Hi all,

We have been really busy over the last few weeks and have been having a great time. We have been really lucky with the weather (except for one extreme downpour),and it has only really felt Autumnal in the last few days!!

We really enjoyed out last bit of time in Auckland with Holly and Chris (and would like to say thanks to them for making it such a great time), it was very sad to leave!

Our first stop on the drive south was in Taupo. This is when the rain started, haha, but we didn't let it spoil our fun. We did a river cruise around the Huka Falls, the largest volume waterfall in New Zealand, and also spent some time around lake Taupo. Then we drove through to Napier, which is a town built entirely on the Art Deco theme of the 1920's and 1930's. An earthquake devastated the place in 1931, hence being rebuilt in the style. We did a self-guided walk (much cheaper) around the town, as well as going to Napier prison, New Zealand's oldest prison, and going to Marine Land park where we both held a little blue penguin!! Our next stop was Wellington. The drive was down great and we passed through some really dramatic landscapes. Sarah's fear of heights was truely tested, and lets just say it is a good job I was driving around the mountains, haha! Driving in New Zealand has been the best way to explore. The things you see are truely beautiful, and it has been a real pleasure. We enjoyed Wellington, and we found it was quite a cheap place to have fun. We went to a huge museum called Te Papa, which had some great stuff in (although I think I may have had enough of museums for a while now). On another day we took a tram to the botanical gardens, very pretty, and also explored a bit more of the city (and shopping). We went to the government buildings as well as an old cathedral. The only bad thing was the hostel. I think it was even worse than the first one we stayed in in Hollywood. The room must have been in minus temperatures!! We slept in about 4 layers (trousers tucked into socks and everything), and stuffed the cracks in the windows to stop the breeze (not even just a draft) with toilet paper, and the bottom of the door with plastic bags. We moved the bed as far from the window as we could and held the curtain in place with our shoes...makes me laugh now though!!

We took the interislander ferry acroos to Picton in the south island. The journey is great, and is like a tourist attraction in itself, and I managed to drive on and off the ferry without falling into the sea!! We headed straight to Nelson, one of my most favourite places so far. It is the sun-trap of the country, so it was like summer all over again. This was also where the best hostel was. We had free hot chocolate pudding and ice cream every night, and it was just a really great place to be. It's the only place I could have actually seen myself staying for a long time. The main thing we did here was visit the Abel Tasman national park. It was amazing. We took a boat cruise along the length of it, where we had a dolphin swimming and jumping along side us (so close that his blow-hole spray got on Sarah) and then got off in one of the bays for our 3 hour hike!! Sarah was a little nervous, due to the height but she did extremely well. We were hundreds of feet up and at points were clambering over wet rocks. Luckily most of the time the height was hidden by trees and bushes, but the swing bridge over the river in the middle was definitely in the open. We got across and continued along the track. It was fantastic, we were exhausted but it some of the most amazing views we have seen. From Nelson we drove to Kaikoura where we did our whale watching boat ride. This was yet another amazing day. The ocean was very bumpy which made the catamaran we were riding on leap across the water, some people were sick, but we didn't think it was too bad. The people who run the trip try to scare you into buying herbal anti-nauseants, but we knew better!! We were lucky enough to have 3 whale sightings, it was magical, especially when the dive back down to show their flukes. We also sailed through a pod of over 200 dusky dolphins who were leaping into the air all around us. It was a fantastic expereince.

Then from Kaikoura, we did our final drive to Christchurch. We have been here for a few days now and have been busy. We have been to the zoo, where there was a baby giraffe born only last week. We have been to several galleries, the botanical gardens and done a few more city walks, and there are several parks to relax in.

We leave for Australia tomorrow, and will be sad to leave. New Zealand is amazing and I can't wait to come back and see some more.

Hope you all are ok, and feel free to leave me/us some messages xxx