Well then, our last entry from New Zealand.

Apart from going to the rugby on Friday and then ending up in a bar till 4am we haven't really done or seen much in the last few days. We have had quite a bit to sort out, buying stuff for the holiday in Fiji and attempting to pack everything that we have acquired in to our bags that now seem tiny! We haven't even had any joy selling the camping gear, so it looks like most of that will be left in the hostel room and the tent coming with us! So I guess this should really be a Kiwi round up....

The place is cool, a bit like England but not half as crowded. They have a million different beers compared to us but unfortunately I haven't managed to sample them all. There is always tonight though! When the weather comes good it stays good, we are now on our 16th consecutive day of sunshine and no rain! Unfortunately when it rains it rains! You must have noticed the earlier blogs but it really rains. Some of the Kiwi sayings we have heard amused us greatly. One guy in a backcountry hut, us having just spent 10 hours walking in the rain said "Welcome to New Zealand, where it rains for 8 months and the trees drip for the other 4!!" Just what we wanted to hear! The other saying in Taranaki is "If you can't see the mountain then it's raining, if you can see the mountain its going to rain!".

So what have we done since we've been here, in summary loads! We've seen a million squashed possums and 1 live one, we've seen sea lions, penguins, whales and seals, we've been white water rafting, we've been to supermarkets the length of the country and cooked just about every possible meal that can be done on a camp stove, we've walked through the forest in the pissing rain for 20km and then slept in a 36 person bunk with all sorts, we've visited a rake of petrol stations and still haven't worked out what FlyBuys are, we've walked on glaciers, we've walked across volcanoes and bathed in thermal springs, we've been to the rugby, we've had Christmas dinner in NZ and been to a NYE house party, we've been on the Luge, we've jumped in the freezing cold sea and sung to dolphins (not that they liked Spice Girls or Oasis), we've driven a 1000km in a day along some of the worst roads around, we've jumped waves and attempted surfing, we've got a bird stuck in the car radiator grille, twice, we've got a speeding fine in the middle of nowhere, we've seen Gemma's cousins and Aunt, we've been in the sea on Xmas day, we've sea kayaked, we've got addicted to hot pies, we've seen and done loads and had a great time and loads of fun! But mostly we got engaged!