we're here in sunny new zealand wearing our hats, gloves and coats (with the heater on every night!) Spent the last 6 weeks travelling round both island in our camper van Baabaa. Last time we wrote we were heading off to do a paraglide. After bungy jumping, jet boating, paragliding adn ice gliding, we've got around to saying we're alive. The unfortunate incident between us and the sheep lead to the bigger one winning...we had beautiful lamb chops for dinner, however possoms do not mix well with salad!!

We laid eggs at Shag point on the east coast and had pancake rocks on the west coast. Went in search of hobbits in Milford sounds but only found seals, hobbits were to be found later in our trip in Mattamatta.

Yellow-eyed penguins do not exit in any of the MANY tourist places they tell you. however we did track one down in curio bay and the back of our cheese packet.

we saw dolphins at bluff point..or am i bluffing?? you'll have to find out yourself! however our search for whales only happen at night time and there's always 2 found in our camper.

Farewell spit is a beautiful isolated place...undulating sand dunes which take forever to cross from one side to the other. try to find your way out...you can't. couple of hours later we made it back, hungry and sunburnt. only joking - no sun for us other than harriet's yellow jacket!!

After a beautiful, relaxing crossing from Picton to Wellington - Katie's seat was strategically placed in the bathroom with a view to the deep blue...toilet. the torrential rain and flooding continued to foolow us all the way up the east coast but thankfully we missed the tornadoes adn earthquakes - tis true!

we came in land insearch of glowworms. all we found were caves full of maggots with flourcesent poo - still pretty though. as went through the rapids Katie went under, crawling around in the mud is supposed to be theraputic...but we now see why you need to wear a helmet - the over hanging rocks and hobbit sized caves!

followed our noses to the beautiful aroma that is Rotorua. it's not not boiling mud as we got told by the guide - just very hot mud at 98 degrees...had the most interesting guided tour of the museum which resulted in the purchase of wine on the way home! but all in all we enjoyed our time in Rotorua.

Having worked our way up the east of from the Bay of Plenty to Coromandel Penn. we are now in our final week in New Zealand and heading to the Bay of Island and 90 mile beach before parting ways with our trusty friend Baabaa, to fly from Auckland....to Santiago.

Buenas Noches!!

Kt and H
baaaaaaaaaaaa

xxxx