Well there was a bit of an event leaving Wellington as we'd been out very late the night before and I slept in. When I got down to reception I'd forgotten my pillow case so couldn't check out and had to go back to the room. On my return the bus had left for the ferry! It was still only 6.45am so plenty time for the 5 min taxi ride there but one of the girls thought she was being very useful putting my bags on the bus. Not a problem for the food and inconvenient for the rucksack but she also took the one containing my money, cards, passport, phone, ipod... Luckily my taxi driver agreed to take me in the hope she ahd waited outside the terminal.

On arrival in the South Island it was still raining but as we got towards Nelson the rain stopped and it was just overcast by the time we got to our accommodation on Old Macdonalds Farm! I'm not joking. We had llamas and sheep and chickens (and a very annoying rooster) and although the accommodation was really basic I got a proper bed and there were only three of us in the hut. That night we had green lipped mussels cooked for us by the driver that he'd opicked up from the town famous for them and I booked myself in for a skydive the following day. Unlike last time when I was quite hyped up about it I figured with the way the weather was it wouldn't be on. Even when we went down to the office next morning and they said I could jump in the afternoon I was sceptical so had a remarkably relaxed morning. Had started to clear by lunch and after the half hour drive it was blue skies so this was it!

Watched my safety dvd and decided to go with paying a bit more for my own cameraman who would jump with us and capture every moment. I was in the second plane to go up so we got into our supersexy jumpsuits and harnesses and I did a small piece to camera (check me the roving reporter. On this note I sound so ridiculously Scottish on the dvd and I'm pretty sure I don't sound like that in real life it's very bizarre)before climbing in the tiniest plane I've seen in my life. And there were eight of us crammed in it. Flight up was about 20 minutes of beautiful scenery across the water to one side, the beaches and the mountains in the opposite direction. There were still a few wee fluffy clouds as well. Instructor kept chatting away and I was still being filmed so my mind wasn't really on what I was about to do until they opened the door and a huge gust of air blew in. The other guy jumped first and then it was my turn so we edged out through the hatch and it was then I realised balancing on the side of a plane with your legs flying everywhere at 13,000 feet isn't all that easy. Cameraman was standing on a ledge outside the plane to catch the look on my face and then after rocking back and forwards we were off - somersaulting through the air at 120 mph. After a couple of seconds of spinning and screaming on my part we stabilised and had an incredible 60 seconds of freefall. I have to say I had absolutely no fear, it was just pure adrenaline. Videoed all the way through freefall including lots of spinning about and then there's a great shot of my backside flying up into the air as our parachute opened and we had quite a long parachute down doing some stunt turns which were actually the scariest part and I got to steer us for a while. Landing came far too soon and I literally just skidded along on my arse although it was a fairly fast landing due to the wind.

I was totally hyper for the rest of the day and did a bit of the walk along Abel Tasmen coastal walk while I waited for the others to come back from sailing. We had a campfire going that night and exchanged valentines presents with each other in the manner of a secret santa.

Today we set off for a fairly long day of driving but have stopped quite a few times for ice cream (very important as it was roasting again today) and to see a seal colony, some stunning beaches and seascapes and also pancake rocks and the blow holes. Tonight we're staying in Barrytown - population 40 - where apparently we're having a fancy dress evening and then after a late start and a lie in tomorrow (yay!) we're heading off to Franz Joseph where I'll hopefully be able to do the heli-hike on tuesday if the weather stays like this. Until then... Ax

Left Barrytown and the driver mistakenly gave me the job of DJ for the day courtesay of my ipod. Bad move on his part as anyone who's been subjected to it will know! On our way down to Franz Josef we crossed a lot of single track bridges which are common out here but never before have I shared them with a train!!! We also went over one that's so long it's got passing places. Anyway stopped off at a jade factory in a place called Hokitiki and got to see how they carve it etc and we also stopped at a weird place where they sold lots of possum fur and showed a video about killing them. They'd have animal rights protestors permanently camped outside in the UK I think. Apparently possums are the only animal the WWF say it's okay to kill for fur.

Arrived in Franz Josef and our hostel was pretty nice, staying in a chalet and they had a bar, restaurant, hot tub and sauna on site. Evening entertainment in the bar consists of killer pool and scissor paper stones games. Next morning we were booked up for a heli-hike so I was delighted when I got out of bed to blue skies. We took a helicopter half way up the glacier and then did a two hour hike. Once you got used to the crampons it was easy and we were charging about down steep ice hills but to start with you don't entirely believe they'll hold you. Went down into a blue ice cave which was about ten metres long with lots of steep steps and it was incredible. A lot of the ice up there is a really vivid blue and you can climb through caves, archways and tunnels. As our helicopters reappeared the cloud had started to come in low so I was glad we wern't booked on the last session. Met up with one of the girls I had met in Fiji for dinner which was lovely catching up with her again and then actually managed a relatively early night.

Yesterday we set off to Fox Glacier where we dropped a few people off to skidive at a very ropey looking place which consisted of a shed, a rusty caravan and a plane that looked like it was on it's last legs. Glad I didn't do mine there... then the rest of us went up to Lake Matheson which is known as the mirror lake and you get stunning reflections of snow-capped Mount Cook in the distance and then had an amazing bacon butty at the cafe. We had quite a few scenic stops after that until we got to a place called the Blue Pools and I had to cross a horrendous suspension bridge that had a big sign warning it only held 5 people at any time which filled me wioth confidence and then down to the pools where we were bitten alive by sandflies. Took my camera out and... battery was dead. As lovely as the water was decided I'd had enough bites for one day. That night we stayed at a place called Makarora which consisted of the place we were staying and that was it. They ha a karaoke on that night that no-one was up for until some encouragement from me (I had warned them I managed to clear a pub in Perth before) so I entertained them with Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Reach For The Stars (ciomplete with dance moves) and I Will Survive. Strangely enough I didn't win it.

Today we stopped at Wanaka for more skydiving and a few of us went to a really cool place called Puzzling World which had a two-storey maze and six illusion rooms. One of them was at a steep angle so balls appeared to roll uphill and water flowed up as well. I'm sure it's aimed at children but good fun all the same. We've now arrived in Queenstown where we stopped to watch a couple of people bungy but I'm still not sold on that idea. Have a few fun things booked for tomorrow, think I'm going to be doing a lot of screaming!!! Amy x

Absolutely fell in love with Queenstown. Our first evening we went to Ferburger which is an amazing burger place with queues out the door and a bit of a legend in Queenstown and I have to say it was a struggle but I did manage to finish it! Queenstown is a lot smaller than I expected considering how many activities you can do but it's just lovely. The hostel room I was in was called The Sanctuary and was girls only with a fridge and one of those Hollywood mirrors with all the lightbulbs round it so I don't know how I managed it but I later discovered I'd been given an upgrade and should have paid more. Next morning it was really rainy and I was told my activities might not go ahead but to go back in an hour. Fortunately when I went back they said they would change the order about a bit so first up I went up to the shotover canyon to do the canyon swing. You're attached to a harness 109m above the canyon floor and suspend there before the guy pulls a rope and you freefall 60m and then swing in a 200m arc at the bottom, very close to the rocks. It was so good that I decided to do a second jump but this time I was feeling more daring so did it backwards attached to a plastic chair. You literally just keep leaning backwards til you fall. And whereas the guys were really nice with me the first time as I was nervous this time they were doing the whole not sure if that harness is on right, do you think it'll last another jump and as I starting leaning back in the chair and got to the point of no return he shouted out stop! Evil but so much fun. After that I went down to the shotover jet boat ride and we were absolutely flying through the canyon, inches from the walls and doing 360 degree spins. By this point I was high as a kite and headed back into town where I'd heard the luge rides had been canelled due to weather so I went for my refund and while there said to the girl is there anything else at the top of the gondola ride to do to which she replied bungy. So I thought I'd just go for it. Took the cable car up and the guy that got in with me was also doing it. Incredibly windy going up and when I saw the jump platform swaying about and not looking overly safe I just thought what am I doing!!! There were two people doing a swing first and then the guy jumped - he'd done it loads of times before so did a running dive. At this point I was starting to calculate how much it had cost me in sterling to see if I could justify backing out but before I could make a decision I was being attached to the cord and had to stand on the edge of the platform for my photo which was terrifying. We heard a tree fall in the woods below us which gives you an idea of the wind level. So I stood shaking like a leaf and he said to me if you don't go on the first count you'll find the second one worse so on three I just threw myself off. And screamed. A lot. There was a viewing platform and I could hear everyone cheering when I jumped, it was a really incredible feeling. That evening I went down to meet everyone in the bar and heard my name shouted - it was the two girls I met in the hostel in Auckland who were staying in the same hostel that night. Small world.

Next morning I remembered why it's a bad idea to go out until 3am when you need to be up and ready to get on the bus at 6.30. Suffice to say I slept most of the way to Milford Sound (which took about 6 hours) however I've managed to bag the front seat on this bus so I've got loads of space to stretch out while everyone else is crammed in like sardines. The scenery (when I was awake) was incredible and as it was still raining there were loads of waterfalls tumbling down the hills. The boatride was a couple of hours up the sound and we saw dolphins and seals as well as the scenery and went under a huge waterfall at one point. After that we had another long drive down to Tuatapere which is apparently renowned for it's sausages and I somehow ended up sharing with 5 boys who all snored and farted all night and the light didn't work in our room so we only had a torch.

Anyway this morning we were due to go to Stewart Island but the weather was so bad the ferry was cancelled. Apparently this only happens about 5 days a year so it's typical it would be today. Staying in Invercargill instead which looks pretty nice and the weather is only a light rain now so hopefully it'll continue to clear up. Off to Dunedin tomorrow and Cadbury World! Amy x

Managed to stay in and have an early night in Invercargill and then off to Dunedin. More rain. We stopped at a cove and saw yellow-crested penguins and the smallest, rarest dolphins in the world and then onto a huge waterfall that was pounding down after all the rain. Dunedin is really pretty and bigger than I expected but aside from two buildings I can confirm it doesn't look like Edinburgh! Went on a tour of the Speights Brewery which is still a working one and then out for a pasta meal before heading onto the bar for yet more karaoke! I only made everyone suffer one song this time. We were staying in a dorm room in a hotel that closely resembled the one in The Shining but it was cheap and cheerful. Late start this morning so went up to the octagon for brunch and then to the steepest street in the world before heading back on the "express" (that would be 6 hour) bus to Queenstown where I've got two nights before heading to Christchurch. Plan is for a quiet day tomorrow and sort out my photos and stuff but... you never know! Ax

Well I've had a fairly rubbish last few days. Went out to a pub quiz in Queenstown that we came second in - not bad - and then went on to World Bar where someone generously stole my wallet off me. So I spent my day at the police station, on the phone to the insurance company who were USELESS and trying to get an emergency fund sent through to the bank. Fortunately the girls here have been fantastic and loaned me money and helped as much as possible. But after 5 and a half hours on the phone and 48 hours later (not exactly the immediate transfer I was hoping for) I have money. And Dad has been amazing!!! And apparently cards are getting sent to me within the week. I have to say it's the scariest thing, being at the other side of the world with no money, no cards, and no mobile. But anyway hopefuly that's my world trip catastrophe over and done with and I can relax. In Christchurch just now - trying to relax and save some money until I fly to Oz on Sunday. Had a bit of a bonus today as went to get my photos and videos on dvd and the guy took pity on my story about the wallet and gave me them for free!!! Will hopefully get some uploaded soon, Axxx