Hey! Here's NZ from where we left off last time; the more exciting side! On Tueday we finally got our car, so after quickly buying a few things that we had stolen, like a new camera, we were finally on our way round New Zealand! The car was ok - 1.8 Nissan 5 Door etc, yet again it was automatic. Did help though on the long drives, just not as fun. Firstly we headed down to Rotorua. Stayed at the Hot Rock Hostel, and had a nice swim in the thermal swimming pool! Spent the next day exploring; the area is the heart of geothermal activity in NZ, so was quite different from anything else. Went for a swim in one of the natural streams - was like a Jacuzzi. Only after sitting in it for 10 min did we notice the signs warning us that a strain of meningitis was rife in the water, so not to put your head under. At the time of writing, Im pleased to let you know we seem to be ok! Touch wood. We then checked out some of the mud pools - really strange to watch. Then opted to go round one of the lesser priced, and as a result smaller thermal parks, where steam rises from everywhere, and there were small geysers. Just a pity it reeked of egg. Andy claims it was something to do with the high level of sulphur, rather red faced though I might add! The owner of the park had named the sections, such as Devils Fire and Witches Cauldron, which kinda meant it was a bit of a let down. Still it completed our thermal experience. We then headed down to Taupo and stayed a Global. There's not a lot to do in Taupo for fun apart from throwing yourself out of plane at 12000ft, so we had no choice but to book our skydive for the following day. As with Rotorua, the nightlife is pretty tame, which left us with a lot of time to contemplate what we were letting ourselves in for. Woke up the next with a urge to do everything as if it were my last, which it might well have been. Before we knew it though, a beat up minibus arrived to pick us up; the ride to the aerodrome was scary enough. Think Sillars' Uno, but worse and faster. Once there we didn't have time to be scared, we were quickly harnessed up and introduced to our diving professionals, who we were trusting our lives with. The ascent took 20 minutes, giving us enough time to think over our short lives, and make our peace, before the shutter was lifted and we were going. Andy went first, before I slowly followed. There I was sitting on the edge, feet hanging out being told to fold my arms and roll out...I did it though. And boy was it worth it! After flipping once, we leveled out and I was flying (well falling really) I felt like superman, using my arms to dictate which way we went. My mind was blank, there are no words to describe the immense feeling. After 45 seconds and falling 8000ft, there was a sudden jault and I was yanked upwards as the parachute was deployed. The view was amazing, clearest day in ages. You could see right across the lake all the way to the snow capped mountains in the distance. Then it was over. If you ever get the chance to do one, then take it! Being on a tight schedule though we were quickly back on the car driving down to Wellington. We arrived late evening and checked into Base Hostel. Wellington, being the capital you would think would have a great night life. Well it didn't; there were over 100 bars and loads of people out, but spread everywhere. Not one place was full. Not that it mattered to much, we were still on cloud 9 after the jump. The next day, we climbed to the top of mount Victoria, where we could see right across the capital and the harbour. We then went to the national museum, which sadly didn't have any games or interactive things that we could play on. Was still quite interesting though, and it was free! Got up early the next day to catch the ferry down the south island. Our car wouldn't start though and we were forced to call the AA and as result missed the ferry. Not a worry to much though, and we caught the next one, and were glad we'd had our bad luck for NZ. Once finally on the south island, we drove down to Christchurch, picking Roy the Israeli hitchhiker up on the way. Roy bought us chocolate biscuits and ice cream. We liked Roy! Once in Christchurch we went our separate ways. We stayed in Warners Hostel, which has to the be the 2nd worst hostel we've stayed in. Not that it mattered to much; Christchurch was lovely - very English. Also had a very good nightlife - went to some really good bars, before being asked to leave for reasons unbeknown to us. Probably something to do with us being too good-looking and too smooth on the dance floor. The next day, we checked out the Cathedral, which had been commissioned by Canterbury, and opened by the queen. We also went round the local market before meeting up with Steve and his son, and a local pub, where we drank local beer and chatted about all sorts of worldly matters. ( Thanks Steve for all the pointers, and the beer of course. Was really good to meet up!) We then got back in the car once more and started on our last leg of out journey south - to Queenstown (the Backpacker Capital) Whilst here we took a trip to Arrowtown (an old gold town) where we hoped to find our fortune, alas we didn't though. So instead we took to hiding werther's original wrappers poking out under rocks to fool other hopeful millionaires. Oh the fun! The next day, we went to Wanaka, and came across Sheep! Which shouldn't have been that amazing considering we were in NZ, except when you seen over 1500 of them running down the road, heading towards your car. Very cool! The nightlife here was as you'd expect, very good! Our last day was without a doubt the best - went out with some people from our dorm - Owen (from Aber) and two girls, Ellie and Kirsten. We went to the top of the hill overlooking Queenstown by Gondola, where there was a massive Luging track! So we donned our helmets, and the battle commenced! The best crash award went to Andy who didn't believe in breaks, and as a result went headfirst into a wall, where he was tossed, somewhat comically out on the padded sides. ( However he would like me to add, he did in fact come first in the overall luging championship, with myself coming a close second. That evening, we went out with some other lads to throw a rugby ball about for a bit, and attempted to impress them with our drop kicks, before scrubbing up and heading out to enjoy the last night of our New Zealand tour. (Came second in the the bar quiz!) The next day we set off on the long and arduous journey back to Auckland, deciding to drive up the west coast instead, as we had been told it was very beautiful ( it was, especially the coast line and Fox's Glacier) The decision however proved to be our undoing. The ferry was at 9:30, and we took it in turns to drive shifts. Around 8;00pm, I was awoken to Andy cursing under his breath. A quick look at the dash confirmed why, the dread orange petrol light was on, and all around us was complete darkness. We continued on, each time rounding a corner, praying that we would come across a gas station. Unbeknown to Andy we were driving along section of road that had a distinct lack of stations for over 100km. Our prayers were interrupted by the engine spitting and spluttering, before we finally cruised to a halt. The Ferry seemed impossible, but on top of that was the niggling though that we might be stranded here all night. However luck for once was on our side. Just to our left we glimpsed a light amongst the trees. We scrambled down and found a small house. However we hesitated before knocking, due to the fact that somewhere a dog was growling and all around the doormat were scattered shotgun cartridges. Hiding behind Andy, I slowly knocked on the door. A shadow appeared through the screen. Which was quickly followed by a light being switched on to reveal a tiny old bespectacled lady, in her dressing gown. She said she had some petrol in her shed for her lawnmower. Whilst she went to fetch it, we heard a car pull up behind ours. Andy went to check, and was offered 10 l of free petrol. We quickly filled up, said our thank yous, and were on our way. Time now was really against us, and andy put his foot down in an attempt to just make the ferry. It looked like were going to make it, when in our mirrors we saw the old red and blue lights flashing. We had failed, and to top it off, it looked like we were going to be fined aswell. However after coming up with the most pity ridden story we could, the kind officer kindly let us go with a warning. We arrived at the now closed ferry bay at 9:50. After a quick check of the timetable, we realized what had known for a while but had wanteded to admit it, that we were going to be spending the night in the car. After picking up some KFC we settle down for the most uncomfortable night of our lives. 5:30 am came around not a minute too soon, and exhausted we finally boarded the ferry. The rest of the journey past without event, and the car was only 4 hrs late back. We arrived back at Malcolm and Anita's; dirty, tired and hungry. A quick shower, followed by large takeaway pizzas, then proper beds, soon sorted us out. New Zealand was over; we woke the next day and said our farewells before heading off to Melbourne. (Not before nearly missing the plane, due to Andy trying to decide which aftershave to buy, that would most affect on the ladies!) N.B Just like to say a huge thank you to Malcolm and Anita (and Jim and Elsie) We are truly grateful, you really made us feel welcome and at home.