Well, I've arrived in Wellington ready to take the ferry from North Island to South Island. The last fortnight has been on of constantly changing scenery... from the empty beaches of the North to the thermal area of Rotorua and the volcanic landscape of the Tongariro Crossing and the Forest lands in the South. It's been superb and they say South Island is even better!! The highlight so far has to be the 8 hour walk on the Tongariro Crossing which Pete and I did (Janet had a day off!). The scenery was outstanding and constantly changing. The hot shower at the camp site afterwards was particularly refreshing. So far we've camped for free in most places with every second or third day finding a proper site for the necessary shower! The car is proving a successful mode of transport enabling us to get to some more isolated spots that public transport won't achieve. Things seem quieter now that the schools are heading back. Not a bad thing. Had an interesting experience yesterday when we were affected by a number of small earthquakes in the region. The most noticable was located just off the coast about 40 miles from us and measured just over 4 on the Richter scale. A strange experience - just glad it wasn't stronger. South Island Tour about to commence. Hopefully I can make another attempt to meet up with Andy Recce. Keep the messages coming... any news of the Palace and England's S.A. Tour welcomed. Bye for now, Ben.