Clare writes.. just a quickie and it's another 'Wow!' I'm afraid. Cementing an unepected reputation as outdoor adventure chick (when I'm generally and rightly considered more of an indoor person) I saw Milford Sound the hard way. No wussy coach trips and lunch 'cruises' for us, oh dear me no. We got up at the crack of dawn and did a 5 hour kayak trip in the famous fiord - magical lgiht as the sun rose above the highest seacliffs in the world, the brilliant yell...

Sheila writes: We've been in Queenstown (northen Fiordland) for three days - in a little hostel with a back garden and terrace overlooking Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables mountain range....fantastic! There are even a few tiny patches of snow on the mountain tops. The scenery and views are straight out of Lord of the Rings (literally!). Yesterday we climbed the lower slopes of Ben Lomond (yes - really!!) just at the back (north) of Queenstown and had a 'challen...

Clare writes: I don't often use the word 'awesome' - unless I'm taking the piss out of the yoof of today and their general overuse of the word - BUT... the glaciers of New Zealand are truly awesome, and the best thing about them is you can get really up close and personal. We did the walks to both Franz Josef and Fox glacier terminals (ie the end bits) and they were pretty impressive. But then we went up in a helicopter and spent half a day walking around on Fox...

Clare writes: I don't often use the word 'awesome' - unless I'm taking the piss out of the yoof of today and their general overuse of the word - BUT... the glaciers of New Zealand are truly awesome, and the best thing about them is you can get really up close and personal. We did the walks to both Franz Josef and Fox glacier terminals (ie the end bits) and they were pretty impressive. But then we went up in a helicopter and spent half a day walking around on Fox...

Clare writes: New Zealand. Sometimes it's like England. There was an hour the other day where it looked like Scotland. But mostly, so far, it looks like Wales. We landed in Auckland, staying in Hamilton for a few days before my raucous gig at the Thirsty Dog - raucus because it was St Paddy's Night and I was on straight after the punk Irish band!! I'll get some pics up soon, but am just about to upload the Fiji ones. Anyway, we've hired a car for 46 days and ...