I write this from the lovely comfort of John and Eileen's home in Christchurch. Eileen is my grandpa's sister and through them I am being able to meet and reconnect with various members of the extended family which is absolutely brilliant. They are extremely kind and generous hosts and I am really enjoying a bit of recuperation after the high-speed lifestyle of the Kiwi Bus!

I've been more than a little scatty with updates whilst I've been in NZ, so if you're at all interested in seeing what I have been doing over the last three and a half weeks, a rough itinerary of the route I have done can be found here: http://www.kiwiexperience.com/zephyr-backpacker-pass.aspx. It's probably much better at explaining what I've done than I am anyway!

When I last wrote I was just about to do the full day glacier hike in Franz Josef. I am happy to report that even the most unfit can survive it (at the back of the slow group), albeit coming out the other side more than a little bruised after climbing through ice holes and caverns. I would definitely recommend the experience; I was entirely distracted from my tired legs by the stunning scenery. I think exploring a glacier definitely counts as a once in a lifetime activity, for me at least, and I had to keep metaphorically pinching myself to believe I was really there. I took far too many photos but hopefully by the time I get to a computer from which I can upload some pics, I will have been able to cut down a bit so you don't get too bored of what are essentially about 60 photos of me in a wooly hat on some ice.

Fortunately the rain held out whilst we were glacier climbing, but sadly our good luck was not destined to last and for the past week I have witnessed some torrential downpours and even some snow! I visited Wanaka and Queenstown just as they were gearing up for the ski season and had a lot of fun there with karaoke and burger-munching and less of the extreme activities for me, since I feel I've had my fair share now. Queenstown is the adventure capital of NZ and the home of bungy-jumping, but since heights aren't really my thing (don't mention the skydive, that was a one-off), I opted out of spending $200 or so on what looks like a really horrific sensation, either falling 134 feet on the Nevis Bungy, or god forbid, doing the freefall and pendulum swing of the Canyon Swing. Still, I've been informed that these are fun activities for the slightly deranged (i.e. the rest of my tour bus). Instead, in Queenstown I decided to undertake an epic day trip to Milford Sound which involved about nine hours in a coach and an hour and a half on a boat trip in the middle! Still, the drive and the cruise did as promised and showed off some of the most spectacular scenery in New Zealand and the world (I figure since NZ is the most beautiful country I've ever been to, their scenery must be the most beautiful ever - the parts of the world I haven't seen don't count).

This week has been one of reunions for me, with both family and friends. In Queenstown people from various buses I've been on came together for some nights out in what is also NZ's party capital, plus I got to see the incredible Jess Macaleese, my favourite Canadian, who I last saw in Romania two years ago. This week I'm sure it will continue to be a pleasure to be introduced to the down-under section of my long-lost family, and then the real treat will come this Friday when I fly to Australia and get to see my parents! I'm very much looking forward to this, although after a ten day luxury holiday with them I'm not sure how well I'll readjust to hostels!

I have just typed this out very quickly in about ten minutes so please do excuse any typos and the messy style! Lots of love to everyone at home, especially people doing exams like my poor sister - good luck Emily!