Hi to everyone, As some of you know I have decided to cut short my trip and return home and this will probably be the last instalment of my blog...If homesickness is missing family and friends then I've got it bad ! I will be back in 'Norn Iron' on Saturday 28th June. Last instalment was from Queenstown, middle of the south island and I'm now back in Auckland, top of the north island. The bus was bunged fron Queenstown, with no snow lots of skiers were leaving....

Hey Folks me again. Just finished 3 nights doing the 'Bottom Bus'. Very enjoyable. First day was a long trip from Queenstown to Dunedin. We stopped for a kodak moment at Baldwin Street (the steepest street in the world) and after settling in our hostel a few of us headed off to Cadbury World for a factory tour. yeeha free samples! Dunedin has 23,000 students and 40,000 perminant residents and looks like Edinburgh but without the sandstone buildings. A quick show...

Hey Guys, here's the latest instalment of JB's World Tour, Been on the south island since wed 04/06/08. Stayed over in Nelson, where we shared with Dee, a german girl from near Frankfurt, via a vineyard for wine sampling. I'd been suffering a tummy upset, (I had been cooking for myself!)so just lay low for the evening. Next day we travelled through stunning scenery to Westport. A small town that has a thriving fishing industry, over 50% of the worlds Hoki is shi...

Hey all, Kia Ora, Made the South Island after a very very rough crossing of the Cook Straits last wed 4th June. Our stay in River Valley (for me) was a bit of an anticlimax. The grade 5 whitewater rafting was cancelled...to much water in the river !! and apart from horse riding not much else to do especially when the weathers crap. The Tongariro National Park was amazing though, most of "Lord of the Rings" was filmed here so plenty of photo stops. We...

Kia Ora, to you all, Just back in Taupo for 2 nights, after a very enjoyable 4 days exploring the East Cape. We stayed in Homestays, basiclly someones converted barn or garage !! A big shop for supplies was done in Pak 'N Save before we left as there was next to nothing in the way of shops out there (except a few service stations ). Photos of the touristy bits are all uploaded for your viewing !!! Only 7 travellers did this leg of New Zealand and we formed a tig...