Thurs 26th Jan 2010.

Again we were up fairly early and were picked up at 8.20 am to go horse riding! the guy who picked us up said that some bad weather had moved in and it wasn't as clear as it could be and we were more than welcome to re-book but we decided to go with it any way incase the weather got worse the next day. So we were on our way with the main man driving, who looked like a red indian. real old school man and pretty cool. we went past the lake and up t wards the mountains. Fact: the main lake in Queenstown at its deepest point could hide the empire state building!! After 40mins we stopped off to get ready in some very flattering attire. Hard hat, trench coat and wellies....nice!! Then we went another 20mins to 'paradise' where we met our tour guide. she was pretty cool and assigned us our horses. i was given 'elvis' who is a movie star! he started in the 3rd lord of the rings movie! On the tour there was Lou, toni myself and one other guy called thompson from perth so it was a good size. We got taken all around the mountains and thru the woods. we didnt go over a steady walk which i was pleased with as certian man bits were getting sore enough at the pace we were going at!! :O they pointed out several areas where the different lord of the rings movies were filmed, including the latest one 'the hobbit' its the prequal apparently. there were other films which had been filmed around that area, including wolverine. the woman knew everything there was to know about the films she was talking about which was good as now if i try to watch the lord of the rings ill be able to say i was there! Fact: most the the midgets in lord of the rings arent midgets, they're like 6ft but have body doubles! crazy! The weather wasnt the best, it was very cold (idiot abroad here wore shorts!) and windy and showerey! The tour lasted about 2hrs and then we were on our way back. i enjoyed it (some parts of me didnt) but i was happy to be back on my own feet again!

After that we were dropped off in town so walked back, had some lunch and then sorted a couple of things out for the next few days. after a 'siesta' as grandad would say, we got ready and went out. we went to a pub for our tea (very good value, nothing over $20 which is about a tenner) and then hit one of the casinos. my friend Debs said her and Si went when they were here and if im right it was here they won nearly $3000! so i thort id try my luck. i walked out $80 up off the roullete table and $22 up off the poker machine! result! then we went to another bar for a couple and on to the next casino. I walked out of there $120 up off roullete and blackjack so i was fairly happy! we only went in as we had coupons for a free $5 bet and in the second casino 2-4-1- drinks! (they were only $6.50 for a bourbon and coke so cheap as chips!) the man cashing out complimented me on my little win and said i was a sensible man, altho i should go back tomorrow and try my luck...sounds like a challenege to me. $3000 here i come...