Well it seems rather fitting being back in Christchurch where our journey around New Zealand started and what a journey it has been, i will be sad to leave this beautiful country but cant help but be excited as the next part of our travels is creeping up on us around south east asia.

Since i was last on here, we have enjoyed many adventures most of which have been free, some of which i have dipped into my pocket to pay for. We stayed in Queenstown for a few more days and i sampled another Fergerburgur (well it would be rude not to) this time Bombay chicke. I would recommend if your ever passing. The lovely Emma and her friend (an experianced tour guide) took us for a drive around skippers canyon. I have put the pics of this on already. The drive was amzing through the valleys, mountains and lakes to enjoy stunning scenery for no cost at all (Well we did make bangers and mash in return which i think about balances it out) Having stayed with Emma for 4 days (thanks Emma) we gathered she had put up with our squablling and childish humour for long enough and we realised there was more of new zealand to be seen in such a short time so onto Wanaka we drove.

We didnt stay in Wananka over night but went to Puzzling world which blew my mind. They have an outdoor maze you have to work your way through and then an illusions room. It was so much fun. We went in rooms where the water appeared to be running upstream and pool table balls rolled uphill. This was due to then angle the room was at (it was all too much for me to get my head around) then in a room where the heads of historical figures appeared to follow you around the room wherever you stood. My favorite was a room in which there are two doors, one of you walks through one and one the other and to people looking in it looks like one of you is giant and one a midget! I laughed so much when i saw the pics and still do now when i look back through them (they are FB for you to see) So after enjoying puzzling we headed straight for Franz Josef. I had my heart set n doing a Glacier walk but Rob couldnt afford.

Franz Josef Glacier was awesome. I went with a tour guide and we were split into 3 groups of 13 - from 1 - hardcore group to 3 take it easy group - I went in group 2 to be on the safe side. I could only afford the half day tour at a whopping 105 dollars, but they kit you out with boots, jacket, crampons, and pants and stuff if you need em. You get to walk for around 2 hours on the ice both going up and down and it has to be seen to be believed. The ice in parts is pure blue and this as our tour guide explained was because our eyes can only see the blue but there are indigo and purple colours in the ice too that our eyes are not good enough to see. The reason for the strong blue colour in parts is because it is so condensed. I was amazed at how a pair of crampons can make you feel utterly secure when walking over the ice and climbing ice steps that your tour guide digs out for you with a pickaxe as you walk. IT WAS COOL! After my hike and Robs hike we met back up and headed further north to find accomodation as we realised to drive to mount cook meant driving in a circle which would take 9 hours and we didnt have enough time so instead we stumbled accross a weird little town called Ross, it was very "local" and we did nothing there other than sleep and have one beer. (i would have had more but the purse wont allow)

We decided to do the drive through Arthurs pass which is a mountain drive from coast to coast and we were overtaking people as we travelled that were doing a once a year event here called the coast to coast where they Kayak, cycle and walk 250 kilometres in two days (they do it in around 10 hours average - i know there all bloody mad) the drive was pretty specatcular and we stopped off at Arthurs pass village to take a walk to healeys point where the mountains and lakes met big blocks of snow on the ground.

We are now back in Christchurch and we fly from here tomorrow back to Brisbane where we will sleep in the airposrt and fly to Kuala Lumpur in the morning and ill stay and meet Chrsitina in KL airport when she lands (another 5 hour wait) - I am really looking forward to have Tina come and join us both on our travles around Asia. For those of you who know Rob i think ill just have to warn her about him beforehand (sorry Rob you did say this yourself)

Reflecting back on New Zealand i have had the best time. It really is a place to be enjoyed by those of love the out doors, there are lots of free things to do like enjoy the hotsprings, take long walks, enjoy the wildlife and most of all the spectacular scenery. I know that most youngsters like myself come here and do the rafting, kayaking, bungi jumping, and sky diving but i havent, i simply didnt have the funds and realised that those are things i can pay to do back home it really doesnt matter where you do them. But have had the best time just enjoying the free stuff that this great place has to offer. I will really miss New Zealand and could see it being somewhere i would like to visit again in future.

So onwards for me and Asia here i come where everything is cheap and i can stop thinking about the cheapest way to fill myself up by eating bread pasta and crap and look forward to fresh food, and beers for 10pence. I cant wait, so for now its goodbye from me and its goodbye from him.