Today we tried to make our fortune. But it failed. We travelled to a nearby small town to pan for gold. In th 1800s Arrowtown was full of the stuff; you couldn't move for it and the Chinese miners that worked there were definitely not dissapointed with their work. We were. Upon our arrival myself and a fellow panner, Emily, got hold of the necessary equipment - a pan and a trowel - and made our way to the nearby river, supposedly flowing with Gold! (You may b...

Ok, big news everybody. After 2 months, and a lot of hard work and effort, I'm afraid it's gone. It was fun whilst it lasted, but now it's finally had to go. I am now clean shaven, the little goatee beard has been eradicated. Thank God - it looked ridiculous! Anyway, that being said, a few updates. We have just returned to Queenstown after our Bottom Bus experience, and another stunning day, this time in Milford Sound. But I get ahead of myself. Since the las...

Today, on the Bottom Bus, we reached as far South as we will everprobably go ever ever ever in the world ever. And it was kind of the same as everywhere else!! Nothing too different or dramtic. No Polar Bears or enormous icebergs. But there were some penguins - and a very large Sea-lion. We watched a very rare group of Yellow Eyed Penguins come out of the water at the end of the day and waddle off to sleep in the bushes by the sea. Watching them hop up and down...

People are crazy. What sort of idiot jumps of a platform 134 metres above a shallow river and jagged rocks with only an elastic rope attached to their feet to stop them from plummeting to their death? Well, actually it would seem that I am that sort of idiot. Yesterday i did the world famous Nevis Bungee jump, the highest commercial jump in New Zealand, and I think it might be the second or third highest ini the world. And it was ace. A much greater rush of ad...

You know how sometimes people say that they saw something so beautiful they were overcome with emotion - like when they see their first born child, or a particularly touching part of a movie. Well, today, I think I may have seen the thing that has most moved me in ages. And, no, it was not Dan's behind. Today we climbed up Ben Lamond, a mountain in Queenstown. And it was mind blowing. For starters, we had to walk through a wood, flanked by a river and some ...