Slept so well last night, was in bed by 6pm (dont laugh!) and didnt wake up until 7am this morning - felt so much better after the sleep!

The KIWI Experience bus picked us up at 08:15 and we were introduced to the driver;Nancy Boy. Never really got the full story as to why he was called that, but I can imagine why... The minibus was called 'the old lady' apparently because it hit an old lady last year. Not nice. Anyway, so Nancy Boy was our driver until we reached Westport where we joined the bigger group that had travelled down from the North Island to meet us and start our tour around the south island. Im not sure how or even why, but I managed to sleep most of the way!

The trip was going okay (of course it was; I was asleep!) until I woke up and all hell broke loose! I kind of (well, theres no two ways about it) put my foot ontop of the fire extinguisher to sit back up in my chair, and managed to set the damn thing off! There was blue powder EVERYWHERE! I was so embarressed, didnt know what to do at all. I just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me there and then. Adam just looked at me and laughed, although he didnt look surprised at all. Mmmm, I wander why that is!? My middle name around here is now 'disaster'!

The bus stopped and the five other people jumped off to get on the other bus, Nancy Boy came round the other side of the bus and I was expecting him to say something to me about the earlier shenagigans, but said nothing. So, me being me, put on the cute little voice, tilted my head to one side and pouted me lip...! I said 'I have something to tell you, Ive kind of had an accident and set the fire extinguisher off, theres blue powder everywhere, Im really really sorry'. He looked at me and laughed at me like I was some sort of monkey performing. I was so shocked, I told him that it would be okay if he wanted to shout at me, of which he laughed at me even more. To cut a long story shorter, he said it was okay and that the van was going in for a deep clean this afternoon. Thank God!

So, we joined the other group and were welcomed over the intercom by the new bus driver; JB. Hes a really nice guy and says 'sweet' and 'sweet as' a bit too much, but he is really funny.

The great thing about KIWI Experience is that they talk to you and tell you a little bit about the area whilst they are driving along, so you get to know more about the country and whats what. Our first stop today was the Buller River, in Westport. Me and Adam had signed up to do the jetboating, which was awesome. Basically, you get on a boat, which has twin engines (820 horse power each) and get wet! The ride lasted about two hours and we were doing 360 degree turns on the river. The River Buller is 6 inches in depth at some parts of the river and 28 metres at other parts. It was quite scary, but definately worth the $69 (26 pounds) that we paid. We came off completely soaked, like we had just got out of the shower! Crazy!

We are staying at a hostel called Bazils tonight in the small town of Westport. It is a lovely little guesthouse, has such a lovely home feel with a fireplace. I am sharing a room with Jake from America, Adam and Kevin from Germany. They are really nice guys, and I have even managed to have a conversation with Kevin in German and have understood when he talks to Jake in German. Impressive! Ive just been to the supermarket and bought dinner for myself - a pork loin, three boiled potatoes and a carrot, costing me $4 (1.50 pounds)! Bargain!