I've jumped a bit now but I am going to try writing for the moment and not for stuff that happened weeks ago! So, I've now skipped to the 20th January and I'm in Picton on the morning of the ferry to Wellington. That morning I awake at 6am so that I could go for a swim in the ocean before getting the ferry. However, night before a big cyclone had hit (I thought that the hostel building was going to collapse) and this continued until late into the following morning. I got chatting to a middle-aged kiwi guy who had tried to give me a lecture about how dangerous hitch hiking had become in New Zealand before offering me a lift to the ferry terminal in his car! I declined even although I was weighed down with two big bags.

The ferry crossing was very scenic as I looked back having a panoramic view of the Marbough Sounds (whilst being almost blown of the deck at the same time). Despite the beauty of the coast lines and coves, the sea was rough making for an intersting crossing. On the ferry I also met with Mario again, who I'd been travelling with for a while previously after meeting on top of Mount Olivia in the Mount Cook range. After a flying stop in Wellington (and living upto its name of windy Wellington) we made our way to Mount Taranaki/Egmount where we were to later climbed another mount together. That day turned out to be very hot and despite our efforts we were unable to go for a swim in the sea. That night we slept and ate in a Department of Conservation car park at the foot of the mountain and overlooking the ocean. As you can see from the my photos of Mount Taranaki, it looks like the mountain is wearing a white wolly hat - what a remarkable view. That evening, at roughly 10pm, a guy who had just came up to the mountain came and spoke to us. He had just come off the mountain after having a huge epic after becoming lost. He was a fine example of why this hill has the reputation for being the most dangerous mountian in New Zealand.

Waking up at 6am we made our way up the mountain covered in cloud - which worked to our advantage to keep the sun away. The walk up was very steep from the moment we left the car park, later turning into walking up a scree slope and scrambling on the ridge. For the majority of the trip we were in thick cloud and once we got to the snow filled crater near the summit it had become even thicker. However, once reaching the summit we decided to sit it out for an hour and waited at to see if the clouds cleared. I had been disappointed once I'd got to the mountain and unable to see anything because I had longed to climb that mountain since leaving home. My ambition to climb this mounta amplified after a plane ride in December which flew me over the top of the snow capped mountain. However, luck was on our side, and having waited pateintly for an hour or so (while others had retreated), the clouds finally disappeared and we had a view to die for. It literaly felt like we were standing on top of the world, the views immense and the cloud patterns adding to the ambunce. Mario set about taking photos (he is a photograher selling his photos) and used me as his 'female model'. Thats one thing I can add to my list of things I've done in New Zealand that I hadn't considered doing!

The hike down was challenging over the steep scree slopes, but it didn't take us long before we were once again sat in the car park with the intense sun beating down on us. A quick rest and we wasted no time before making our way to Rotorua. It was a long evening of driving but the drive was one of the most spectacular I've seen, along the forgotton highway. We camped that evening overlooking Lake Taupo and cooking in the dark made for an interesting dinner. That night I shared my tent with not just one but at least 30 mosquitos and sandflies so as you can imagine in the morning it wasn't pretty.

The following morning we headed to Rotorua where Mario dropped me off at the hostel. We said our goodbyes, which I found a wee bit hard because we'd had such good fun together and it had been great spending time with someone who shares my passion of the outdoors. I had choosen my hostel based on the fact that they had a climbing wall and gym (and the fact that it was raining). Rotorua has one of the top mountain bike tracks in the country so I was keen to give it a go. Luckly along with the other actvities my hostel had to offer they hired out cheap mountain bikes. So I dumped my stuff in the hostel, grabbed a bike and headed out. Although the rain had stopped I was aware that in the afternoon it was going to turn for the worse again. As soon as I got into the park and made my way up the first steep fire road, the heavens opened and forgot to stop until a few days following this. This made for a fantiasic ride. Not only was it a bike ride though, but an oppurtunity to explore the breath taking forrests and wildlife. I also love the times that I can get away from the 'tourists' and met only one other person on this incredable network of purpose built track. Unfortunaltey for me, when I met him, I was lying in a bush after taking a wee fall. Cycling back to the hostel, tired, I had had a great time and was covered in mud from head down.

The follwing morning I caught a bus to Gisbone at 7.30am. Due to the rain (which still hadn't stopped) it was a challenge to travel through the george, there was boulders the size of fridges on the road from landslides. We stopped to grab food for the next three days and not only did I get food but I also got an interesting cultural experince. The other thing I learnt however, was that it reconfirmed why I travel alone, a girl on the trip shared a tolley with me and she drove me around the bend - asking (about 6 times) what should I make for my dinner. Not only this but I saw four older people greet in the moari way which was cool.

My plan had been to surf in Gisbone but due to (yet again) poor weather it was cancelled, and so I ended up feeding stingray in the wild. Not being a heart raising activitiy I didn't think that it would be that exciting, but I rather enjoyed it. We feae and touched the stingray, some of whom were pregnant. They were pretty cool to watch and touch, each weighing in at least 80kgs. Touching the stingray was exciting, it felt like touching a piece of silk and their backs were dusty. Aparently this was due to them 'hoovering' up the sand in order to find insects and then will blow the unwanted sand out of their blow holes. Although they seemed friendly, I'm sure that Steve Urwin's family would not agree.

After feeding the stingray, I noticed some old kayaks near the hostel in Tatapouri. I asked if they were to hire but they were free. I asked around and an Irish couple that were on the bus decided to come too. We were soon on our way and headed to a local beach further up the east coast and although a little rough we made it.

Later in the evening, we were met with more torrentail rain - I was glad we had been given a safety breifing about what to do if there was an earthquake and sunamie. That night, the girl above me was screaming in her sleep about snakes being in her bed, this was a welcoming break as normallyI've been the one to sleep talk and walk!

The next day, I got up at 6am to watch the sunrise (as this is the first city to see the sunrise in the world each day). I went for a walk along the beach that morning to watch the sun come up. An hour later, I wasted no time before jumping in a kayak to go for a paddle. Unfortunaltey I was met by the biggest waves which made it too dangerous to continue. As soon as I got in the first wave soaked me, so I decided to give it a miss after 15 minutes of trying but gave up and had a quick swim before heading back to the chalet. After a quick breakfast I then headed up to the hill behind the chalet, I was mesmerised by the most incredable moon that I could almost put my hand out and grab. I was disappionted therefore that my camera battery decided to die on me, but not before I got a few shots.

After another drive we stopped at a few places to walk on whalfs etc. however, it was a hot day and I asked if we could stop for a swim. The sea was too rough for a swim and rather cold, but I soon discovered a stream leading to the sea, I went to explore. This is where I found our mud bath for the next half an hour. Fantiastic fun coating ourselfs in mud and it was warm too. That evening was spent in a very isolated hostel at Tolaga Bay. The following morning was yet again an early start for me, 5.45am I got up to again to watch the sunrise but due to the clouds it was nothing spectacular. I came back and actually watched the news for the second time in four months and took tux (the dog) for a walk.

The way back to Rotorua was a very long day but we did stop at the east cape lighthouse which had 770 steps to get to the top of it, but worth it for the views. The other most interesting thing was that a lot of the houses along the road had microwaves for letter boxes. The path on the way up reminded me very much of the path from 'Mamma mia' where they all go to the girls wedding. Once back in rotorua and after a long and (dare I admit it) boring drive, I met with the people from my trip that evening for a pizza.

On the 26th january I was to be meeting with matt and sash which I was very excited about. Most importantly I was really looking forwards to seeing them but I was also looking forwards to meeting someone I knew without having to explain my travel history. This was going to be great after four months.

I meet with matt and sash that day and because of the nice weather we headed to the blue lakes for a swim which was lovely and tried to make some plans for the following month. Later that day we headed to Wai-O-tapu, meaning sacred waters, which were just amazing, we went when the majority of tourists had left. Wai-o-tapu is a thermal 'wonderland' where they have the most colourful and divese volcanic area in the world. The champange pools were the most spectualcar, the colours of the perfirated edge was amazing with its hecture of bubbling, hissing water.

That evening, I headed back to the hostel so that I could climb with Simon, a guy that I'd met the following day and also met with a few others. It was great to be back on the wall, even if it was an indoor one!