hiya again everyone, sorry its been so long but we ahve been really busy the last 2 and a half weeks. we landed in christchurch on 26th aug and spent two nights there, including a trip to a place called hanmer springs. we bathed in some sulphur pools which were 40*C, it was pretty amazing. it was weird as we were sat in these really hot pools yet were surrounded by snow capped mountains. from christchurch we headed to queenstown, adventure capital of the world. the drive down there was awsome. we stopped and some of the lakes and did a bit of tramping (what they call hiking). whilst in queenstown we did a day of snowboarding which was cool and also did jet boating. this involved tearing down the shotover river at 80kmph and doing 360* turns. it was pretty cool!! we also did a day trip to a place called milford sound which was beautiful and has a huge mountain called mitre peak. there was waterfalls everywhere and we saw penguins and seals. also went to an underwater observatory there which was cool, felt like we were in a sub!! on one of our nights we went to the minus 5 bar, which im sure you can guess from the name what it was. everything was made of ice, the bar, the glasses and even the walls. it all came complete with ice sculputures. we met a couple called ellie and mike and went for a meal with them afterwards, which was nice. from queenstown we headed up the west coast toward franz josef glacier. the view of the two glaciers was really cool as have never seen anything like that before. we couldnt do the hike though due to the rain which is disappointing, but we ahve vowed to return in the summer and do it. we did a couple of the walking tracks and just chilled out a bit here. from there we went further north until we reached westport, not a very ncie place to be honest as there was nothing to do, but a good stop to get our heads down after hours of driving. on the way we stopped off at a place called punakiki to see the blowholes and pancakes rocks that are crated by the tide coming in and out. the walk was lovely until we got soaked, its a good job we bought those waterproof jackets in melbourne. from here we carried onto westport itself and spent the night but not before taking a trip to look at the seal colony that live on the rocks near there. there were loads of them, it was so cool to see them in their natural environment. would just like to point out to anyone who has looked at our pics, that the bird is not in fact a kiwi, mike got it wrong and now i look stupid cause i out it down, doh !!! after spending the night in westport we drove to nelson. the weather was pretty naff, alot like home to be honest so we didnt do much. did a bit of walking and playd monoploy, oooo arnt we living dangerously, would just like to add i beat mike twice. from nelson we went to picton and stayed in a lovely hostel, and then something strange happened. as we walked ito reception we saw a couple who we met 4 months ago in china and havnt seen since, we were put in the same room, we just thought it was odd. spent some time looking around the town and did some more walks. on saturday 9th september we left by ferry to croos to the north island. to sum up the south island we have had a wkd time and it is by far te most beautiful country we have been to. it was a sheer pleasure to drive around ad the scenery has been amazing, the only down side was the weather. the ferry journey was cool, we saw dolphins following the boat. it took 3 hours, and then we picked up our car from the terminal. we headed in to the city and looked for a hostel. we tried one place but mike said it was vile, so we tried base, which we saw in oz and were really nice. this one was different though we looked at a room and it was ok so decided to stay there. however we got put in a much smaller room with a freak, who put wet clothes to dry on my bed, so my bed got soaked and then kept opening the window even though it was freezing. at 1 am on sunday i went and asked to change room so we got a dorm to ourselves. however we both hatedthe place so much that we decided to leave the next day even though i had paid for the next night. so i drove 5 hours to get to napier. hostel was ok people a bit strange and the weather was awful. we thought 'oh my god can we deal with this weather for another 3 weeks' and then a miracle. we got up on monday and drove to taupo and finally sunshine!!!!! we have been here onyl one nigth and already love the place. yesterday we went to a place called huka falls which was pretty amazing,hopefully will get chance to put the pics on soon. then we went to this thermal palce where steam was pouring out of the ground, nice but it stunk of egg. today we drove to the tongariro national park which has 3 volcanoes. one of them was used at mt doom in lord of the rings, cant spell the name so will make sure its on my pics. we did a walk right near to one of them which was pretty cool. thats all weve done so far. we are going to a maori cultural expreience tomorrow nigth and then white water rafting on thursday, woo hoo !!!! cant wait. anyway speak to you all soon. love claire xx p.s there really are millions of sheep, we think wales in bad, every corner just shows more sheep.