After a 3 hour drive (with a French hitchhiker we picked up from our hostel!) we finally arrived in Queenstown and were pleasantly surprised at how picturesque it was. We had been told by all the backpackers that it was a party town with lots of activities and backpackers so we didn't expect it to look quite as nice as it was. Queenstown is surrounded by mountains and had a really large lake near to the centre. We stayed in the YHA Hostel on the lakefront which was really good with a great view of the lake and mountains while you were eating breakfast! After giving myself another day to recover from the illness I was good to go again and we set off on a gondola trip to the top of the mountain for a spectacular view of Queenstown. We had a walk around at the top and had a go at some go karting called the Luge, where you basically sit in a tiny kart which is controlled by a bar that you push backwards or forwards. It was really funny because it had snowed a few days earlier up there so the track was really slippy and you can race each other. After having a go around the beginners track we ventured for the fast track which was great! We then spotted one of the many bungee jumps that you can do in Queenstown so we made our way over to where it was to watch some mad people having a go! After watching a few people do the bungee we decided we was defiantly going to do one ourselves (it's a crime if you leave Queenstown without doing one apparently!) but we were going to the biggest as the one we were watching didn't actually look as scary as we thought!

The next day we set out to book the bungee and the shotover jet as a combination package. The shotover jet is basically a jet boat that's like a big jet ski and goes up to 80 mph and the driver spins the boat 360 degrees whilst going fast down the shotover river! We was told we would have to do them both on the same day so we chose the Nevis bungee first in the morning then the shotover jet in the afternoon so that the scary bit was over first! After we had booked all our adrenalin activities we had a wonder around the town which is quite small and had a famous Ferg burger which everyone has to have when there in Queenstown! We then went for a walk around the huge lake and watched some people play a Frisbee game through the forest area that they have there. We was going to have a go at ice skating too but I couldn't convince Ady this time to try but we did agree on a game of indoor crazy golf which was probably the best crazy golf we have been too! It had lots of different themes like the airport, sweet factory (were you get a lollypop!), ski resort and forest! It took us ages to get around but in the end I beat Ady by 1 point so were equal now in the crazy golf games (were on the lookout for the decider match location!)

That night we had an early night to get ourselves mentally and physically prepared for the next day's events!

When we woke up it was really early as the thunderstorm and rain had woke us up from our bungee jump nightmares that had kept us both from having a good night's sleep! Ady said he was even dreaming about how he was going to do the dive! When we looked out the window it was absolutely pouring down and it had been so nice all week! We tried to eat a bit of breakfast and a banana to help our nerves before we set out to the bungee check-in centre in the town centre. When we arrived we got weighed and it turned out Ady was the heaviest and I was the lightest out of the 8 people that was in our group. This meant that Ady would be jumping first and me last, which was the last thing I wanted watching everyone else first! We then had to wait in front of a T.V that showed lots of people doing the bungee jumps which makes you even more nervous! Just getting to the Nevis bungee site is a challenge in itself. It entails a 40 minute bus ride were they play songs really loud such as jump, they shot you down and other songs associated to adrenalin! Then you arrive at a farm and have to go in a big four wheel drive van up a steep hillside through muddy terrain to get to the bungee centre. When you arrive at the bungee centre you get fitted with a harnesses then weighed again, then there's the cable car over to the bungee pod which is suspended in the middle of the valley 134 meters high! When we all got over to the bungee pod we all had a nervous wait and Ady started to get himself prepared for the first jump of the day! Just looking down from the pod made us feel sick and I don't know what was worse going first or going last! When Ady got to the jump ledge the staff counted him in shouting 3-2-1 and Ady just leaped off screaming bungee himself all the way down! I couldn't believe how easy he had jumped off especially being the first out of us all to do it! When he came up he said that it was amazing and such a good rush so I knew then that there was no backing out for me either as I would never live it down!

I had to wait for the next 7 people to jump which they all did without hesitation then it was my turn! I just thought to myself "well everyone else has done it and come back alive and well" so I sat in the fateful chair then bunny hopped to the ledge where there was really no turning back. I waited for the countdown then did my best bungee leap that I could! They tell you that you have to leap as far as you can so that you are well away from the bungee pod and they also tell you that they cannot push you off the ledge as it's meant to be a personal challenge and pushing you would defeat the object! The jump itself went so fast (8.5 seconds to be precise!) although it felt like 1 second! It's hard to explain what it feels like but it's a good rush along with being very scary!

After we had all jumped we got to watch our bungee videos and look at the pictures. We bought our pictures and got a t-shirt saying we had done the bungee! Then it was back on the 4WD and bus back to Queenstown. When we got back we literally had 1 hour then we had to be back at the centre to get the bus to the Shotover River to do the Shotover Jet.

When we got on the bus it was pouring down with rain and we didn't really feel like going on a jet boat getting even more soaked!

Before we got on the boat we had to wear lovely big black waterproof macs and get our pics taken that you can purchase after the boat trip. The boat fits about 14 people on and you have one guy driving it. We were only on the boat 30 minutes but it was great fun going really fast down the narrow river skimming past the mountain sides doing 360 degree spins and getting soaking wet! After we had finished we headed again back to Queenstown and back to the hostel for a bit of a rest before we headed out to get a taste of the nightlife (even though we were knackered from all the activities of the day!) We went to a few really busy bars and also met up with a guy from our bungee trip but by 12 we decided it was time to call it a night - I think it's our ages ha ha!

The next day we packed up our things and decided we would head to Wanaka to get a taste of some snowboarding! If we had the money I think we might of stayed in Queenstown but there's so much to do there I think we would of been skint in a couple of days!

Wanaka is only around 3 hours away and it was a gorgeous day which made the drive really nice. We stopped off at a couple of scenic stops on the way and took some pics of the mountains and lakes which looked lovely with the sun shining. When we got to Wanaka we checked in at the local YHA Hostel which was quite small but ok for what we wanted, then we headed out to enjoy the rest of the nice day. The town is really small with just 1 block of shops and restaurants and a big lake which you can look out onto from the cafes and restaurants. We sat outside one of the cafes and enjoyed a coffee and some lunch an also got talking to a girl who lives here from Blackpool! She advised us on the Snowboarding and area and we advised her on S E Asia as that is her next stop after she has earned some money here in NZ.

We then went to the Ski hire shop and got all the information we needed about snowboarding and which mountain to choose. We got kitted out in some ski clothes and ordered a bus to take us to the ski field the next morning.

We had to get up at 7am to get ready for the bus at half 8. It was a 30 minute drive to the mountain then a 20minute drive up the mountain to the ski area. We both decided that we would do snowboarding as Ady hasn't done either skiing or snowboarding and he preferred the thought of snowboarding rather than skiing. I also wanted to try snowboarding as I can already ski now and it meant we could do some lessons together for the day.

We got kitted out with our snowboards and boots then it was off to the lesson area to find our instructor. There was quite a lot in our group (about 13) but we had a 2 hour lesson so managed to pick up the basic skills like standing up with the board on! After lunch we had another 2 hour lesson with the same instructor and advanced to the magic carpet lift at the beginner's area. We managed to start picking it up quite fast and by the end of the lesson we were both coming down the full length of the slope using our heels and toes although we hadn't quite got the hang of the turns! It's definitely true what they say that snowboarders spend more time on their bums than on their feet! By the end of the day we were knackered with sore bums and achy legs!

That night we went back to the shop were we hired the ski clothes from and hired the snowboard and boots from them as it was a bit cheaper than from the ski resort. We got talking to the guy who worked there and it turned out he had been the instructor for one of Ady's close friends Ryan who had done a 4 month instructor course in Canada a few months earlier! It's such a small world!

The next day we went back to the ski resort and decided not to do the lessons but to kind of teach ourselves, plus they say with snowboarding that once you know the basics it's just practice. The visibility on the mountain was really bad and it started snowing. We practiced on the learner area again for the morning then we decided to buy a lift pass to try out the green runs. Now if you've ever been on a chair lift you will know that it's not the easiest of things to get off once you're on but I thought we would be okay as I had no excuse being on them before! Let me tell you it's a whole different story on a snowboard than it is wearing skis! We prepared ourselves with plenty of time before we had to get off but for some reason we thought being sat facing forward would be ok! As it happens it was not okay because when we jumped off we both just fell flat on our faces under the chair! It was really embarrassing especially as there was a group of snowboarders on the chair behind us! The chair lift operator had to stop the whole chair lift while we moved out of the way, and then give us a lesson on how to get off a chair lift! After a few more goes we just about mastered it!

We stayed on the one green run for a couple of hours and started to get the hang of turning and balance but the visibility was really bad which made it harder to suss out which way we should be going! I had quite a bad fall when for some reason I started snowboarding into the red flags instead of around them. I wouldn't mind but I did it about 3 times on the one go down the slope, I don't know what my feet were doing but I learnt to give the flags a wide berth after that!

When we got back to the hostel we had to move rooms to a 6 bed dorm which turned out to be an all male dorm except me! It wasn't too bad until a guy came in at 2 am and started making his bed, rustling in his bag and generally being noisy! Then another guy who must have been woken by the guy who had just come in decided to get his laptop out and start messing about on it for about an hour! It really annoys us when people are just so inconsiderate especially when you do your best to be quiet for everyone else! So we decided to pay extra the next night and get a twin room (but we were still in bunk beds lol!) were just not getting used to these dorm rooms!

The next day I woke up with the achiest muscles I think I've ever had I could hardly move! We decided we would have a lie in then try and drive ourselves to the ski resort after lunch instead as we had rented out all the equipment for 2 days. We packed up the car and started to drive to the Cardrona Mountain. First of all we went 20 minutes in the wrong direction so had to turn around and start again! Then when we got almost to the top of the mountain, the weather started to look really bad and as we got nearer to the top we couldn't see in front of us! We was going to carry on as we were so close but then the car started to get stuck in the snow and mud so in the end we made the decision to turn around and go back to the town centre! After wasting about 2 hours we took our things back to the rental shop that were kind enough to give us a bit of a refund then got told about some spa pools that we could go to for my achy muscles! I was quite glad we didn't get to the mountain top because my muscles were so pulled and even more happy when I got told we could go to some spa pools all day! We spent the rest of the day chilling out in an outdoor hot tub which was lovely. Ady didn't even have any achy limbs which I didn't think was fair!

The next day we left Wanaka and headed north to a place called Franz Josef were you can glacier walk!