Aha! Another blog I hear you cry (... real tears an' all!)

New Zealand. The poor brother to Australia - well, not really! Some people have told us it's a lot colder in New Zealand - much like the weather in England. This week has been evidence to the contrary. Christchurch was lovely and warm the two days we were there and Queenstown was 30 degrees today. There was a bit of rain on Friday - I had to explain to the locals what it was - but it looks like it's going to hold for us. That's a big whoops.

Leaving the passports at the airport wasn't the best of starts but we won't dwell on that. :-) The scenery however, even around Christchurch, is breathtaking. Words and even photos don't do it justice! Believe me, I've tried with about 400 different shots of the same lake! Good luck going through them when we get home.

We stayed in a hostel on the shores of Lake Tekapo last night. The location and views were pretty awesome! That was overshadowed by the fact that we had to sleep in a dorm rather than a private bedroom though. It was only a small dorm of 6 but Lauren was NOT pleased! I didn't think it was too bad because we were sharing it with 4 mute Chinese people but Lauren was convinced the guy in the bunk below her had epilepsy and had 10 fits in the night. Luckily I can sleep through a brass band at an airport so I didn't hear a dicky-bo! Lauren only got 6 hours sleep - not even close to her normal 16.

We checked out Mount Cook, or Aoraki as the Maori call it, on our way to Queenstown today. Now that's a big 'hill'. There's a book at the visitor centre that holds a record of all of the lives that have perished on the mountain - around 120. It's quite a challenge we're told. It turns out, it's a mere 12,000 or so feet in height. Less than half the size of Everest!

We arrived in Queenstown this afternoon and checked out the bungee jumps! I've already decided which one I'm going to do first. It's the original bungee jump - the place where it was invented. 'Cited! I'm trying to convince Loz to jump with me. I've got about as much chance as pushing s*** up a hill with a rubber fork! She does seem quite keen on white-water rafting though so that's a bonus. Our "hostel" for tonight in Queenstown, booked on Hostelworld.com, is not really a hostel at all. It's definitely a hotel (with 2 double beds and a room that could fit the MCC inside) and we appear to be the only inhabitants! Spooky! Oh no ... as I write this, I can see 3 coach-loads of Chinese people piling off and invading the lobby. Hopefully, they won't be asking to share our room this time.

Milford Sound tomorrow for a cruise.

How is lovely Harwich? Is March blossoming?!

Love and stuff. xxx