A bit of bad luck but A LOT of fun!

After saying goodbyes to all of our Kiwi-bus friends in Queenstown we were all ready to head back up to Christchurch along a very scenic route, however this was not to be as the road was closed due to a heavy snow-fall the previous night (yes, it really was that cold!) so we eded up taking the extra-long way round in a bus journey totalling 11 hours! It was a bit of shame that we missed the apparently beautiful views of the likes of Mount Cook and Lake Tekapo however we did get to visit the towns in Dunedin (somewhere we had actually hoped to visit if we'd had more time) where we made a pit stop at the NZ Cadbury factory; Oamaru; and Timaru (no time for penguin spotting though). After this epic journey we were very gald to see friendly faces back in Christchurch where we had a lovely saty with Larry and family again. Luckily we weren't even too upset that the weather was awful for our whole stay in the Garden City; it was a nice excuse to chill out and catch up after what turned out to be avery busy two weeks!

Back on the bus two days later up ot Kaikoura (again!). Better weather than our last stay here, but still no whale watching or dolphin swimming (not that we could even contemplate getting into the freezing waters!)

Our bad luck with the weather continued the following day when we awoke early for our next journey up to Picton to catch the 2hr Interislander ferry to Wellington. Unfortunately though the ferry was cancelled due to extreme winds so we headed back to Christchurch to catch a rather turbulent flight up to the capital city. We arrived safely though, however had two days of some of the worst possible weather; extreme wind and rain made it virtually impossible to even walk down the street! So we amused ourselves in our [very nice] hostel, playing board games and watching movies, and even though we were unable to see much of the city we did manage to get in a trip to the impressive te Papa museum. Whilst in Wellington we also met back up with some of our friends from our initial Kiwi Bus, it is always like seeing old friends again which is lovely, and we all fully intend to keep in contact because we have had some good times together :)

Our luck improved as soon as we left Wellington and once in Taupo both the Charlottes embarked on our first skydive. A very early start meant that we got up in the plane at sunrise and managed to see the stunning views across Lake Taupo and the surrounding volcanoes and mountains (including Mt Doom!) thanks to clear skies. The rest of the day we were on a bit of a high and we managed to get to Taupo's natural Thermal Spa pools and bathed in the bubbling underground water! We then took a visit to Taupo Bungy (don't worry Mums: we weren't crazy enough to do another!), where we watched 8 of our crazy friends do the jump (most of whom where dipped head-first into the freezing waters; and two of whom jumped in tandem - crazy!)

Next stop, Rotoura (aka Sulpher City), a slightly stinky town surrounded by hot springs, geysers and bubbling mud pools. It was here that we spent the evening at the rather touristy (but totally worth it) Tamaki Maori Night which is held at a re-created traditional Maori village from the 1600's. Here we witnessed the intimidating Maori challenge, watched a show of traditional song and dance, learnt about their weaponry and even witnessed the haka! The main attraction of the night (for the Charlottes, anyway,) was the amaing array of buffet food, all traditionally cooked in the ground on hot rocks: delicious!

We celebrated Evans' bithday on the 29th May. First in Rotorua and then we took our final Kiwi bus up to Auckland. Luckily our bus journey coincided with some other friends from our initial bus so we had a fun day altogther. First stopping at 'Hobbiton' (in fact a town called Matamata, but so-called due to it being the location of the sets for The Lord of the Rings trilogy). Then onto the city of Auckland for an evening out including trip to the Minus 5 ice bar!

We have had much better weather up in the north island so we have finally been able to ditch the winter gear! Having said that, we've been plagued by rain in Auckland today, so hopefully we'll manage to see the sights before our flight to the Cook Islands tomorrow (definitely ready for some sunshine now :))

The Westland

Moving down from Nelson and Westport we have seen even more: New Zealand's landscape is absolutely amazing, even in the rain! It seems as though this country is in itself a wonder of the world, every day we have travelled the west coast of the South island it feels like we have visited numerous different countries!

Our first stop after Westport was Lake Mahinapua (Ma-hee-na-poo-ah) where we stopped at the 'Poo Pub' for one night. This place was in the middle of nowhere and was all part of our Kiwi tour. Basically it is owned by a Kiwi leg

end, 83 year old Les Lisle, who accommodates bus loads of Kiwi Experience passengers every night in his cosy pub! We were given the task of dressing up in anything we could make out of black bin liners, fed a huge meal of steak and Venison stew (extremely yummy) and allowed to dance the night away to the juke box! At the end of the night we all put warm clothes on and walked down to the lake in search of glowworms which were absolutely amazing to witness...it was as if the trees and bushes had been lit up by natural fairy lights under the full moon - brilliant!

Our day hike of Franz Josef glacier was definitely one of the best days of the entire trip. We were properly kitted out in warm and waterproof clothes and led by a professional guide up the ice, witnessing some of the most unbelievable sights ever; crawling through ice tunnels and across! In spite of the cold and wet we laughed our way up and back down the glacier.

Upon reaching Queenstown we both decided to get involved in the real extreme sport

s, Dunkley for the Shotover Canyon Swing and Evans for the Nevis Highwire bungy (which, at 134m high is the third highest bungy in the world!) Our bravery has certainly been  tested  and luckily we have photo and video evidence to prove our madness!! Unfortunately we have been plagued by rain in Queenstown but it has been a good excuse to indulge ourselves in many an infamous Furgburger and have a few nights out and long-awaited lie-ins!!

From Queenstown we also took a day trip to Milford Sound. Luckily we had beautiful weather, and were able to stop at the foot of huge mountains to play in the deep snow as well as having clear blue sky for our cruise  through the stunning fiord and under waterfalls! 

We've definitely been filling every hour of each day, most days up before 7am and on the road shortly after. It means we have been able to enjoy lots of walks between each town, and visited the pancake rocks and blowholes of Punakaiki, as well as having some fun being baffled by the maze and mind tricks at Puzzling World in Wanaka (a perfect little lakeside town).

This week we are literally moving onwards and upwards through New Zealand: Back to Christchurch for a couple of days to see Larry and family again, before making our way up to the North Island (which we will hopefully be able to fit into our last week here!)

The Land of the Long White Cloud

We couldn't have asked for a better introduction to New Zealand. Coming into land in Christchurch we flew over the snow-capped alps which seemed never-ending. Apparently this was a pretty rare sight because most of the time there is too much cloud-cover to see the mountains, so apparently it's not such a land of long white cloud! Our luck was to continue in Christchurch as we were met at the airport by lovely Larry who is Bernie's Dad. For our inititation into New Zealand we were taken to a wine bar to taste the delights of gorgeous red wine and restaurant food with real Kiwi's! We then stayed 4 nights in Christchurch. We were also lucky enough to meet Bernie's brother and family who treated us like their own family. They had 3 gorgeous children who we had a lot of fun with and we were very grateful for home cooked food and big double beds with electric blankets!

We spent a couple of days seeing Christchurch and the surrounding areas including an artificial insemination farm for bulls and deer (an experience to say the least!). It was like being back in England in Christchurch which was really nice :)

Reluctantly though we had to leave these lovely people to begin our Kiwi Experience journey. On Friday we took a beautiful drive to Kaikoura along the coastal road with seal colonies and amazing turquoise sea on one side and snow capped mountains on the other. After one night in Kaikoura (we'll be coming back here after our loop of the South Island, so hopefully we can do some whale watching or dolphin swimming next time!) we moved onto Nelson for a couple of nights where we hired a car with 3 other girls for the day and drove up to the Abel Tasman National Park. It was really nice to do a bit of walking and have the freedom of a car!

We're now in Westport where today Charlotte E went on a horse trek through rivers and stunning scenery; and Charlotte D started the adrenilin sports with a jet boat ride along the river!

As much as people warned us it was going to be almost winter here, we were totally unprepared for the cold! However we have now bought new coats, hats and gloves which should come in handy because apparently we're in for some snow as we move down the South Island...

We've got loads planned for the next week or so but will try and update as soon as we can :) Also we have a lot more pictures coming!