Queenstown - Captain Cook named this place because he felt it was "fit for a Queen" - well it's fit for alot of backpackers too!

Queenstown has truly breathtaking scenery around Lake Wakatipu with the Remarkables mountain range - the view from Bob's Peak which is accessed by a Skyline Gondola is awesome! I wish I could use a better choice of words - how about I put it simply - I love New Zealand! ! Queenstowns reputation as the 'Adventure Capital of the World' is well earned and I'm sure many a packpackers budget has been hammered into non-existence in pursuit of its many activities! Pretty much everyone is aware that 'Bungy' refers to the act of throwing yourself off a bridge or platform high above the ground with your legs attached by a single rubber band. Twenty three kilometres from Queenstown is the original bungy at Kawarau Bridge. When I planned my journey I booked one bungy jump - the biggest - (well why do things by half?) but decided I needed a warm up ..ie Kawarau Bridge! Then I found out I could do 3 (The Thrillogy) for the same price! Happy days! Kawarau Bridge was 43 metres high and I got a dunking into the river below and rescue from hanging in mid air came in the form of a dingy. No problem. A few days later after a 35 minute ride from Queenstown, including a 4 wheel drive through a high country sheep station, I was all harnessed up for The Nevis - the big one! The jump station was suspended between two hills, with several thick steel cables. To get out to it, I had to take a short trip in a small cable car. From here I leapt 134 metres (in 8 seconds) down towards the Nevis River along below!. Crazy!! What a shot of adreneline! Next up was the ledge at 47 metres and for some reason I had to jump backwards off this one!

I took a day trip through Milford Sound. In Maori legend, the fiords were created not by rivers of ice, but by Tu Te Raki Whanoa, a godly figure who came wielding a magical adze and uttering incantations. (it seems a fair few places were first named incorrectly but were never changed - let's face it Milford Fiords doesn't quite have the same ring!) It is accessed via the Milford Road (funnily enough) and the Homer Tunnel takes you through a mountain linking up with a boat cruise deep into the fjord out to the open sea. It's one of the wettestplaces in the world and stuning in the rain - needless to say it was dry went I went! I took a boat trip through Milford Sound leading to the Tasman Sea.

Traveling on from Queenstown road through Invercargill (famous for the The Worlds Fastest Indian) I got to see yellow eyed penquins, hectors dolphins, Sea lions, seals and a 180 million year old petrified forest (that's fossilized and not scared!) on the way to Dunedin. One night way enough in rainy Dunedin where I made a pore choice on a hostel but hey, it was only for a night.( like I care where I sleep these days!)