a day trip to Milford Sound which is one of the places they filmed lord of the rings. For the entire journey there the scenery was very impressive particularly with the mountains covered with a dusting of snow. At one point the bus had to pass through an avalanche zone which is renowned as being one of the most dangerous avalance zones in the world....thankfully the area is monitored closely by officials and they normally cause an avalanche if they notice any potential risk.
From Queenstown i went to the south east coast (The Catlins) to do some wildlife spotting and saw some very rare yellow-eyed penguins, some sea lions and a seal thrashing a fish around in the water. It was certainly a treat to see the penguins because they are extemely rare with only a few thousand left in the world. After the Catlins i went north back to Christchurch (stopping at lake Tekapo overnight) then headed up to the north island (stopping overnight at Kaikora to do some whale watching that ended up being cancelled!).
When i arrived in Wellington i met up with some old friends from Manchester and they invited me to stay overnight which was great. It was so good to be back in a home environment for a change! After Wellington i stayed overnight in Napier (a town which was devistated by an earthquake back in the 1920's. The town had to be rebuilt and many of the buildings were built in an art deco style.)
At the moment i am in Rotorua which is where the earths crust is at its thinnest. The air smells of sulpur and there is sulphurous steam rising from the ground around the town. This afternoon i am off to Mount Mungunai for the night then its off to Auckland via the Waitomo glow worm caves. Can't believe that i am going to be flying to Santiago on 18th (i am really excited about exploring south america)

New Zealand is a beautiful country, although i have to admit that many parts of it are very similar to places on the Island and in parts of the UK. The people i have met along the way have really made the experience memorable and i only hope that i will see them again.

Next stop...South America

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