19th January 2011 We left Franz Josef for Makarora at about 6.30pm and got there at about 9.45pm so we made pretty good time. We stayed at a cool place with 10 bed cabins that looked like tents! It was really nice. There was karaoke in the bar but we were all so tired that we just went to bed. And that was Makarora! x

17th January 2011 We arrived in Franz Josef in the late afternoon after having left Barrytown at about 12.45. We are staying at a nice place called the Rainforest Motel which has a free hot tub and $12 meal deal (not that I did that - even though they had spag bol). I am sharing a dorm with Jon, Nina, Jeanette and Isi. The rooms are nice and clean and a decent size with french windows. Tonight they had a competition in the bar at the hostel to win some bungy ju...

16th/17th January 2011 yesterday we headed to Barrytown but stopped off at Panakaiki or 'Pancake Rocks' as the rocks look like...yep, you guessed it - pancakes. It was pretty amazing to see. It was caused by layers of hard and soft rocks being eroded over thousands of years and the soft rocks eroding faster leaving them uneven. In the shop I found that they sold possum skin/fur. Nice. Then we headed on to Barrytown. Small place with nothing going on but we were...

15th January 2011 (please see drop down box for earlier entries) Today we slept in till 12 :o) It was great! I was meant to go kayaking in the morning but I didn't want to as it was very expensive and something I could do in Guernsey. One of the reasons we slept so late was that we were up tll 1am chatting to a German lad called Robby, one of the guys we swapped the tent with. After we had got ready, we took a walk down to the shop for an ice-cream as it was SO...

14th January 2011 Today has not been a good day :o( Got on a new bus at Picton and had to leave Caroline and Elin behind. The only person I knew was Nina and we didn't know each other that well. When we got on the bus it felt like everyone knew each other already and I felt quite lonely. Today has been my first case of being homesick :o( Before we changed bus, we drove from Kaikoura to Picton and stopped at Yealands vineyard on the way to taste wine and see the...