Kia Ora!

Firstly you may notice a distinct lack of photos, this is due to a combination of laziness and my camera dying at the most inopportune moments. But I have managed to get some good shots of the amazing views we've seen the last few days and I'll fill in the gaps with other people's photos once they've put them online. Also I'm not going to write about every stop we do (we do a lot!) just the ones that are most interesting!

We left Taupo a week ago yesterday and stayed that night at River Valley Lodge. On the way we stopped at a broken waterfall which you can jump into, it's a 13m drop and Ellie and I both jumped in... eventually! The Lodge was an experience - 16 to a dorm of just great long bunkbeds, with a partition separating from the 16 next door! It was crazy but we stayed up a bit playing cards and drinking games, which was fun. The next day we got to Wellington and wondered round there for the afternoon - seemed a great city, and it was a shame we couldn't stay longer but it was really busy because of the rugby 7s that weekend. We had a great night out though, and about 1 1/2 hours sleep before our early ferry crossing the next day - painful ;-)

Our first couple of nights on the South Island we spent at Nelson, and on one of them our bus driver took us all to a bbq at his parents' house - about 50 of us - which was cool, so I'm thinking I'll invite everyone to ours when I'm back home. (Just kidding mum and dad).

On our way out of Westport we had to stop and help clear a landslide off the road before our coach could go past - that was pretty exciting. We spent a night at a place known as the "Poo Pub" which literally lived up to its name - apparently its the worst hostel of the trip and I can quite believe it! It was smelly and a trek to the showers which were in some caravan which didnt even lock, you can imagine how I loved it there! But we had a fancy dress party that night - themed "superheroes", we all had to think of our own special power - which was wicked, we just got really drunk and forgot about our surroundings! I went as "the incredible sleeping woman" because that's what the girls called me at the start of the trip, due to my ability to fall asleep wherever I am (they were jealous of all the hours I got in on the plane!).

On Tuesday we arrived at Franz Josef and the next day we did a full day's hiking on the glacier, it was absolutely brilliant. Sadly my camera died at the bottom but I'll get some of the others to share their pictures with me because it really was amazing. We left about 9.30 am, got all kitted out and then walked for about an hour through the valley towards the glacier. At the bottom we put crampons on our boots (our outfits were highly sexy, what with the gloves and hats too) to grip the ice and set off in groups of 11 with a guide up the glacier. We were on the ice for about 6 hours in total I think, it was hard work but so worth it. Scariest bit was walking over a deep crevice, one foot balanced on either side - basically if you fall, you're byebye - I was so relieved to come out the other side! It was an amazing day though, I'm so glad I did it.

This morning we stopped on our way to Wanaka at a beautiful lake which at the right time in the morning reflects the scenery perfectly. We walked around for an hour and a half (despite the achey legs!). The hostel we're at now is the closest thing to luxury we've seen - tvs in the room and everything! Going to have a quiet night tonight in preparation for Queenstown tomorrow... can't wait!

Thinking of you all, thanks everyone who's messaged me! I'll try and send more personal messages soon...

Love, Elle xxx