Well after I left franz josef I went to wanaka further south on the west coast. The place was beautiful which great views and a nice realxed atmosphere. It was only a very small town I went and
looked round the shops and it took me about 45 minutes. I went for walks round the lake and did some sunbathing before heading to fiji. It was nice to have sunshine after so many days of rain. It was
really nice and there were load of jobs there and if I had had a visa I might have worked there for a while.

Next stop was queenstown for christmas. Queenstown was also situated on a lake and the views from my hostel kitchen window were over the lake which was very ncie. Queenstown is the action capital
of new zealand and people mainly go there to bungy jump, sky dive, or some other extreme activity. I decided not to bungyjump but I was very close but had just had lunch and didn't want to see it
again so soon. I watched a lot of people jump and it looked great and I wish I'd jumped. Never mind another time and place!!! Well christmas day was great fun, I went for a walk around the lake in
the morning people watching mainly lots of families around and I was by myself for the mornign anyway, but it really didn't feel like christmas at all. I only had 2 cards to open and a gift from
people in Oz. I spent christmas day in a local pub which was doing christmas dinner, lots of drinks and a maori performance. I had met some irish girld on the bus the day before and spent the day
with them. It was really nice, a bit wierd not being at home but it just felt like an allday birthday party in the pub!! I did get to sit on santa's knee and the pub had got a present for everyone I
got a basketball cap which I gave to one of the blokes we met. After lots of drinks from the teapots (yes china teapots) I headed back to the hostel to call home but didn't really have much luck as
the weather was really bad here and at home but I got to speak to the family and grandparents. Boxing day all the sales started and I went and had a look at the sales but didn't buy anything as their
fashion is a bit dated and I couldn't carry anything else.

I went on a day trip to milford sounds a world heritage national park in the south island. It rained all day and it was a really long day. We had to drive though mountains covered in snow and this
made lots of waterfalls, there were hundreds of them. We got to milford sound and had a boat trip to go on, yes in the rain. It was the bumpiest boat ride I'd been on and we had lunch on the boat
which made it worse. I think the day would have been better if the weather wasn't wet but never mind I can say I've been. The next day I decided to have a bit of culture and went on a wine tour
though the otara wine region. There was only myself and an other lady on the trip which was nice cause we spent a little most time discussing the wines and choosing favourites. We visited 4 wineries
the newest and oldest in the region, had lunch at one winery with great views of the surrounding countryside and vineyards. Great day and the weather was sunny and hot best weather for visiting
vineyards,

Next stop on the trip was christchurch, the largest cityin the south island. I was spending a week here over new years. James a bloke I travelled with in the outback contacted me and met me in
christchurch which was nice. On new years we had dinner with a couple of people I'd met on the bus then headed out into cathedral square where the new years celebrations where being held. There was
the normal count down then about 5 minutes of fireworks, not as good as home or sydney but they were ok. After we headed to some pubs and finally got in about 5.30am. It was really wierd starting the
new year 13 hours before home, but it was nice that people remembered and sent me texts with new years messages. I didn't really do much in christchurch just had a relaxing time before heading back
up the coast to the north island before going to fiji. I did visit the international antaractic centre which was really interesting, I spent a couple of hours there learning lots.

I headed north after christchurch to kaikoura, on the east coast of the south island. The main reason peopole go there is to whale and dolphin watch, also there was the opportunity to swim with
dolphins or seals. I decided to go dolphin watching, the weather wasn't that good when we left port but by the time we got out at sea the weatehr was much better and the views were great and we got
to see a large pod of dolphins. It was really great they were jumping out of the water all the time and the people swimming with them got up close. Checkout the photos, ot very close but you can
still see them. I stayed there for 2 nights and the first we had a BBQ and had lots of fresh fish and crayfish that people had caught that afternoon. I went and had fish and chips on the beach and
nearly got attack by hundreds of seagulls after my dinner. It was also a really beautiful place and I would be a good place to stay for a couple of weeks or months wokring.

Anyway that's all for now only 2 more weeks left in new zealand then on the paradise of fiji, hopefully it's stopped raining, only tropical storms so should still be hot.

See you all soon love tasha xxxxxxxxxx