Right, whooooo, we've had a mad couple of weeks since the last time we updated you but I'm going to try and sit still for half an hour to catch up.... So, in Rotorua (think bubbling mud everywhere) we went White water rafting. This was great - we'd been told about this legendary waterfall (the biggest commercially raftable waterfall in the world) that you can go over, so we thought we'd give it a shot. We headed down this canyon/ravine, over some pretty intense white water and practised all the 'get down, get down!' style manouvers. Then it was time for the big waterfall - it was a real kick, absolutely massive. You can get an idea of the scale from the pictures; the best thing was watching Sarah trying to grip onto the raft with wobbly, scared arms! We managed to keep the raft upright (more luck than anything else) and then watched our safety kayak man come over the falls on his own afterwards - anyway, this kind of emphasised the danger because he got sucked under the waterfall, his skirt on the kayak popped, filling it with water and he got dragged underwater along a cliff wall for about five/six seconds! Scary, bit of blood, but he loved it really!!! Next, we drove South to Taupo and then across to Hawkes bay on the East coast. We were headed to Alice & Bens (guys that we travelled round S.America with) who had agreed to give us a roof for the night. Alice's family owns a vineyard, so we drove there to meet her; it is called the Sileni winery and is SO smart! I felt so scruffy in my travelling gear driving down this beautiful drive to the winery. It even has a cookery school in the basement where the likes of Jamie Oliver have cooked! We met up with Alice and she gave us a wine tasting of the Sileni wines before we stole her away from her work and she took us back home. It was really nice to spend a little time with a Kiwi family; plus they have got a beautiful home and new puppies, so Sarah was in her element! For all you Toucan travellers - you'd hardly recognise Ben in all his dapper new workgear - he looks the proper smooth, city boy! So, from Hawkes Bay we drove down to Wellington, where we met up with Jake and Nat (of Lancaster Uni fame). These guys have just moved out to NZ a matter of weeks ago and we reckon we brought them good luck because Jake landed a pretty awesome sounding job, the day we arrived!! We got the tour of Wellington, which lived up to its reputation as the Windy/Wet city and Jake cooked us up a treat. The next day we checked out a really cool, modern, interactive museum where I mentally prepared for my bungee jump by trying a 'Virtual Bungee'. That night we met up with Amish & Penny (more S.American friends) and all went out for a meal and some drinks - really good night! So, that concluded the North Island - we needed more time really but whizzed round nearly everything we wanted to do. We caught the ferry over to the South Island first thing in the morning after our night out in Wellington. We had already arranged to walk the Milford Track, starting on the 11th and so were forced to drive the full length of the South Island in one and a half days (this doesn't leave much time to spare). On the first evening we made it to Ashburton just South of Christchurch and called in on Tim & Beth. This is where Keith (my bro) had spent seven months working, a few years back. It was really cool because they had been warned of our arrival and so when we finally found their place (dodgy directions from Keith), we were welcomed with friendly faces, a meal and a bed for the night. It was really interesting to see where Keith had stayed and sharing stories over a beer. The next day we drove the remainder of the South Island, all the way to Te Anau. A gorgeous drive on a really nice day; we arrived just in time to buy some last minute supplies for our four day tramp. The Milford Track was fantastic; its quite famous because it is reputably the 'finest walk in the world' and the number of people allowed to walk it are highly restricted. Fiordland is also quite famous for its rain! We actually got every type of weather you could imagine - blazing sun, drizzly rain, driving rain, snow and then more blazing sun. I think we were quite lucky because we got to see the hundreds of waterfalls in full display, yet had beautiful weather for Milford Sound etc. The landscape was beautiful and exhilirating, but the walk was made really really tough because we had to carry all our own gear, food etc. Our packs were SO heavy! It was great to chat to all the different 'trampers' from all over the world. We finally made it to the end and took the cruise round Milford Sound - an incredibly dramatic fiord with sheer cliffs rising straight out of the sea. Check out the pictures!!!! After walking for four days, we needed a rest and so chilled out at our really lovely hostel in Te Anau - on a deer farm with amazing views! We headed to Queenstown next for a crazy couple of adrenalin filled days. The time had finally come to do my bungee (I'd got a voucher from the guys at work) and so I went to check out my options at the AJ Hackett office. I figured that if I was gonna do it, I might as well do the biggest (134m)! Oh my word! I was SO nervous - I can't remember being that nervous for years. Anyway, I'd signed up for it and knew that I would do it - I just had to make myself! When the time came for me to jump, I jumped. Oh s***, oh s***. I really hadn't anticipated just how much of a rush/terror the drop would be - like nothing I'd ever experienced. 8.4 seconds of freefalling headfirst!!!!! Unbelievable. Obviously I was on a bit of a high afterwards. So, next day - we decided to jump out of a plane! This time it was Sarah's turn to feel nervous. We got driven out to the drop zone, kitted out in our jump suits, met our tandem instructors, met our photographers and took off, sat on the floor of the smallest plane you've ever seen - it all happened so fast. The next thing we knew we were at 12 thousand feet and the door was open! We didn't have much time to think about it until we were hanging outside the plane, holding on to our chests with our feet dangling underneath the fuselage. Then we were off...Absolutely awesome! 45 seconds of freefall before the parachute came open. We did a backwards roll out of the plane just in case it wasn't exciting enough! The whole time the camera man was falling with us; he had a dvd recorder strapped to his head and a camera on top of his helmet which he operated by biting on a trigger switch! The DVD's are ace! We look pretty stupid and the look on Sarah's face is priceless!!!! Not a bad couple of days! We'd spent a couple of FREEZING cold nights in our tent in Queenstown and we were pretty pissed off with the lack of sleep, so when we arrived into Fox Glacier (famous for guess what, having a glacier!) we checked into the swankiest hostel we could find (there are only two). So that brings us just about up to date, except to say that tomorrow we're going Ice climbing on the glacier, so that should be fun! Take it easy, RJW & Sarah Jane ps. Leave us a message!!!!