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Hello Everybody! Time for an update on our last 3 weeks that we have spent in New Zealand - absolutely freezing! Despite the weather reports of heaps of snow and minus 10 temperatures we decided it would be fun when we arrived in Auckland to hire campervans to drive around and sleep in throughout the trip. Me and Jen managed to nab the best one much to the boys annoyance. It was very modern, a dream to drive and best of all had Winnie the pooh and friends painted all over it! The boys van on the other hand (the affectionately named Scuzzlebutt) struggled to start in the cold in Auckland leaving us all a bit concerned! We didnt hang around in Auckland long as we were keen to hit the road. We headed in convoy to the first stop Waitamo caves. We were a little nervous about parking up and sleeping in the middle of nowhere on our first night so ended up after much deliberation in the girls hostel carpark! The next day we did black water rafting - this is caving with rubber rings. We have learnt on this trip that any activity that involves dressing up always provides a lot of laughs as Pete always ends up looking ridiculous as nothing fits those legs of his! We spent an hour underground caving, jumping of waterfalls and going through a lazy river of glow worms. It was seriously fun but very cold - the free shower and soup were much appreciated. Knowing we had an action packed timetable we hit the road straight away heading to Rotarua the land of natural springs. Rotarua has an annoying rule about no Campervans sleeping withi 15km of the town so we made a deal with a local Fruit and Veg shop owner. We paid "Mr Fruit and Veg" a few quid to park in his private car park - easiest money hes ever made but not a bad deal for us either as we got free tea and coffee and discounted groceries! Had a good few days in Rotarua - went to the thermal spa, a traditional Maori night, thermal wonderland and some natural hot and cold pools. They were so cool. We decided to camp their one night and after a few glasses of wine thought it would be fun ad warmer if all four of us slept in the one van. Really wasnt either we woke up to sheets of ice on the inside of the windows and last nights swimwear frozen into solid shapes! Next stop was Lake Taupo where most of us (Jen couldnt be perusaded) did a 15,000ft sky dive. We all absolutely loved it and the minute of freefall was absolutelt awesome. I recommend everyone to do one! The next day we had to be up far too early - in the sixes! - to do the Tongariro crossing, apparently NZ best one day walk. Was well worth it and we had perfect blue skies and the mountains were covered in snow. Was a bit extreme at times as all the paths were snowed over and we found ourselves spiderman style shimmying across snowy sheer cliff faces - not quite the docile walk we had expected! We then headed to Wellington, our last stop on the north island. We went to a really good museum, Te Papa. Stupidly we went the day after a very heavy night out and so didnt really make the most of it, all we could think about was all day breakfasts and going back to bed - exactely what we ended up doing! The next day we got the ferry across to the south island and headed straight down to Franz Josef glacier. The boys had a bit of a nightmare as they managed to run out of petrol in the middle of nowhere and on a sunday. Luckily Winnie came to the rescue and we ended up doing a 120km round trip to get them more fuel! The glacier was awesome and we did a walk on it which was very good but absolutely freezing. We then headed to Queenstown, so picturesque with all the lakes and snowy mountains. Had a lot of fun as we meet back up with Josh and Dan and also Mike this time plus Jens cousin Charlie and his friends. The boys went off and did some skiing/snowboarding, Pete did a bungy, Rose and Vix went Jet boating, we all went luging (kind of bobsleighing on tarmack) and had lots of amusing nights out. Have now just arrived in Christchurch where we sadly have to say goodbye to Winnie! Been a lot of fun camping despite the often freezing conditions, lack of showers and constant tinned goods meals! Got a few more days in NZ before we head over to America. There are a few pictures on the website www.statraveljournals.com/sjgapyear. Hope everyone is well and the freak rains have calmed down a bit. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon. Lots of Love Sarah and Jen xxxxxxxx
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