Well, folks - I made it back to the east coast! I found the only way of getting back and was dead jammy/blessed to make it - as you will see. I woke at Franz Josef Glacier village to a layer of snow on the ground, for only the second time in five years, apparently. The bus driver, whom I had met in the pub where I had a pizza last night (and was staying at Cat & Mouse Land also), was confident we would get to Greymouth OK - "as long as we get through He...

Hello playmates, It's Stuart here, branching out on his own. I left Naomi up in the North Island being Lydia's twin and I flew today from Rotorua to Christchurch, the most English of all NZ cities - punting on the River Avon, a large Anglican cathedral, trams etc (plus KFC, Burger King and Macdonalds). I am staying at Charlie B's Backpackers - which reminds me of Army Camps I stayed in when I was in the army cadets at school. Maybe the mistake was to ask for t...