Our last day in Queenstown was spent at the cricket, much to Beth's joy!!! It was meant to rain for most of the day but luckily when we woke up it was dry so we decided to head up to the cricket for a free day. After getting the bus to Frankton, we walked to the cricket ground and found that we were in a huge crowd of 4 people watching the start of the game. It's not really surprising given that the game was between the two powerhouses of world cricket in Scotland and Hong Kong. Unperturbed, we settled down on the grass and under the cloudy skies and gradually tucked into our picnic. At its peak the crowd grew to about 20 an we retreated from the grass into the stand when the wind got up and it looked like it might rain. I have to say that the ground in Queenstown must be one of the most picturesque in the world as its surrounded by mountains and there are planes landing and taking off at the airport next store. Just for the record Hong Kong beat Scotland. I'm not sure how many of the Hong Kong players were actually from Hong Kong with surnames such as Ahmed and Iqbal but I can't really say anything given that half the England team is South African.

Anyway, after the cricket we went back to the hostel and I tucked into some soup for tea whilst Beth had lasagne. We were both desperate for a hot meal as it turned pretty cold by the time the cricket ended at half 6. Nevertheless, we had both managed to burn a bit under the cloudy skies. We had a quiet night as we were leaving Queenstown for Lake Tekapo the following day.

We were due to leave Queenstown at half 9 on Tuesday morning but this was delayed as the tyre on the bus needed to be changed. After checking out of our room, we had to just mooch around whilst the driver took the coach to get fixed. It has to be said that the Nomads hostel in Queenstown is great. The rooms are clean and well looked after but it's things like the sauna and the excellent tv room which set it apart. Plus you get a free breakfast and dinner which are only light but every little helps! We eventually left just after 12 and had a few stops in a couple of towns where I was able to indulge in my new favourite pastime of pie eating! Our final stop before getting to Lake Tekapo was at a lake (I can't remember it's name) which was the best shade of blue I have ever seen. It was overlooked by Mount Cook and the Southern Alps and was probably the most stunning scenery we have seen so far in New Zealand. We obviously went snap happy and have quite a few photos on here.

We made it to Lake Tekapo at about 5.30pm and got checked into our small 4 bed dorm which we were sharing with a French guy called Pierre. Talk about stereotypes!! I went for a quick jog around the side of the lake and it was so peaceful with only the sound of the water lapping on the shore. Definitely a good jogging spot. We had tea and watched Ted in the communal lounge as there were not many people staying at the lakeside hostel at that point. That changed when a group of Americans arrived at about 9.30pm. We watched the end of the film and headed to the room to read for a bit but our American friends made sure we couldn't get to sleep by shouting and whistling in the corridor an managing to slam loads of doors. What can you do?!?

Today, we have made the journey from Lake Tekapo to Christchurch which is the largest city on the South Island. As you may know, there was an earthquake here in February 2011 which killed 185 people. The city is still struggling to recover from the earthquake and everywhere you go there are buildings waiting to be demolished or covered in scaffolding and waiting to be repaired. The roads are all in a state as well with utilities being repaired and replaced and this is nearly three years after the earthquake. It's a shame as its a really nice city with an absolutely huge park right near the city centre which I managed to get lost in whilst jogging this afternoon. We had a walk around the city centre this evening and it felt like something out of 28 days later with hotels and shops which have been condemned but still have posters and offers in the windows as people have not been able to return to clear up. We visited the cathedral which I had saw pictures on the tv of and is in a really bad state. We assume that they are trying to restore the cathedral but it looks as though it will take some time to do so.

We are off to Kaikoura tomorrow where we will spend two nights and which will be our last stop on the South Island. The South Island has been amazing and for me New Zealand has been the best part of the trip so far. We've two more weeks before we will be off to Oz.