Collected my clown shoes, woolen socks, mittens (no string to keep them attached to my waterproof though).... what am I about to do? Climb Franz Josef Glacier of course!! Had a fantastic sunny day walking comedy-stylie in crampons, squirming through crevasses, ice climbing with pick-axes etc. It was absolutely stunning - blue ice (all the oxygen has been squashed out fellow science geeks) and brilliant blue skies combined for some spectacular photos.

Moved on to the north coast (from one extreme to the other) and did a day walk into Abel Tasman national park. Magnificent white sandy beaches, turquoise water and no sandflies... bliss! Followed this up the next day with a vineyard tour. Mmm! Delicious gourmet platter paired with even more delicious wines from the small wineries around Nelson led to a drunken pair. Well, we have been abstaining for a few weeks!

Off across the water tomorrow. Looking forward to meeting up with Reina (a Kiwi we met travelling in Vietnam too) and Dave Boyes (I used to work with him at Oxted School before he sensibly emmigrated to NZ).

Hope all well with you and you're looking forward to approaching spring.... endless summer continues for me for a while!

S xx