13th June I had been unsure whether I would like the infamous queenstown (various people had warned me of its being VERY touristy, tacky, full of backpackers and 'spoilt'), but within hours of arriving, I absolutely loved it there! On the shore of lake Wakatipu in stunning landscape nestled at the base of the snow capped mountains of Coronet Peak and the Remarkables ranges, with a lively and very affordable drinking, eating and party-scene, great shops and lots ...

Sat. 5th June, 2010 The capital city of wellington was more likeable than auckland, trumping it hands-down in the cbd aspect, with a much more compact centre, less congested, smaller, and with some nice narrow streets, much more pedestrian-friendly. It didn't have the stunning landscape surrounds of aucklands volcano-peppered gulfs, the view from the lookout was much less impressive and it lost points in that category. I spent two full days in the city, three wo...

Tues 25th May It was with relief that I left the congestion of auckland behind on Wednesday, jumped on the big green Kiwi Experience bus and headed out into the wop wops. Within just a few hours it was easy to see how the guidebooks describe NZ as having a "new photo opportunity around every corner". The landscape is so varied that it is literally every ten minutes that rolling green hills become steep, forested volcanoes, become rocky coastline, becom...

Tuesday 18th May On wednesday 12th may, thirteen months after arriving in australia and fifteen months after leaving home, I flew from Adelaide to Auckland via Melbourne, to embark on the next stage of my trip. My right ear is definitely a bit b*****ed with respect to equalising ever since it squeaked and went weird as I jumped out of the plane at 14,000ft for my skydive. It hurts and feels blocked and takes a lot longer to equalise than the other one, I have to...

Tuesday 11th May 2010 So I have reached the end of my final day in oz. I am a little bit sad because, well, it's Australia and Australia is amazing and whilst I am certain I will come back here one day, I don't know when it's going to be, it could be many many years in the future. I'd like to live here one day but I wouldn't move all the way out here alone, it's just too far from England and from friends and family; I would consider emigrating if I had a partner...