2/4/2008 - After a few fab nights out in Taupo, I jumped back on the bus heading south to River Valley. On the way, we stopped in the Tongariro National Park and went to Tawhai Falls (for you LOTR fans, thats Smeagol's Pool in one of the movies) it wasn't a very great day so we didn't go for a swim, gutted!

After a long and winding drive, which I slept through, the bus stopped in what felt like the middle of nowhere, we were in amongst the hils and the mountains. We had to walk down the little road because the bus would never have made it, and at the bottom was the River Valley Lodge.

It's adorable, I love it! The main lounge area has a really friendly feel and after an introduction, we went to check out the rooms. The dorm rooms are really unusual, there were two, and each slept 16 people but it was like one massive bunk bed in each room with 8 mattresses squashed together on the bottom bunk, and the same on the top and 3 ladders took you up to what felt like a different floor. It's quite hard to explain but they were certainly different! The toilets are outside in little shacks, one says Dino and one says Barney.

We decided to take a break from instant noodles and have the buffet meal in the Lodge - it was so good! Roast chicken and stuffing, cauliflower cheese, roasted vegetables, potatoes and gravy... yummy!! I was so tired that I went to bed at half eight!

3/4/2008 - I woke up feeling really refreshed after 12 or so hours rest, then the shower definately woke me up because it's outside too, really bizarre! Some people went White Water Rafting but since there's not been much rain the river was only grade 3 rather than the grade 5 it normally is so I decided to save my money until I get to the South Island. We spent the morning relaxing, reading, writing our journals and sunbathing, pretty relaxed place.

The bus journey to Wellington took forever, we had a few stops but nothing major and watched a movie to pass the time. I was so excited about coming to Wellington, finally! It's really nice here, but nothing like you'd expect a capital city to be.

We checked into our hostel, and went to get some supplies for the night, before getting dressed up and going to the bar! Really good night!

4/4/2008 - It was quite a lazy day, didn't leave the hostel until mid afternoon when I went for a wander round Welly. I got lost, it started to rain, it's always really windy here so my map blew away and I had to chase it down the street. What an idiot! I signed up to a temping agency to hopefully get a bit of cash, and have a few other interviews lined up. I think I'm going to stay in Wellington for a while then eventually go to the South Island. Made some noodles for dinner and we all went out again!

5/4/2008 - It was really really rainy, so we ran to the Te Papa Museum. It's a huge museum all about NZ's history with lots of interactive things to do to make it more fun. We only managed to cover about half of the exhibits so I want to pop back again some other time. It's a good way to spend a day, and it's completely free! Bonus!

6/4/2008 - The group of people I've been travelling with left this morning to catch the ferry south, so I'm all alone again! I love Wellington though so I should be fine! I slept in this morning, meaning I was an hour late checking out, never mind the fact the clocks went back last night, but the nice receptionist lady said I didn't have to pay the $35.40 late fee! Phew!

This morning when I was sitting in the hostel kitchen drinking tea out of a glass because I couldn't find a mug and spreading butter on my toast with a spoon because there were no knives, I laughed at how crazy different my life is just now. I've been away for almost 50 days! It's all going to be over soon at this rate!

I'll keep you posted if anything exciting happens!