Not a bad wake up call, we went for a short run (short because I didn’t want to screw my back up again as it’s feeling rather tight and achy at the moment) a good stretch and a few core exercises around the big lake in Wanaka, we weren’t getting the bus until 9am which allowed us time for a quicky shower and free breakfast, great oat and fruit mix cereal!! Ellie went for the rice crispies and cardboard cornflakes, I’m to sure why because she always says s...

Absolute crap night sleep, it was boiling in our room because they had the little radiator on whilst we were out last night and the window couldn’t stay open because the bugs were getting in and biting us and everyone was snoring and farting. So a hot room and fart does not mix plus we had a drink last night so my mouth was like ghandi’s flip flop anyways. Up at 3.30am to get water and do you think I could get back off to sleep.... nope! Around 6am I got to s...

Preying that the gods were on our side last night and for this morning for the heli hike, such a shame we couldn’t get up there yesterday but at least we got to see the glacier from 600metres up and not so far away. 8.30am we got over to the heli hike base only for them to tell us the exact news we did not want to hear, the heli hikes are cancelled (probably for the next week) because of the forecast coming in and it being too dangerous for the heli copter to...

We left and hour earlier than usual from Lake mahinapua this morning because the weather was going to hold up and allow us to do some hikes to see the Franz Josef glacier, Rob the bus driver has tried his hardest at getting spots for us to do the heli hike this afternoon before the possibility of a cancellation tomorrow from the weather forecast but he hasn’t had any luck unfortunately. We sped on down the very very empty highway, it’s so bizzare how quiet ...

Cracking night sleep cozied up under a sheet, fluffy blanket and duvet! Ready to get up and go to the next stop though because there’s nothing here and it has a sort of waiting in the middle sort of stop (neither here or there). We had a few stops along the way, one was to the pancake rocks along the shoreline, that was pretty cool. They’re 35 million old limestone rocks that are layered in what looks like stacks of pancakes. Scientists don’t know why the...