hey hey!! just arrived in a place called franz josef and staying in a place called the rainforest retreat - thats exactly what it is!! surrounded by temperate rainforest and hills, mountains and a glacier!! absolutely stunning!!! ive had a fab few days since i last updated this...met some amazing people in the hostel in christchurch. have stayed together for a few days and looking to travel the rest of NZ with them too. we 're like a proper little unit!! ha! feeling the love! definately having a laugh and got some great plans over the next few days...we started our kiwi experience on the bus out of christchurch and are slowly travelling the south island at the moment. we skiied mount hutt and had a fab time stuck at the top of the mountain on my new found feet!!! ; ) loved it though and plan to do more of that...we stayed in a place called mahinapua last night - a little 'poo pub' in the middle of nowhere - theres about 24 of us on the bus and we had a fancy dress night with the theme of 'steve irwin' - R.I.P!!! im booked in for a heli hike tomorrow which involves a helicopter flight over the glacier and a 3hour walk on it before flying back over it again! cant wait (sorry dad - i'll take pics of the helicopter!!) and on sunday - mum dont read this bit - i am booked onto a flight to take me 12 000 ft into the air at which point im jumping out of it - yep, im finally getting to do a sky dive! woohoo! ; ) i'll be fine mum, i promise!!! ; ) moving onto queenstown early next week to do more skiing and a bit more fun! and then slowly up to the north island...im in my 4th week of travels now and i can honestly say this is the best thing i have ever done! i love every single second and have no regrets about choosing to do this...already met some amazing people and everyone has a story to tell...the way of life is fab - everyone is doing the same kind of trips and all in the same boat so the levels of friendliness and conversation are astounding! feel the love! ha! ; ) i cant wait to see some more of new zealand...its a beautiful country with fab people and stunning scenery. definately 1940's england!! i hope all is great on that side of the world, and im thinking of you all. incase you were wondering...the water does go the wrong way down the plug hole here!! ; ) take care and speak soon...Georgie x x x