Taking a detour through and area called McRae (town was literrally 5 houses and a pub) I arrived in Alexandra where I was staying for a few nights to try and find work. The hostel I stayed in wasn't the best but I think that had more to do with the residents than the actual hostel. Having signed up to a local agency I relaxed and explored the town a bit. Although not a small town Alex isn't the biggest either but it's nice enough. Though there are certain thing...

Had a lovely drive from Mt Cook to Oamaru, back on the east coast. There's always somewhere that I want to stop and take pictures so journeys take a lot longer than they should. The further south I go the more I see the Scottish influence. From the place names to the odd scottish word still used in daily chat. On this drive I passed Lake Aviemore which is just down the road from Benmore. Arriving in Oamaru I found my hostel and found out I'd been upgraded to...

Sorted out wheels for myself so after a wee scare with the earthquake I said goodbye to Christchurch and hello open road! First up was Lake Tekapo. Arrived on a dreich day and the view could've been of any Loch in Scotland. Next day was a lot nicer though and I saw the gorgeous blue colour Tekapo is famous for! Car camping was on the agenda for the next night so after finding the campste beside Lake McGregor, I sorted out the car (blowup bed and sleeping bag!) a...

Well after a night in Bangkok and a very long flight I finally made it to New Zealand!! Flew in to Christchurch more or less on time and cheated and got a taxi to hostel. My brain wasn't up for thinking much more! Hostel life takes a little getting used to but it's not bad. Kinda like living with family you don't know or talk to haha! Some people are genuinely lovely and others are just.....well strange. I dare say a lot of people put me in the latter category...

My horrendous cold eventually cleared enough for me to start doing stuff! The park was very different from when I had visited last. The volunteer house is continually beng developed and improved upon and, due to the fact there were very few volunteers, it felt very quiet. This meant that I spent the majority of my time at Rescue helping look after the macaques, birds, binturongs and rabbits as well as helping feed the leopards to give big cat team a hand. I'd...