now in the south and its sunny again. managed not to puke on the ferry. arrived in picton which was pretty but not a lot there so we moved on to nelson which was nice spent a couple of days there catching clams which we ate for dinner and kept some as pets but they got smelly and had to through them away. spent our days walking round town and then lying on the beach as it was too hot.

moved up to abel tasman national park which had some big mountains but we didnt have time to stay there for long so we looked around and then drove further up to a big spit in the sea and then back down towards the west coast stopping off for the night in murchison. saw a big suspension bridge and carried on to westport and then greymouth where we stopped on the way and looked at the pancake rocks and blowholes. seems all we have been doing is driving but havent got much time left in new zealand and are now planning our trip to the glaciers.

did another drive down to franz joseph where we looked around the really small village with not a lot to see apart from tourist companies trying to get our money. we booked up our helihike being put on standby for tomorrow morning as they were waiting for comfirmation from a tour company. then we went and sat in the sun and read some books before making dinner which was scrummy then trying to sleep, but where we were the little bar had decided to turn into a nightclub and ben refused to move until he couldnt stand the moaning any more. wouldnt have thought there was enough people to need a night club. anyway we got up late and went to check in with the glacier guid company and we were lucky and were put on the midday hike. so we got kitted up with boots and wooly socks, a jacket and lots of sun cream, luckily it was a really nice day and the sun was out so it wouldnt be too cold on the glacier. we then got loaded into a helicopter and whisked away up to the glacier and did a little scenic flight before landing on the glacier. the landing spot was a bit of smooth ice about 4ft by 4ft was very scary. then we got out and met our guides who gave us some crampons then we were set and on our way. the glacier moves everyday so it is different all the time so we followed our guide as he cut our path through the ice, going through little tunnels and squeezing through troughs of ice. was all pretty and blue and well worth it even though it was quite expensive. once we finished hiking around we got the helicopter back done and then ended up meeting a couple we met on the north island frantically waving at us took a while for us to recognise them but they were happy. then we got back in the car and headed down towards queenstown. didnt make it there that night and stayed in our first campsite although it was really a carpark with some toilets and a picnic bench. we got eaten alive by sandflies and mosquitos which didnt do much for our tempers in the morning and ended up leaving without breakfast. arrived in a little town called wanaka which was really pretty, it was about 32 degrees as well so we decided a day by the lake was in order, it was really cold but also too hot to sit in the sun. the next day i woke up with the car shaking which was strange so woke ben up thinking there was someone outside shaking the car but looked though the curtains and couldnt see anyone so we were a bit confused. we later learnt that we had experienced our first earthquake.

finally made it to queenstown but were really disappointed with it looked round the town but it was pretty rubbish. so we spent the afternoon practicing our skimming techniques on the lake. drove towards a little place called te anau and ended up in another campsite which was quite out the way in the forest and ended up following a fire engine down to it which we thought couldnt be a good sign as they were having lots of forest fires. luckily they were only going to fill up at the lake. we spent the next day in te anau doing some chores, sent home a big parcel with all our warm clothes and 2.5kg of lots of different flavours of cadbury chocolate that we bought, so mum you should get a big parcel soon. also booked our cruise for tomorrow round the milford sound. which is where we headed towards tonight staying in a little campsite by the river. unfortunately it was cloudy and raining hard when we finally got to milford, but luckily as we were sitting in the cafe waiting for our trip it brightened up and the sun came out so we could see the mountains that had been hiding. so got on our boat and had booked with a small company so it was quite a small boat compared to the really big boats of the other companys which was good as there were only about 10 of us onboard with free tea and coffee so we made good use of that. it was really pretty and really good fun on the little cruise saw lots of waterfalls, glaciers, sea lions and lots of dolphins which val you would have loved as they swam with the boat as we went and were about 4m long which were massive. after our little adventure we did a long road trip to invercargill which wasnt that good and ended up looking round the town and then heading out to another campsite for the night. where ben made a fishing rod out of a branch and attached some hooks that we bought to his fishing line and fished all afternoon but sadly was unsuccessful. we then left the next day for dunedin which was a really nice little city. went to cadbury world and did a tour round the factory which we looked lovely in hats and a mask for ben as he had grown a nice long beard. got lots of chocolate on the way round which ben enjoyed as he got mine. we then had lunch on a stone grill where your meat comes out raw on a hot stone and you cook it yourself which was fun. we went to the otago peninsula for the night where ben tried fishing in the sea with all the locals watching him, you could see the fish jumping in the water but sadly still couldnt catch any. ended right at the top of the peninsula where they were penguin watching so we went to join them a bit excited as we'd never seen them in the wild. they were blue penguins which are 30cm tall and look like minature versions of the ones you see in the antartic. waited on the beach till they come swimming up. a black mass in the water and then walk up a little path where we all sat down and had to keep still or they get scared and run off. they walked up the bank to go feed their chicks which was really cool and they were so cute. we were the last to leave and as we were walking back to the car we came across 3 of them so laid down to watch them which we stayed there for ages until one of them turned round and pooed right in front of us that came out as a wet fart which made us laugh and they got scared and hid.

left dunedin to another campsite near mount cook where i had a migraine and ben went off fishing in the river with his new fishing kit which we bought in dunedin which collapses down to hiking size. so i slept and got woken up by ben coming back ecstatic with himself that he had caught a fish, would have had 2 but he got excited and didnt know what to do with it when he got it and panicked where it then escaped and got back in the river so quite funny. but the one he did catch was about a foot long so quite impressive. but if you ask ben it was about 2 metres. we hadnt showered in a while so had a wash in the stream the next day which was really cold and ben poured water over my head which gave me big brain freeze which i think he enjoyed a little too much. drove today towards lake tekapo past mount cook and up to geraldine where we spent the night in our last campsite which was full of sheep, had a swim in the river and then cooked our fish which we believe was a rainbow trout.

we are now in christchurch and have given back the jucy mobile which was a bit of a mess and the fridge stunk where we let some meat leak and didnt clear it up and then when we did the smell wouldnt go. feels good to be in a hostel where you can shower when you want and did some washing for the second time since we've been in new zealand. spent today around town buying some more books and sitting by the river and then in a bar drinking the money that we had left over, then treated ourselves to a nice big dinner.

hope you are all well take care xx