5 Days of solid rain! I must be in New Zealand...I think I've had my fair share of good weather over the last few months, so I guess I can't complain.

I'm currently in Queenstown, the adventure capital of the Southern Hemisphere. I arrived in NZ last Friday and my aim has been to do a whistle-stop tour of the South Island, before flying up to Auckland in the North Island next week and leaving NZ from there.

I spent the first day and a bit in Christchurch, the 'capital' of the South Island - a very laid back city, with lots of Eurpoean influence. The following morning I was up and out early, taking the Tranz-Alpine train from east to west...Allegedly one of the top ten train journeys in the world. I saw spectacular scenery of the snow-capped mountains, rivers and forests. Maybe once the snow falls in the next few weeks, the views will be more spectacular.

My train journey ended in GREYmouth. The clue is in the name of the place. Grey skies, grey town, not a grey-t lot to do...other than a brewery trip to Montieth's brewery. The ale sampling was far more interesting than looking at empty metal vats, waiting to be filled up! Credit to them though - we definetely got our money's worth when we were given free access to the handpull ales behind the bar. The famous "Radler" lemon and lime beer slipped down a treat.

Opening the curtains the following morning, I realised the rain that had started the previous day wasn't about to stop. I moved on down the coast to Franz Josef, with the intention of climbing the glacier that's situated there. Two days later, I still hadn't managed to do it, as the rain continued to disrupt my plans. No crampons and ice axe for me then, so I went out running then caught up on the Premier League action from the weekend.

Queenstown is a great place. Stunning scenery, adrenaline rush activities everywhere you look and a pretty decent nightlife. Having had my skydive cancelled, I was determined not to leave this town without completing at least one personal challenge.

It had to be the bungee jump, seeing as I bottled doing one in Cairns. I opted for "The Ledge" - a 50 metre jump from a platform situated at the top of the mountain overshadowing Queenstown. As I made my way up the mountain on the cable car, I watched a couple of guys doing a jump and I got "that feeling" in my stomach! Once at the summit, I headed out onto the platform to be strapped up and the whole of Queenstown was below me (oh, and people pointing and lauging from the safety of their cable cars were too). As I stood on the edge of the platform looking down, I remembered why I'd bottled it in Cairns. Not this time though. I took a running jump off the end of the platform and that was it. Done. Another one off the list. You'll see the photos/video soon.

Other highlights from my time here include a visit to the mystical Milford Sound - a huge fjord, carved out by glaciers in the last Ice Age. I have never seen such torrential waterfalls in my life. Incredible.

It would be great to come back here when the weather's a bit better - ski season starts soon and I'm sure the mountains will look even more amazing when they're covered in snow. Nonetheless, I've enjoyed Queenstown, despite the fact it's about to go under water as the lake has burst its banks. 1 METRE of rain in 5 days and I need to dry out!