Here i am in the FREEZING New Zealand! Im sure its not as cold as England but trust me, it definitely comes a close second! I've had a few action packed days so far in New Zealand so i thought i would keep you all updated about what i've been up to!

I had a pretty bad first impression of New Zealand as within about 30 minutes of being in the country i was fined $200 for having a satsuma in my bag! Allow me to clarify this a little... Basically when you enter certain countries like Australia and New Zealand (if you've never been here before) you have to fill out these declaration cards to say what you've got in your bag. So i ticked yes for food because i had some rice in my bag but then put no for everything else. So i said no for fruit and vegetables, no for camping equipment...etc...etc. Anyways i get my bag from baggage reclaim and head through to security and my handbag bleeps in the machine! So i just stand there quite confidently thinking "Harsh one Mate...you're machines obviously broken!" and he pulls out this satsuma out of my bag looking as if he's just found like 20kg of Cocaine in my bag or something! So i just look at him for ages thinking, "Yeah and...." Then the man tells me that he has to fine me $200 because i didnt declare that i had fruit in my bag! The thing is, regrettably, that satsuma had probably been in my bag for a week and had i have known it was there i would have either a) eaten it or b) chucked it away! I tried to explain to the man that i had no idea it was in there and that because my flight was so early in the morning i just shoved everything in my bag and dashed to the airport! (I didnt tell him that i had been out in Sydney the night before with my friends Cher and James from the Africa tour and had about an hours sleep before my flight! Didnt think he'd be that impressed!) Anyways, because its customs and they're so strict he was having none of it and charged me the $200 anyway! I guess i should be grateful that they even let me in the country!

I stayed in Christchurch for one night and was then picked up by the "Kiwi Experience" bus early the next morning. The Kiwi Experience is just a big company that does bus tours all around new zealand but you can choose how long you want to stay in each place and where you want to go. Its cool if you're travelling alone because most people that go on it are my age and are by themselves so its pretty phat! Ive met some really nice girls on there already and two of them went to Exeter Uni which is pretty spooky!

The first day we drove to Westport and stopped off at an activity centre along the way. I decided to do horseriding for some random reason and managed to fall off the horse while it was bending down to eat! Not very cool! The stupid woman gave me this horse called Locky who was apparently going through an "awkward stage" in its life where it didnt do what it was told! (Sounds like me mum doesnt it?! hahaha) But yeah...this horse just did the exact opposite to what all the other horses were doing and then obviously decided that the best place for me was the floor! Bloody b******!

Anyways with a nice sore bum the next day we carried on to a place called Lake Mahinapua where we stayed at this hotel of the oldest publican in New Zealand! He was 83 and called Les - Bless him! We had a fancy dress party that night in order to get to know one another a bit better and had the theme of "bad taste". So basically all dress up in the most un-politically correct outifit you can! we had people dressed up as al qaeda, the twin towers, size zero people - everything! No-one beat me and the girls costume though...I dressed up as a paedophile and they were my for child victims! hahaha! My idea of course! We didnt win though! Another guy that was dressed up as a paedophile priest won - stitched right up!

The next day we went to possibly one of the most amazing places ive been to on my travels. We went to Franz Josef which is home to one of New Zealands highest glaciers. (if you've never heard of it, look it up! Its amazing!) The first day that we got there i did a 3 hour kayak trip (you've got to try these things!) and then the day after i did a 6 1/2 hour hike up the glacier! We got to walk through all of these amazing icy caves and stuff and managed to get some amazing pictures! When i have more time ill upload some of them to facebook! But yeah...the hike was great but towards the end my little legs were getting a bit tired and i was tripping up all over the place! Such a clumsy thing i am!

Now im in a place called Wanaka. Yes...W-A-N-A-K-A and am off to this really cool cinema tonight that just has massive joey chairs and bean bags! Should be a pretty chilled out night. Tomorrow we're off to Queenstown which is meant to be the big party town of the south island so ill need to preserve my batteries for that! Hope everyone is well back home and if you're reading this dont be shy to leave a cheeky message on the messageboard! Will be interesting for me to see who reads all this blabber!

Take Care Everyone! Much Love! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx