SUNDAY 17TH JUNE - SUNDAY 24TH JUNE 2007

SUNDAY - Had a wander around Queenstown which is a lot samller than we anticipated. Planned on walking up the mountain to go on the Luge but the ride was closed for maintenance so we passed. Met up with Amy & Joe (who we met on a trip in Oz)and drank in our hostel just catching up really. They've started snowboarding & have talked us into it so we're gonna give it a go later in the week. Gaz & joe hit town with 2americans later in the night but amy didnt want to go out so i stayed in too unfortunately!

MONDAY - Did practically nothing today except walk around town. After our night with Amy & Joe we decided to give snowboarding a go & went about sorting it out. Booked our lessons, lift passes & hire-equipment & came out of the shop with a lot lighter wallets! We then went & booked our day trip to Milford sound so wallets were practically empty then Gaz booked to do a bungy jump too so pretty expensive day considering we didnt do anything!

TUESDAY - up early doors to catch the bus upto Coronet Peak to start some snowbaording! Got geared up & had our first lesson of the day which was in want of another word - interesting! Balance is key & well...i lacked it. was OK getting up & remaining still whereas Gareth had problems getting on his feet. When it came to boarding down the slope Gaz got it quicker then me though although we both had our fair share of falls! Ater a 1 & a half hour lesson we were left to our own devices to practices during which time we both got the hang of it & so by the 2nd lesson in the afternoon we were much better. Then things went downhill for me in particular. During the 1st lesson we'dlearnt to board by resting on our heels but this time we had to practice on our toes & i could not get the hang of it even after the lesson had finished i was struggling. Gaz got it so-so but we definitely (spelt correct this time Cliff!) needed more practice. Spent the whole day on the slopes so by the time we finally arrived home we didn't want to do much else!

WEDNESDAY - woke with aching muscles but determined to master boarding so set off again for the peak. we had no lesson today but set off on the beginner slopes to master our technique which is definitely coming along! after lunch we headed off to the bigger slopes. Had a wicked day & can safely say we both love snowboarding & will be heading to rossendale when we return to do some more! Got home a little bashed & bruised but still suoer smiley after having an awesome day. To clarify (as is Gaz's wish), he was probably the better boarder in terms of technique but watch this space! Got back from boarding to bump into Joe & Amy to find Amy's wrist is actually fractured! So we were pretty good at boarding after all lol!

THURSDAY - Went on a coach trip to Milford Sound today which are huge rock crops formed from ice cutting through & forming a valley & then the sea rising. It was quite impressive & reminded us a bit of Halong Bay in Vietnam (except for the snow of course). The ride down although it took 4hours was good too. We stopped off at the mirror lakes (pretty self-explanatory) & then at a chasm which was rocks that had lots of funky shapes cut in them through the waterfalls erosion. The scenery on the drive down was awesome too as it was snowing quite heavily which made it a bit magical. Gaz was like a kid at christmas! When we eventually got to Milford we went on a mini-cruise around the area which in spite of the weather was actually quite lovely. Come the end of the day & time to go home the driver worried us as the roads had been closed earlier in the day because of the snow. luckily they had reopened but it took us forever to get back 'cause we had to drive some of the way with chains on the wheels.

FRIDAY - Gaz was booked to do his 134m high bungy jump today but it was cancelled because of the weather. all the roads into queenstown were closed too so no buses were running & no deliveries could be made - so no bread & milk! dilemma! Couldn't really do much else so we had to sit in watching videos with Gaz constantly complaining that he didn't come half way across the world to watch videos - too true! Went out with Amy & Joe at night for a few drinks & then a few more! We were all more than a little worse for wear but had a wicked night - all the bars have big log fires in them so we were warm & drunk - what more could you want!

SATURDAY - woke up feeling like death - none of it self-inflicted of course & thought the day would be a write off the state Gaz is uysually in after a big one but it wasn't. we went to watch the parade which had been cancelled too so walked up the mountain instead. Was a really steep walk but enjoyed ourselves as it was snowing quite heavily & we had snowball fights like the adults we are haha! the views from the top were amazing but the camera couldn't capture it because of all the mist! Popped into amy & joes campervan for a brew & chilled with them till bed time.