The Kingdom of Zion!! After growing up watching the Lionman and really wanting to always work here, I was gutted that we couldn't 'Play' with the Cats and take them for walks anymore! Silly Government rules!! However, we had a private tour and met all the big Cats, including the famous Aslan, the TV Lion, the playful sisters Nirnia and Savannah and White Tiger Shanti. A Good Day finishing off nicely back at the Lappers :)

A boat trip around the islands, still no Dolphins , a walk along the coastal path, a Coach ride along the beach right at the top tip of New Zealand... very quickly though, as it was very close with the tide coming in! And Sandboarding (very wet and painful, Sand really does get everywhere!!!) All good fun with Anna Kearney and Neil Smith.

I had a great weekend in Warkworth, staying with Katie Beck, trying out the New Zealand life style :) We started with spear fishing which was a complete disaster. In Katie fancy full wetsuit and hood I was loverly and warm but completely miscalculated my weights and every time I went to free dive for a fish I couldn't get my arse under water! Poor Guy didn't catch a thing as I was like an elephant on the surface scaring everything away!! The second day we went ...

Unfortunately our boat ride to swim with the dolphins got cancelled :( as he sea was too rough. Instead we went on a cliff walk that looked out across the bay. It started in a car park, where there were a few sea lions, which I tried to get my photo taken with. I think I got a little too close for comfort as the sea lion started barking and chasing me away... I ran!! They can actually move quite fast!! The next morning as we were leaving, driving along a sea ro...

We only spent one night in Christchurch which was more than enough as there is nothing to do, which is completely understandable considering its recent history. The city has started to rebuild itself, and re:start centre, shops made out if colourful ship containers is a great idea. Strolling around the 'red' area is quite devastating. The cathedral is in ruins, and buildings have just been deserted due to them now being unsafe. The earthquake affected so many pe...