Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you're all having a lovely festive season back home and the weather isn't too bad.

It's been a while since our last update and we've been through a few countries since then. From Siem Reap in Cambodia we took the epicly long boat ride down to Battambang where the highlight was riding the "bamboo train', literally a plank of wood on some wheels. It goes ridiculously fast along the warped old railway lines and as there's only one track has to be dismantled everytime something comes in the opposite direction, pretty crazy and stupidly dangerous.

We then took the bus to Bangkok which was too hot and full of people trying to scam us in every concievable way. Saw the awesome Royal Palace and Wat Pho temple though and took a cool boat ride around the canals (which we may have been ripped off for).

Said goodbye to our travelling companions Neil and Ali as they flew back home and we flew on to Australia. Spent a few days in Melbourne with family - Justin, Emma, Arthur and Isabella which was lovely. We were spoilt with delicious food, a comfy bed and a reliably hot shower. It was all very relaxing and normal for a change. Next stop was Sydney where we stayed with a friend Mandy who looked after us very well. Had a brilliant day exploring various beaches (including Summer Bay off of Home and Away) and doing some more chilling out in her amazing apartment on Sydney Harbour and she even bought us some English chocolate bars.

We flew to Queenstown, New Zealand on the 12th December and met up with my parents, great to see them. Hung out in Queenstown for a few days eating a lot, playing frisbee golf and luge-ing down a mountain then spent 5 days hiking the incredible Milford Track. It was a spectacular walk although very tiring and in pretty testing weather conditions! Made it the whole 33 and a half miles to Milford Sound, where we were rewarded with the best view from a hotel room we've ever had.

Drove up to Nelson where Mum and Dad are living for six months and have been exploring the local area a bit. We've had the traditional Christmas lunch today although we did go for a walk along the beach this afternoon, very weird for Christmas Day! Had a BBQ for Christmas Eve and are planning a picnic down on the beach for Boxing Day tomorrow. For some reason, Katie and I are then doing another three day hike up the coast of the Abel Tasman National Park. Hopefully it should be a stunning walk.

Have a great Christmas and New Year,

Matt and Katie