OK arrived up in the north at a place called - Mt Maurangui. It is a beach resort town about 1.5 hours out from Aukland! We checked intot he hostel - and then with some friends (and the most awful canadian girl) wandered up to the beach and down along it to the mount at the end of the peninsula. Very nice to be on a pure sand beach for a change (all nz beaches thus far have been rock). At the mount we jumped into some natural hot spas and soaked for a while bef...

Wehey - Back in the north Island. I hope Wellington is more fun than the last time I came through here. We got into the hostel and then pretty much headed straight out to meet some friends for a drink. Guess what - It is guy fawlkes night!! and they really celebrate it here too, The Pub we were going to was on the harbour and it just so happened that they were putting on a big fireworks display there as well so the whole place was really alive. Kinda wierd to see...

Finsally reached Chrsitchurch at noon and went straight out hunting for some pieces to finish my fancy dress custome for the halloween party in Base tonight. I went with Rachael who needed to source an entire costume. We checked out cathedral sq and watched the giant chess being played - then started with the shops. C'church is a huge city (perhaps the largest in the south with 400,000) and a good shopping centre. Blown away by the friendliness of everyone. It...

The trip from Nelson to Greymouth was pretty long. We go picked up at about 8am and didnt get to Greymouth til 5pm! We made a stop on a coastal area famous for its pancake rocks (Scientists still not sure how these are formed) Got some great pics of them to study at home in my own time (Discover how it is done then become famous) My hostel in Greymouth is the imaginatuively named "Noahs Ark" where each room is themed on an animal. I got the Panda room...

Well finally on the south Island. The ferry accross was quite fun. 3 Hours but relatively smooth. The next stop was Nelson which pretty much is a 2 street town - and follows the trend of being a ghost town after 9pm! Due to the bus scheduling I had to stay here 2 days. The first night was pretty fun - exploring the great choice of bars (3 in total) playing pool and then fussball in our hostel. The hostel itself was great. Free movies, free popcorn, free fussball,...