Arrived into Christchuch on the 22nd May, it was so wierd to arrive there, it really felt like being back at home. It has been voted the most English city out of England so it was hardly suprising I guess. I didn't get up to that much the first couple of days except stock up on warm clothing, it was absolutely freezing! There isn't that much to do in Christchurch (that I could find anyway), but went up in the gondola for the view over Christchurch which would have been stunning but half way up the cloud came down so we could only see a couple of metres infront of us! My luck with the weather continued, as I left Christchurch on the Kiwi Experience for Kaikoura. Kaikoura is meant ot be amazing for going swimming with dolphins and whale watching. I had my heart set on the dolphin swimming but unfortunately the weather wasn't good enough, the dusky dolphins had all disappeared apparently! - wildlife for you! I carried on around South Island, heading to Nelson and Westport on the way to Lake Mahinapu. The scenery on the south island is amazing, so much grenery, waterfalls and lakes. The driver kept on pointing out Lord of the Rings sets, so definitely going to have to do the marathon when I get home! At Lake Mahinapu, the Kiwi bus stops at the Pu pub, which is a pub in the middle of nowhere, here you have a fancy dress party. The theme for ours was Rugby, as there was a big Oz rugby game as. In the end three girls and I decided to go as Rug-Bees - with rugs on our heads and in bee costumes. We thought we'd come up a really original idea but when we turned up two other guys did exactly the same! It went down well but we couldn't really compete with the rugby posts and pitch!! From Lake Maniapu we continued to Franz Josef Glacier which has to be my highlight of the south island. We turned up at the glacier office in the morning bright and early all ready for the hike and to be given all the equipment. We'd been told the day before that it was best to do it in shorts and that we'd be give over trousers. Molly and I turned up in our shorts as told, we got given boots and an anorak but no overtrousers came! - so we ended up hiking on the glacier in our shorts!! To get the glacier we had to walk for about an hour, and then when we got there we put on ice talons for "superior grip" we then started the climb. The start of the climb was all steps so wasn't that bad, there were ropes to hold on to. At the top of the step section is where all the groups go their own way. Franz Josef glacier is constantly changing, it moves around 3 - 4 metres daily so each day with the guides the route is new. We began the hike with our guide cutting steps with his ice axe when required. We got to an ice cave where we had our picture taken before heading back to the other side of the glacier. At time it was pretty scary because there were cravasses either side of you that you couldn't see the bottom of. After our second 10 minute break of the day we started on the hardest bit of the walk. At this point there were 3 groups of us in tow. As our group was the last we were stood in a cravass for what seemed like ages absolutely freezing wondering what was going on, as we turned the corner we realised. There was basically just a huge cravass which must have had edges that were at least 4 metres high, the guides had dug steps down into the cravass and then up the other side, they had also attached a rope to the ice so we could drag ourselves up. As only one person could go at a time, there were a good 25 people ahead of us. Eventually it was our turn and we all managed to get up the side of the cravass quite easily, it was just when it came to the getting down that the fun began! By this time it was getting late so the guides were rushing us so we could get of the glacier in daylight. The way down was steeper than the way up and after a couple of steps on the way down you had to do the splits to the other side of the cravass, then do a hopscotch motion with your legs to get your feet in position to get to the bottom of the cravass. I began the section clinging onto the rope for dear life when my hands slipped a couple of feet and I was left dangling! There wasnt that much the guide could do considering my feet were higher than his head! - I eventually managed to get my feet onto some sort of step and complete the split manoeuvre but it was by no means perfect!! After the near death experience it was time to get off the glacier, we all sped walked off the glacier and eventually got off as it was just getting dark! You would have thought that was the end of the excitement for one day but unfortunately not. As we still had an hour walk back to where the bus picked us up we continued on ahead after taking our ice talons off. At one section on the way back there is a ladder to go down, which is a good couple of metres, our guide complete missed the ladder and went off the side of the cliff rolling another couple of metres before stopping. We were all just stood at the top in complete disbelief, before he stood up shook himself off and shouted to hold onto the rope before telling us that he may have broken his arm. We eventually got back to the hostel about 7.30 after a completely shattering day but it was so much fun! The next day still absolutely shattered we were on the bus again to head to Wanaka. Wanaka is a really nice ski like resort surrounding Lake Wanaka. I didn't get up to much there because the ski season hadnt started and I was still recovering from the glacier hike! After Wanaka we headed to Queenstown which has to be the party capital of the South Island if not the whole of New Zealand! It's once again surrounding a lake and there's millions of adrenalin actiivities to do. Somehow I ended up doing a bungy jump, the K Bridge which is the original bungy site and stands at 43m over water. It was quite terrifying, edging towards the edge has to be the worst bit. The countdown wasn't that bad but I did jump on about 1 and a half just to ensure I jumped! - I could see myself still standing there at 3!! It was cool fun and I'm so glad I did it but I didn't get as much of a rush from it as I did from the sky dive! We ended up spending a six days in Queenstown, not doing much but reliving freshers week at University. It was all just one big party, but we had a great time. One day we did manage to play indoor mini golf which has to be the craziest thing ever, there were ski lifts, and gondolas that moved your ball around the course - all very good fun. We also ventured up in the gondola for the view over Queenstown which was good but once again the weather wasn't the best! After 6 days in Queenstown we decided to leave and headed south to Dunedin and then around the coast at the bottom to chill for a couple of days. The highlight of that section of the trip has to be the farm where I got a go at sheep shearing - even have pictures to prove it! It's not as easy at it looked, the shaver is constantly vibrating the whole time and I was being almost too careful - I really didn't want to hurt the sheep! The guy told me that I wasn't a natural so I don't think I've found my calling! On the last day of our south bound trip we headed to Milford Sounds which is just stunning scenery. We went out on a ferry for a couple of hours, but being our luck the weather wasn't the best, we see millions of waterfalls though and it was still really pretty given the more than favourable conditions. After Milford it was back to Queenstown for one night only, long enough to party before heading up to Christchurch. That night in Christchurch (well the following morning) was the first England match so we all went to the pub to watch it. Not the best match, but we all had a really good time and eventually go to bed in the morning! New Zealand is probably the worst country to watch the football in - 1, 4 or 7am kick offs! That's about all from South Island, currently on the north island but I'll update the rest of this when I've got something to say!