continuing from the 1st of june -

in the afternmoon (after lunch etc, we got picked up by a bus tour company and headed out on a tour to see a bunch of native wildlife. well at first we thought it would be a seriously geeky bird watching tour as all we kept seeing were loads of birds and other nature things but we were quite excited by the kingfishers as we were able to get up really close to 2 kingfishers (ive never seen one before so was very exciting for me). anyway we then headed off to see if we could spot a royal albotrose (which we didn't) and then headed another half hour out so we could see some penguins and sea lions. oh my god the penguins were amazing - they were little yellow eyed penguins that were tiny little things and one of them walked straight towards us and made us move out the way so he could wander up the footpath that we were coming down - was really cute. we then headed onto the beach and got really close to a bunch of sealions - they were all fast asleep either on there own or with their boyfriends (yes apparently sealions have a tendancy to be gay when there are not enough girls to go around so 'practice' on young males until they find a female to practice with! - those are our guides words not mine!) so we got quite close to them. i had a really bad cold at the time and if anyone knows what i sound like with a cough- its fairly loud - well when i started coughing one of the sealions looked up and straight at me - the guide said i sounded like a sealion so the big sealion that looked up thought i was a potential new bf/gf! bit disturbing so i kept my mouth firmly shut until we got off the beach after that! headed off to a hut so we could watch the penguins coming in land from the beach and the sea - they climbed up the side of the hill which looked very strange but quite funny as they hopped up the side of a steep hill! back along the beach and a sealion had just come in from the sea and decided to pick a fight with the other sealions that were sleeping and they all started going for each other. they made very strange noises! we then hiked it up a hill to the next site which was down a different hill so we could see the fun seals. they blended in with the rocks really well so we could barely see them but there were millions of them when u could recognise them. after we saw them and had suitably frozen we headed back up the stupidly steep hill to the bus which took us back to the hostel. we had our tea and some very welcome hot showers before heading into town for an icecream (we both had colds and sore throats and came to the conclusion that ice cream was the cheapest form of medicine!). we watched narnia on the tv and then the village which is very very strange!

2nd june - HAPPY BIRTHDAY FISH STICKS!!!

we got on the bus at 8.15and made our way to lake tekapo - we met nicola and her broken hand as well as niamh on the bus and went to see the steepest hill in the world - yes we were seriously bored at the prospect as well - was nothing special - just turned out to be a big street with not a lot on it! we then headed out on dunedin to tekapo where we had a couple of stops and saw several pretty lakes as well as a different view of MT Cook which we were originally able to see from franz josef. we also saw some boulder rocks that werre fairly cool as they were big and round - couldnt be bothered to go down to the beach as it was blooming freezing so took piccys from the cafe! made it into tekapo around three and went to see a pretty little church by the side of the lake and then headed off to our accomodation. after checking in and reading the horrible comments about the hostel in the visitors book we headed to the shops to get supplies nad then came back and chilled out with nicola and niamh. we then had tea and sat by the fire - stuck the fifth element on the tv and then went to bed - a very chilled out day.

june 3rd -

up and our of tekapo - saw a gorgeous sunrise (about 7.30 thank god - was not going to get up really early) over the mountains and then headed on out to christchurch. had a stop in a little town for a coffee. when we arrived in christchurch we checked into the base hostel and decided to treat ourselves to a sanctuary room which is a girls only dorm with special posh showers and fluffy towels and free champagne, shampoo, conditioner, hairdryers (that typically dont work) and a really pretty room with lots of space. so we then went out into town and got lunch and then headed up to the shops to get food for tea and other general supplies. we had originally planned to go swimming with dolphins the next day but the woman on the hadn't seemed to positive about it so we didnt have our hopes up. we met nicola and niamh in the bar for a few farewell drinks and then headed to bedland!

june 4th -

got up ready and prepared to swim with dolphins when we called up and lo and behold - canceled. the weather was crummy so it had been canceled so we decided to what we had planned for tomorrow today instead. so we trotted off to the museum and spent a couple of hours playing in there. was really interesting as well as educational - mum i bet you're proud! and then we went for a walk around the botanical gardens.its 74 ha's but wer just walked around the outside. we then headed back to town for a coffee and decided to book a trip to the french province of Akora for tomorro - hopefully we can go on a boat ride and see dolphins even if we cant swim with them! so after that we went to see the cathedral in the centre of town before heading back to the hostle to chill out for an hour. then back out into the cold to go punting on the river avon - was really good actually - we had a granny rug and everything to keep us warm. after that we marched back into town in search of lunch (by this time it was like 2.30) and munched away before deciding to head back into the centre and catch a tram around the area. was pretty cool and got some good snaps! ooooooo and we've booked tickets to see sex and the city on friday as it hasn't come out here yet so were going to go and see that and hopefully do any other boring stuff (like sending things home etc) then as well. so here we are back at the hostle after a very educational and packed day! still cost a bit but was very enjoyable. might be going to watch a film tonight - 21 about a card game in vegas i think. anyway - not a lot else here do to on a night unless you want to drink - and well frankly my bank balance will not permit it any longer so therefore i think the cinema is the best way to go!

will hopefully write on here before we leave for asia xxx