G'day folks from Melbourne, Australia! I can't quite believe it but I have made it Downunder, and it feels surprisingly familiar here - it's just like Neighbours! Auckland Airport feels a million miles away now, but after an ungodly start at 2:30am, I caught a bus to the airport and my low-frills flight was surprisingly smooth. I even managed to get a seat with extra leg-room, on the agreement that I would open the escape door in an emergency and be the first to...

Hi all! Well I have a fair bit to update you about from the past couple of weeks. Firstly, I have just had a super weekend away in Abel Tasman NP! On Saturday, I went on a day's kayaking trip all along the coast from Onetahuti beach, through the Tonga Island Marine Reserve and all the way down to a large bay called Anchorage - it was brilliant! We saw seals with pups hopping about the rocks and blue-footed penguins crusing along beside us. As it was high tide in...

Hello all, Here I am again on Monday afternoon in an internet cafe in Nelson. Its cloudy outside and it rained yesterday, a suprise as it is almost always sunny here. I watched the weather on the TV yesterday evening (exciting!) and they said it would be 25 degrees today - its certainly not! Since my last update I have been successful in finding a room to rent in a house. The minute I got my job I rang up lots of numbers on the web and in the newspaper, went to...

Hello, another week has flown by here in New Zealand. My 'tramp' to Abel Tasman was great! I had a really super time. I took a coach up to the start of the Coastal Track at a place called Marahau early last tuesday morning, and hired a sleeping bag at the visitor centre - it was a bit of a chunky old thing but I managed to tie it to the top of my rucksack with a bit of rope. I had decided to do the first two sectors of the route in one day so I sure hiked a long...

Hello again. I thought it was about time that I updated you since it's been a week since my last entry - the time has flown by! Well I got to the South Island ok, the ferry was not so bad after all, a bit choppy out in the middle of the Cook Strait and I got covered in sea spray out on the side decks, but most of the ride was through estuaries so a bit sheltered - the scenery was stunning especially through the channels of the Marlborough and Queen Charlotte Sou...