I have had a fantastic time. it was my birthday on the 9th (i'm sure you all know as i may have mentioned it once or twice). and i had a great day. nic treated me to a sky dive (she did one too) and it was a massive thrill. even now i can't believe i did it (so much so we're doing another in the north just so we can remember it better). the day was great, we were so lucky. for about 2 weeks prior to my birthday it had been raining (and even snowing at points) so no one thought we could do a parachute jump because of the weather (i really wanted to do it over the frans joseph glacier because it's supposed to be the best). anyway we wake up on my birthday and it's a beautifull clear day, i couldn't believe it. the views were amazing, anyway after the jump i got on the bus to go off to wanaka ( i know, it sounds rude) and nic had aranged for these girls we've beeen hanging round with to decorate the bus, it was a massive shock. it took ages to sink in that it was all for me (in fact they had to decorate 2 busses cos one broke down). we all went off to a nice cafe overlooking a lake and ordered big fry ups and opened my presents (cheers so much for the card mum, and the pictures, the whole bus found my superman outfit vere curte). after that it was off to wanaka, where we had a hotel with a bath in the room (so good), then out for food and drink in the local irish bar, in fact we finished in a raga bar, it was so funny, basically imagine a load of ali G's that aren't joking. so all in all a great day. before my bday i went paint baling and also climed a glacier (have a look at the photos, amazing)./ since my bday i've been luging (down a mountain) and done the worlds biggest bungy jump, it was petrifying. hope you are all good, i'll keep you all updated. love (in a manly way) matt (n nic)