Here in NZ, it's easy to believe that only one film series has ever been made. I can't escape Lord Of The Rings. Every hostel we stay at, it's the only DVD anybody watches. I have tried to make sense of them but it just washes over me. At the moment you could also believe that the only song ever written is The Cave by Mumford and Sons. It's this year's Hey There Delilah, She Will Be Loved, Bad Day or You're Beautiful: an average but catchy ballad that gets so overplayed that after a month of being everywhere, people decide they hate it. I mean it is a good song, but not really that special to deserve to be played every 5 minutes on every radio station. The new Death Cab For Cutie single is really good, but I've not heard it on the radio. I wish there was more variety and people were more daring in their entertainment choices.We are in a hostel in the middle of nowhere. This village is imaginatively named National Park. It has a railway station and a petrol station with a mini supermarket. It is a surprisingly long walk to the shop. Tomorrow we're doing the Tongariro Crossing, a long walk up a volcano! I'm quite apprehensive. At the moment it's really cold and cloudy but it's supposed to be better tomorrow. We still haven't figured out how we're going to get out of this place yet so need to sort that out cos it's not a good place to be stuck.

The last week, I've been in the capital city, Wellington, staying with my uncle Tim and aunt Karen.