Helloooo, blog readers!! It's been a while since I wrote - in fact apart from my pictures I dont think I've really given you much idea of what I've been doing in New Zealand - it's not been as easy to access the internet as I thought, mainly because the activities are pretty much non-stop. But at least this way I'll just tell you my highlights and not bore you with everything I've been doing!

My highlight of the moment (and probably of my life!) would have to be the SKYDIVE I did yesterday - yes, that's right, I did it! We went up to 12,000 feet and I was first off the plane. There's a 45 second freefall, then your professional puts the parachute up and you glide downwards for a few minutes until you land. The day was so clear and the view was amazing, I cant even describe the rush and exhiliration - if only I could afford to do it again I'd be up there like a shot!! Ive the dvd and photos to remember it by though.

Before that, yesterday morning in Waitomo we went black water rafting, which is where you don a wetsuit and rubber ring and set off (with a guide!) down some caves. We went for about an hour and although a little scary, it was really good fun, and we saw lots of glowworms! So yesterday was probably the most extreme day I'll ever have. It was also the day of the all-in-one suits, and my did we look good in them.

We left our hostel at 5 today and went on an 18km mountain walk, called the Tongariro crossing. We saw mount doom and places where scenes of Lord of the Rings were filmed - though to be honest I wouldnt have recognised them if this hadnt been pointed out (and if I'm really honest, I'm still not sure which scenes they were!). The scenery was awesome but the walk was very difficult - I'm glad I can say I did it, but I wouldnt go again!

Another place I loved was Rotorua, despite the smell - there's sulphur coming out of the ground, so it smells a lot like rotten eggs. The geothermal activity was amazing though, check out the pictures. I also took loads of pictures of the beautiful gorge walk we did, I think this was the first time I was truly stunned by the beauty of the scenery. I really do love what I've seen of New Zealand so far, and the people are really friendly too. Also in Rotorua we went out to a cultural Maori evening - the Maoris are the tribes who first lived in New Zealand (before us Europeans arrived and "civilized" them). Their culture is really interesting and the evening was great - saw their welcoming ceremony, some dances (incl the famous Haka!) and had a tasty traditionally cooked meal too.

Anyway, that's probably enough blogging for now - I've sort of started from today and worked backwards mainly because I remember today better than I remember last week! I'll have to add in things as I think of them later on!

Until the next time (which, knowing me, could be a while)... Kia Ora!

xxxxxxx