Hey everyone, well we have had a fun couple of days in Queenstown and arrived today in Rotorua. On the way to Queenstown we stopped off for the night at a place called Lake Wanaka which would have been really pretty but it was pouring with rain and freezing cold so we didnt get to see much of it. Our bus driver told us that the lake is the only lake in the world to have fresh water dolphins! After our night in Wanaka we set off early the next morning for Queenstown we stopped off at a mirror lake for photos and then carried on for a couple of hours stopping for a picnic lunch at the blue pools, the water was freezing but that didnt stop some crazy people from going in for a swim, there were also tons of sand flies so we now have lots of itchy bites all over our legs. The stop after that was the bungy centre just outside of Queenstown. We had no intention of doing a jump until we got there, we watched a video on how bungy originated and another couple Matt and Hannah were doing a tandem jump and inspired us to have a go. Before we checked in I went to look at the jump, it was so so so so high, and I began to have second thoughts but then tris came out and said we were doing it so that was that. We went to get weighed and found that the weight difference between us was too much and it would have been too dangerous for me to do a jump with Tris. By this point we had already prepared ourselves mentally that we were going to jump so Tris decided to jump alone, I was too scared to jump alone and didnt think id be able to do it so our bus driver Phillipa volunteered to jump with me, shes done tons of jumps so that reassured me and she said i wouldnt need to jump just fall forwards and shed pull me over the edge with her!! We walked up to the bridge and started to get very scared, I had to watch two other jumps before it was my turn, they called us onto the platform and wrapped a towel around my legs and then tied them together and attached the cord, by this point i was petrifed and really not sure whether i wanted to do it, then the two guys strapping us up told us we were good to go ushered us to the edge of the platform and counted down three two one and gave us a little push forward and that was it we were flying down towards the water!! It was actually a really amazing feeling once you were over the edge it was just the bit before that was a nightmare. Poor tris had to wait for another jump after mine before it was his turn, I was so nervous watching him, but he survived and now we are both really glad that we did it! We have the whole thing on dvd so you can all watch it when we get home. After all that excitement we headed for the hostel and had a more relaxed afternoon enjoying the sun by the lake. That night we went out with everyone else off the bus, my night ended abruptly though when i managed to walk into a glass door that i thought would open automatically but it didnt, it was a really painful mistake to make, I ended up lying on my bed with a huge lump on my head a sore lip and bashed nose for the rest of the night, my head is still sore today (2 days later) but at least it provided some entertainment for everyone, tristan found it especially hilarious the meany! On our second day in Queenstown we went on a fishing trip on the lake for three hours, it was a complete disaster, I managed to catch one fish but lost it reeling it in and apart from that we didnt get one bite, we just came back feeling motion sick and annoyed that we had wasted our money! That night was our last night in Queenstown, I think i must have been on a run of bad luck because i was poorly with an upset stomach ended up going to bed early, im still not right today hoping that its gone by tomorrow. Today we flew to Rotorua via Christchurch, because Queenstown is surrounded by mountains it was a really bumpy flight and i found it terrifying already being scared of flying but we made it and have spent today exploring all the geothermic parks in the area. The whole place absolutely stinks of rotten eggs because of the sulphur and I will be quite glad to leave, but the bubbling pools of mud and colourful water and steam has been really good to see so its worth putting up with the smell. Tomorrow we head for our friends farm where we will stay for 2 nights which should be really fun, it will be nice to have somewhere warm and comfortable to stay as well, the hostel we are at tonight looks like its on its last legs its pretty disgusting just hope i dont get attacked by bed bugs!! We will update you again at the end of our time in New Zealand.

Love

Rach and Tris

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