Hello everyone,

Well what a drive we have had, 9 hours in a van with 13 other people - wet clothes and wet tents = smelly van!! Both I and Nikki struggled to sleep in the small seats so just try our best to pass the town listen to music, doing Sudoku and word searches.

We passed through the main peaks of the Appalachian Mountains in the van which was a complete change from the high buildings and busy streets of Washington DC. Moving between states feels like we are changing countries, everything is so different - the people and especially the views.

So we arrive at the campsite after a long safety speech by our guide about BEAR SAFETY! If it wasn't bad enough the mosquitoes are eating us both alive we n now have to worry about bears! Apparently for black bears you have to make yourself as big as possible and shout at it, flashing you light and the most important thing HAVE NO FOOD IN YOUR TENT. So we pulled into the camp site which was located alongside a fast flowing river with beautiful tree covered mountain sides all around us. We unloaded our tent and pitched it with the rest of the group approx. 25m from the water. The rest of the group had paid to go white water rafting, but me and nikki thought we could miss this as we could do it in NZ if really wanted to. While the guys were away we had a chance to sort our bags, write diary's and chill out on the banks of the river skimming stones. After 1.30h the guys returned cold wet and ready for food. It was my turn to cook dinner with my team and had picked up bits and bobs earlier in the day to make sweet and sour chicken. Near the entrance to the camp site was a covered seating area which we used as our cooking station and after a couple of hour's food was cooked and eaten, dishes were washed and all stowed safely in the van trailer.

If people don't know all ready, these parts of the county are famous for two things, bears and moonshine! After we finished dinner everyone started drinking a few beers with the raft guides and some other guys from the campsite, one thing led to another and one of the raft guides suggested we should try some moonshine. None of us had every tried it and for good reason, 140% proof alcohol and possibly the worst smelling drink I have ever smelt! Imagine very good quality vodka X 4 in strength but with the same overall taste. Between 13 of us we managed to drink a large jam jar in a night which involved bus rocking, raft tug of war and general drunken antics.

Fortunately the next morning we weren't on the road until 11am so a few people with very saw heads had a chance to recover before heading to Nashville.

From the Appalachian Mountains with love

Nikki and Ben