On the second day in Franz Josef we did a hike on Franz Josef glacier. This was pretty tough and for a full day. We left the hostel at 9am and didn't get back until 6pm. It was a great day though. Took about 1.5 hrs to get to the base of the glacier and then put on 'clampons' (metal spikes that attach to your shoes so you can walk on the ice). After about an hour we stopped and the guide said he found a new ice tunnel that morning and asked if we wanted to climb through it. It was about 10 metres long. It was only big enough to just fit a normal sized person in, if you went in hands first. I didn't think I'd get in at first but managed to climb through it. Wouldn't advise it for those scarred of small spaces! Then went up the glacier and got some pics. There was a big downpour so we started to go back. Everyone was drenched but great day.

The following day we set off to Lake Wanaka. The drive between Franz Josef and Wanaka is spectacular. Stopped off to look at Lake Matheson and got a great reflection of the mountains in the lake. We signed to do a sky dive over Lake Wanaka so as soon as we arrived at the hotel we dropped off our stuff and got picked up for the dive! The dive was from 15,000 ft and was amazing. Can't really describe it, but it was brilliant. Weather was ideal and we got a great view for miles. I bought the pictures and DVD.

The next day we left for Queenstown which is the adventure capital of NZ. Everything is quite expensive to do so I have settled for one bungy jump on Wednesday. It's called the Nevis and is 135m with an 8 second freefall!! We're all a bit nervous but we are reassured by the company 100% safety record! We stopped off to look at some people doing the bridge bungy at Kuwara Bridge, which is about 1/3 of the size. I'll let you know how it goes.

Yesterday 6 of us went on the gondola in Queenstown. The views from the top are incredible. NZ is definitely the place to come for spectacular views and mountains! At the top we did luging, which is like go-carting but without any engines because it's straight downhill. You can get some speed anyway! Good fun. Also saw a few helicopters landing that were taking people on sight-seeing tours. They do everything here (like canyon swinging, paragliding, white water rafting) but at a price!

Went out last night to The World in Queenstown. They serve drinks in teapots, so I had to give one of those a go. On the way back to the hostel we had a famous Fergburger before going to bed. Just relaxing today ahead of the big jump tomorrow!