With only 13 days to play with in New Zealand I could not hang about! As soon as I arrived in Auckland I checked onto the 'Magic Bus' on a North and South Island 'hop-on hop-off' tour and headed off the next morning. I don't think I would have wanted to stay in Auckland much longer, it's reputation being pretty bad amongst most travellers and kiwis who aren't from there, proven by the graffitti on the bunk bed in my dorm which read 'why the f*** are you in Auckland, get the hell out of here' A seperation of the group meant I was on my own from here, but I soon found out it sure doesn't feel like it! Was rather daunting at first but before I'd even got on the bus in the morning I met people, one of whom, Emer the crazy irish pharmacist, I bumped into about 4 different times along my travels!

I soon grasped some Maori culture on my first stop doing the Tamaki Tribal Village Tour. This involved a traditional welcoming with some very strange facial expressions, noises and dances from the native Maori's. After we were accepted into there village there were demonstrations and a huge ceremony with more dancing, singing and ofcoure the 'Haka'. This was followed by a huge buffet, which I definately made the most of in true traveller style.

Quickly travelling south I was faced with so many activities to do! A stop at Waitomo caves meant I couldn't not do Blackwater rafting (rafting down in the caves). The area has a big network of underground caves. Suited and booted in wetsuits, helmets, boots and a rubber ring over our shoulder we headed down under. The caves were amazing! When we turned our lights off we could see glow worms on the ceiling which looked like light blue stars. As we went deeper and deeper we came accross river ways and waterfalls, 2 of which we jumped down in our tubes. Awesome activity and not something you get to do every day of the week!

Crossing over into the south island, the landscape soon changed, as the bus took us down the west coast, with high rise mountains on one side, the Southern Alps and the spectacular coastline on the other. We arrived in Franz Josef and I decided to do a half day glacier climb. This involved a 3km walk down into the glacier valley and then making our way up the glacier. With our climbing boots, crampons and thick layers we clambered up the glacier through big holes and crevaces in the ice. Some amazing views with waterfalls all around falling from the surrounding valley sides. Well worth the trip with some awesome photos - that will eventually follow! Feeling pretty shattered we decided a bath in hot pools and an ice cold beer wouldn't be a bad way to end the day.

My time in Franz Josef proved to be rather action packed. The following morning I was up at 5am to do a skydive over the fox glacier - which is supposed to be the 2nd best place in the world to do a skydive. 2nd to Mt Everest - somehow I don't think I'll ever be jumping out of a plane with an oxygen mask attached. Before I knew it I was up in the air and watching the sun rise over Mt Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand. With such amazing views I barely had any time to contemplate that I was about to jump out of a plane and there was no going back! Not a cloud in the sky, the door to the plane opened at about 12,500 ft and I was hanging out the plane. A quick pose for the camera and before I knew it I was falling to the ground at about 200km/h. What an amazing feeling that is!! 'Sweet as bro' as the Kiwi's would say. All too soon the parachute opened ( before I even had time to contemplate that it might not open). The guy let me take control of the parachute which was pretty cool and did lots of dives and stalls. I think I was buzzing for the rest of the day and was definately tempted by the bungees as we arrived in Queenstown later that day. If it wasn't for the price and how quickly its over I would definately have done one!

Queenstown was all it was made out to be by everyone in New Zealand. Adventure capital of the world and party central of New Zealand. Went up the gondola above the town with amazing views of the surrounding ski resorts and the lake. We did the louge rides which are like go kart rides down the side of the mountain - great fun! This was followed by quadbiking in the afternoon. As you can imagine a 250cc quad up mountain tracks and through streams was pretty fun! Another action-packed day followed by a heavy evening, which became a bit of a trend in Queenstown. I saved up the 2 spare days I had for here and the lie ins were much appreciated!

A few more stops along the way and I was in Christchurch! My final destination. Luck of the draw had it that I saw there was a Super 14s rugby game on the night that I was going to be there! I mentioned this to a few people on the bus and there was a group of 12 of us that went to the AMI stadium for the Crusaders vs the Sharks. Great atmosphere, chariot horses galloping around the pitch before the game, 50 cheerleaders dancing at half time and a fair few tries from the home side made for a good match. I later found out from someone in my hostel that if i'd have stayed around after the match then I would have been able to go on the pitch and talk to some of the players - shouldn't have rushed off to the pub so quick!

Without even blinking I'd done most of New Zealand in 13days! A pretty busy and action packed few days but I really enjoyed it! Definately a complete contrast to Fiji. So glad I made the visit and would recommend it to anyone! Awesome scenery and loads to do. The south island is definately the place to be! Not sure I could live there..well maybe in Queentown, but I can definately see myself revisiting.

In Sydney at the mo but heading up to Cairns and the Barrier Reef tomorow, which I'm really looking forward to! As it happens some friends from back home are up there too so will be nice to be with some familiar faces. Do hope its not too cold back home!