Spaceship Diaries: Part Two I'd like to the start this journal entry with the shock revalation that I Jessica Jeary now enjoy the lifestyle of living in a caravan! I actually cant call it that, as basically we've been living, sleeping, eating and driving in a people carrier. I havn't been able to change standing up for two weeks or check my reflection in anything other that a rear view mirror HAHA How did I cope!? Yes, its true I loved it and got very attatched to our orange friend the Spaceship named Kodos. It's been hard to let go, and I almost shed a tear this morning as I handed the keys back to the rental firm, still now we return to the normalities of four walls, sinks, toilets and a proper bed!! To follow on where Sam left off, our next stop was Queenstown (QT) the adventure capital of the world and a place where every traveller in NZ heads for. We drove down a day early as our skydive in Wanaka was cancelled due to high winds (boo hoo). QT is a lively town nestled within the mountains, we made the most of the bars and shops but due to the rain most activites had to be cancelled. We're both loving the red wine at the moment so many hours were spent in the cosey Bufflo Bar soaking up the heat from their open fire and chatting to the locals!! We met some great people including a scatty Eastender, two nice Germans guys and two rather posh girls from Chelsea. We were cheeky and stayed two nights in the motor park for the price of one (they're so laid back we could of stayed a week before they noticed) so that was a Brucey bonus!! It's hilarious how you become aware of lifes little freebies when you're travelling, ie: sugars at the coffee shop for your cereal, tissue for use when weeing with the sheep, in-flight socks for those cold nights in the campa and even towels from the maids laundry trolly when she isnt looking (that was me!!!) We left QT for Te Anau which was the most scenic drive, where rain had fallen in town snow fell on the higher grounds and it made the mountains look as if they'd been turned upside down and dipped in sugar. Christmas in on the way!! The road winded its way around the Eyre mountains before dropping down into the Fiordlands. Te Anau is the gateway to the fiords, a small village with all the facilities for the passing tourists as they head onto the sounds. We camped at a DOC site (and didnt pay again) in the middle of the bush and headed further toward Milford Sound the next day. It was just amazing, this is the most obscenely scenic stretch of road in the world! It takes around two hours, but took us nearly half a day because at every turn of the head there would be another waterfall, mountain, gushing river, hawks, or deer....it really did take my breath away and the brilliant sunshine made the visabilty stretch for miles and the mountains looks so crisp and illuminated. Put simply it's an amazing country with every beautiful and wonderful natural spectacle within such a small land mass. Lakes, mountains, fiords, volcanoes, caves, glaciers, waterfalls, beaches, islands, thermal pools, ski slopes, rainforests and vibrant cities. I'm sorry nearly everyone of our latest pictures is scenery but its far more interesting than anything else that's been going on!! I just cant get over it really. Milford Sound was an unforgettable place, and for me the highlight of the south island. Vertical cliffs jumped 1200m out of the water which was mirror like, it was created by a drowned glacier but its other geographical attributes are its coloured rocks and mineral deposites (including gold). You can see by the staggering of the cliff faces that its witnessed three ice ages and just out to sea at the mouth of the sound there's a visible break in the water which is where two tectonic plates meet, this causes on average one earthquake per day in the area!!! It was such an interesting and remarkable place. The following day we headed north on a seven hour drive to Peel Forest, nestled in the Canterbury hills and our destination for white water rafting!!! It took a while with the stops along the way (Lake Tekapo - the bluest lake, Mount Cook and a town called Twizel!) but we got there and it was a welcomed retreat for a couple of days with friendly staff, BBQ's and open fires. All the rafting crew were brilliant fun, one guy James from Scotland was a bit of an inspiration as he rafted, wrote freelance for The Times and Guardian and also helped re-build villages in Thailand after the tsunami - good man. The rafting itself was hilarious, we scaled grade five rapids (the highest grade you can commercially raft) and jumped off cliffs into the river which being glacier fed was very cold! Plus, I landed funny and hurt my buttox (like Forest Gump I got shot in the but-tox!). Were now back in Christchurch tidying up some loose ends before heading to the North Island tomorrow morning at the wonderful time of 6am!! Hurrah! We'll be in Wellington for a couple of days and hopefully there Sam will find a bracelet for her Bday which is quickly approaching. Must go, but as a treat for the camping Im having fish n chips tonight!! Bring it on! Love to all, Miss you all lots. Jess and Sammy PS: Sleeping in the Spaceship has been inducing some rather odd dreams during which Ive been sleeptalking asking "why is there a fork on my pillow!" - How very odd, I hope I return to normal soon.......