Thanks to everyone for the messages and kind thoughts. I am still having a wonderful time here and am happy that I can share my experiences with all of you. I think that I left for Dunedin on Monday (tend to loose track of days here). I walked around the coastal city and spent the majority of my time just trying to get the internet thing worked out so that I could send ya'll updates. I traveled on to the Peninsula to my campsite for the night in Portobello. It looked like rain again so I put my tent up quickly and just walked around the tiny town. I decided to veer from my peanut butter sandwiches and apples for a night and got a nice dinner. I had green mussels and a glass of wine which both were wonderful. The US dollar just got stronger over here so my meal was not bad, only about 18 US dollars. Anyway, I tried to sleep through another rainy and very windy night. Woke up early and headed for the Catlins forest park in the Southland. It rained off and on all day but it was quite nice. First stop was Nugget Point lighthouse (refer to my pictures for visuals of everything). Standing on the ledge I could look down to the ocean and see the seals playing. Next stop was Tunnel Hill, an abandoned railway tunnel about 250 meters in length and it was dug out by hand. The rain let up and I moved on to Cannibal Bay. Just beautiful. I walked on the beach and right up to sea lions lying in the sand. Then I drove on to Purakaunui Falls which were flowing strong from all the rain. Then finally to the small town of Papatowai (don't ask me to pronounce that because I was laughed at when I tried). I decided to spend two more NZ $ and purchase a small cabin for the night. It was a great decision. I spent the rest of my evening by taking a long walk on the Papatowai beach. Cooked some spaghetti for dinner and hung out with some Kiwi families from Auckland. We played card games and drank wine together for a few hours. Wednesday, I woke up and headed for Invercargill but I made plenty of stops along the way still in the Catlins. It was a wonderful sunny day! I went to a lake and then to McLean Falls. I didn't want to walk the track by myself so I waited till a group of vans arrived. I ended up trekking with a camp of socially challenged kids (I guess that is the best way to put it). The guys in charge of the camp were really nice and the kids loved my American accent. Anyway, then I headed to Curio Bay where the world's smallest dolphins usually hang out but they were gone for the winter. I also walked around a petrified forest on the rocky coast line. Pretty incredible to see. The Bay was beautiful; I could have sat there and watched the waves hit the rocks for hours. Then I drove on to Slope Point, the southernmost tip of the South Island (sorry about the tilted picture, no one around to help me out). On my way out I hit a sheep farmer herding his sheep down the road (actually it happened four times that day). I arrived in Invercargill and spoke with Stewart's other sister-in-law, Lisa. She gave me directions to their farmhouse. What a beautiful house! It sits up on a hill overlooking the farmlands and in the distance is the Southern Alps. John and Lisa just had it built a few months prior. Lisa and her girls came home and the girls; Georgia 6 and Lauren 9 were so excited to have me visiting. We ate a wonderful dinner and hung out with the girls playing music and working on a puzzle. John was gone for the evening, so Lisa and I stayed up late drinking wine and talking. We got along like old friends. She is actually an American from Missouri and married John after traveling the world with him for a year and moved here to Southland, NZ about 16 years ago. Today, I woke up and Lisa had a good family friend pick me up and take me to watch sheep shearing. It was really interesting. I learned all about how it was done. The shearers come from New Zealand and Europe to work for the summer months. They make about $1.40 per sheep and can shear about 300-400 sheep per day. I got to help shear one and it was really quite difficult to hold it down while shearing. The guys made it look so easy. So, I am back at John and Lisa's smelling fairly bad and getting ready to go shopping with Lisa. It is her 40th birthday tomorrow and John is throwing her a big party here at the house. The girls are going up to stay with Mrs. Hay for the week and tomorrow will be a long day of preparation. It is going to be a black tie affair, fully catered, music, and tons of alcohol. Lisa is really excited to have an all-adult weekend. Anyway, we have to go shop to find something for me to wear. Then Saturday we are caravanning up to Queenstown, where I am going to stay with them at the family lake house. Another American guy is coming to stay also; he is studying over here in Christchurch. So, it should be a nice Easter weekend. Oh, I forgot to mention that John and Lisa have an adorable black Labrador named Max (picture included). I have been having such a good time hanging out with him. I think that we might go for a run later today. I hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter; I will let you know how the party goes. Love, Meghan