Hello from New Zealand!!!

This will be a much shorter blog dont worry! we have now arrived in new zealand after a wonderful last week in oz. we spent more time exploring the city and meeting up with friends. Caddy joined us from taz for a day and showed us round the more upmarket sights of melbourne after treating us to a fabulous lunch! and with shiv we enjoyed some more fabulous coffee and cake!! and then on friday we had the joined the wainwright family on their weekly trip to the footie!!it was a bit of a special game with a breat cancer charity fundraiser beforehand as part of which we donned pick ponchos and made our way onto the hallowed turf of the MCG (melbourne cricket ground) and created the form of a lady alone side 5000 other women. as we all held up our pink flashing bike lights and the flood lights went off it did create quite a spectacular effect! it was something really special to be part of, and now i can say that i have touched that precious turf!! after this we went up to the stands to watch, due to the rain a fairly sloppy and messy game of aussie rules, in which the western bulldogs (ashleas team) only just won! not good!! i did actually understand what was going on and it is a very athletic and impressive game, if chaotic and lacking any seeming form or fluidity- definitely still a rugby fan! :) but it was great fun to be there and see the women that we were surrounded by get very passionate about the game! the really striking thing about being there was the amount of women that were there as well. i realise that it was just after a fundraiser about breat cancer but apparently its like that every week, hense holding a female oriantated event at the footie, a thing it would never have occured to me to do!!

When the footie was over emily, ashlea and i again headed out in the car, this time east of melbourne and to torquay and the head of the great ocean road!! On saturday mornign we woke in ashleas aunts caravan and headed out, along the great ocean road, to the 12 aposltes. it was a beautiful drive. the coast line was stunning, with jagged cliffs being hit by incredible waves, and when we cut inland we were surrounded but incredible forest. we hit the 12 apostles around lunch time. the rain had held off but it was windy and cloudy, but it made tham no less impressive! there are only now 8 of the 12 apostles standing and u can easily see why. the force with which the sea was hitting the roack was impressive and this was not on a stormy day. the visibly soft rock didnt stand a chance! we then headed to port campbell for lunch- and some incredible fish and chips!! with the grey skys, the now drizzling rain and good fish and chips i was begining to feel right at home, and with a trip that afternoon to johanna beach, yup Johanna beach!! i was beginning to feel like i belonged!! :D johanna beach was a lovely beach, incredible surf, lovely sand, but u couldnt swim and there was a lil too much seaweed but im not complaining- i have my own beach!! :D we spent the afternoon slowly driving back along the coast heading into the ottway rainforest and stopping at different points to take photos, spotting koalas and listening to good music!! we got back to torquay feeling only a little queezy from the wind roads, but having had an incredible day see more of beautiful australia! sunday was filled with more beaches, heading off first thing to bells beach where they hold surfing competitions in order to watch, well, surfing, and it didnt disappoint!! they were the biggest, longest, cleanest waves i have ever seen! barrelling properly and being carved up by some incredible surfers it was awesome to see! we then headed to the township of queescliff for a little wander round and some more coffee and some more views of beaches! i think by this stage ashlea was definitley bored of beaches but was patient with our desire to see lots and lots of lovely aussie beaches!! she entertained us brilliantly!! we were very happy!

We then headed to shivs house as she was putting us up that night because of our early flight the next morning and it taking half the time to get into town from her house. so we said our goodbyes to ashlea, who with her family, were incredible hosts and looked after us brilliantly!! we are sooo thankful too them, and i am definitely getting her mums recipe for chocolate pavlova when im home- incredible!!! we spent the evening with shiv and her husband jeremy and that was really lovely also. we enjoyed lots of cups of tea, good food, and good conversation, before heading early to bed for our early rise the next day.

And now here we are in new zealand, 11 hours ahead of all u guys at home, the other side of the world, but in one of the places that feels most like home so far! christchurch immediately feels comfortable and relaxing. it is a small town of a city, so has a feel of durham about it, and with wide streets and parks it is lovely!! i cant wait to explore more tomorrow!

so all is well here and i cant wait to hit the road and explore more of new zealand! so much love and keep in touch!! x x x x