And so the awesomeness continues.. So after the amazing first week in New Zealand, believe it or not, it just got better!

We stayed in Franz Josef for 2 nights, in a very nice Rain forest retreat. On our first day we did a lovely kayak trip on the glacier lake, kayaking through a rain forest and jumping off the kayaks for refreshing dips. The water was so pure you could drink straight from the lake!

Next day was proper exercise, with our 8 hour glacier hike. We got up at 7am and basically hiked the whole day. It took a while to get used to walking on the strap-ons, but we had a good guide with us, who was working hard to make the path easier for us. The glacier was impressive and I'm so glad I decided to do the hike. We we're all knackered after the hike and jumped straight into the hot tub at the hostel.

From FJ we headed to Wanaka where me, Brett, Miranda, Johannes, Vlad and Shari decided to jump of a plane. Skydive has been my dream for a long time, but as the scheduled jump was getting closer, I have to admit, that I was scared.. Apparently I had managed to hide it well, acting cool as a cucumber, when the truth is that I was just paralyzed of fear and that why I wasn't joining in the nervous banter. But whoa!!! The best feeling ever!!!! You cant even describe it, but the adrenaline rush when youre pushed out of the plane is awesome!!! I highly recommend it!! And as Shari said, we cant really tick it off of our boxes of things to do, because we want to go again, asap!!!

The only upsetting thing, on that otherwise perfect day, was that Shari accidentally deleted ALL my photos from my camera!!! So let this be lesson to you all- back up back up back up!!!!! I, on the otherhand, had been too busy with having a good time and not sitting in stinky internet cafes, that I had not backed up a single photo from NZ. Bummer, is all I can say (well, actually at that time, I think I might have said something else..) We took it to a camera shop, and they could retrieve one third of my photos, but it felt more like a practical joke, since the only photos saved, were photos of seals and a landscapes, but photos of me and the group were pretty much destroyed. Lucky thing is that we'd been traveling together the entire time in NZ, so we have more or less the same photos..

Even I've seen amazing places and done awesome activities, the thing I will remember the most from New Zealand are the people I met. So I think I should introduce them to you as well. Miranda also writes a blog and I loved the way she introduced the gang, so I thought I'd just copypaste it here:
"Day 1 board the bus at Chch where the first characters to stand out are the darlin free spirited Shari and the tangental thinker Vladimir...its an early start and like 2 floating wanderers cloaked in towels, bleary eyed and shivering they enquire if they can board the bus (despite not having packed or checked out). I flash a 5megawatt smile at them that cuts the terse faces of the more organised already boarded bus riders and know instantly i'll hit it off with the 'it's complicated' couple who study in UK and France and have only a short 2week trip together before Shari does some family soul searching in Oz till sept and Vlad returns to continue his architectural degree in france.
Spud our driver gets a good yarn going and a rather dashing blond enquires if he can take the seat beside me. Cue Johannes aka the group heart throb (with subsequent hickies and girl flitting to prove it and a trail of girl and man crushes from just about ever member of our 'family'. I know there's an age gap when I mention toy story and he marvels how I can quote it as he was 5 when it came out! After a wee stop at a seal colony we're all off taking beach strolls and fishing trips in Kaikoura. Convening later at our cosy hostel for a garden bbq. Checking into our rooms I incident Hilke our upfront german friend and Simon the body perfect swede (what is it with your people!)
It is at the bbq that I meet the ever composed and glamourous Crystal. Sure she's got a touch of sunburn but demurely nibbles at some of our bbq goodies like the dainty minx she is...Anni and I prep the salad and corn and let me tell you Anni from finland is adorable too. With Bjork like cuteness of voice and 50's silverscreen siren looks she's straight out of a Fellini film.
And how could I forget the moment I became aware of Cat and Yuki friends from Oz though UK and Japan based in origin. Kooky and Crazy...a whirlwind of fun. Oxford girl Cat is my kind of girl, bossy, mouthy and not to be messed with...I love it! Yuki plays the cute card to perfection with a funny little wink and point as she tells you 'You naughty!' Bless her! Day2 We board the bus again where I get chatting to a few more people from the bus...cheifly Peter and Andrea from Ireland whom I'd heard boozing into the night from my dorm bed as they chatted the breeze with Crystals travelling buddy Brett (both are from Wisconsin USA). Now Pete and Andrea are like 2 smiling, boozing, excitable chipmunks, so they are. And Andy travels with pink wig, corset and heels!"
So that's Mirandas introduction of the gang. Miranda is keeping us all in order and organizing our rooms, but at the same time, she is the craziest daredevil of us all, like doing naked canyon swings and so on..


From Wanaka we headed to Queenstown, the long awaited climax of our trip. Queenstown is all about the a
bungy jumping (every other person is wearing the Nevis bungy t-shirt!) and it has plenty of great restaurants and bars. It's located by a beautiful lake, surrounded by mountains and gardens. Our driver Ringo, had warned us that Queenstown can steal your soul, well it didn't steal my soul, but my health yes. Late nights, early mornings, living on Fergburgers or Winnies pizza (Both world famous Queenstown institutions, and certainly deserve their reputation!!) oh but good times we had!! I got really into palying pool and also frisbee golf is something worth playing again. It was also bittersweet in a way, because almost every night it was someones last night, so the week was also filled with goodbyes. I stayed there for almost a week, then said bye to everyone expect Cat, who stayed there to look for a job and headed up North..