Sydney, Australia

Landed in Sydney on Tuesday so glorious sunshine! Went on the obligatory bus tour to get our bearings. Saw the Opera House & Harbour Bridge and some other things we're going to do when we come back in 7 weeks' time. Met up with Sean & Niall, the Irish guys we met in Fiji, for drinks at the Opera House Bar. Went out for National Australia Day on Friday and celebrated with the locals at The Rocks! Live music over 5 stages during the day, we caught the ferry to Darling Harbour to watch the fireworks at night. Fab display, I loved it! Had drinks in Pontoon, Darling Harbour which was packed out. Went to Coogee Beach yesterday, where Sean stays, hoping to catch some rays. Instead we ended up sheltering from the wind & sand! Took refuge in a beer garden for the afternoon. Went out to a club called Moulin Rouge in Kings Cross last night, was great! Even managed a boogie in my moonboot.

Checked out of our not-so-clean hostel today (Yey!). A thoughtful person back home posted out some emergency chocolate bars so we had the break the glass open!

Back in the North Island, NZ

Cross the Cook Strait back to Wellington, stay at Nomads (again, but it was lovely). Head up to Waitomo Caves to see the glow-worms. The caves are amazing, so beautiful. We walked the first part then got in a boat for the rest of the tour. It's pitch black inside, when you look up the glow-worms look like stars in the night sky.

After the caves we head back up to Auckland to my aunt & uncle's house. So nice being back, feels like ages since we were last here. Filling them in on the trip and our tyre troubles with the car! Had a great last few nights in NZ with drinks on the deck, BBQ and Rod Stewart DVD.

Nelson... and my birthday

Long drive to Nelson, weather sunny & warm. Our hostel, Accents on the Park, is fab. Really homely amd the couple who run it, Linda & Royce, are are lovely. They work behind the bar in the evenings serving up great food, all with Coronation Street on in the background! For my birthday the girls treated me to lunch at The Victorian Rose, afterwards we went shopping and picked up some gorgeous handmade chocolates from Rosy Glow chocolates. Had a picnic the park with our chocolates, some bubbly and the iPod & speaker.Went out for dinner and few drinks later. Had a great birthday and fun spending it in the sunshine. Chocolate, wine & good company ...what more could a girl ask for?

Fox & Franz Josef Glaciers

There's not much doing at Fox Glacier except the glacier. Stay at Ivory Towers (not ivory nor has towers) and it's pretty basic, but anything would be after the Crowne Plaza!! Kim & Laura do the 4hr hike in the morning onto the Fox Glacier, say it's amazing. Hels & I booked in for the Heli-hike in the afternoon where you get taken up onto the glacier by helicopter. (Always wanted to go up in helicopter!) Unfortunately our 3pm trip got cancelled due to the cloudy weather conditions. Drive to Lake Matheson in the evening to watch the sunset over Mt Cook, except it's cloudy and can't see the mountain!! Get up and out of Fox as quick as we could the following morning. Stop at the Franz (Ferdinand) Josef Glacier to take some pics.

Bye bye Christchurch, Hello Queenstown!

Mammoth drive down to Queenstown, poor girls have been doing all the driving, I suppose I could if someone could operate the pedals for me! Passed through Timaru, Oamaru, Palmerston. Stopped at Shag Point (ahem) to see the seals. They were cool, lying round on the rocks below us. On the way to Queenstown we passed through loads of Scottish sounding places like Clyde, Cromwell, Lauder and Bannockburn. Scots settled in the Otago area hence the names. Land goes on for miles, it's neverending! Finally reach Queenstown, staying at Thomas's Hotel for 1 night, thank goodness - it's a hovel with the moodiest receptionist ever! Booked into the Crowne Plaza the following day, only place we could get as the Rugby Sevens are on here so all the hostels fully booked out. Our room is fab, luxury!

Queenstown is beautiful, with a backdrop of scenic mountains. They filmed most of Lord of the Rings here, so everyone has a story to tell about the film.. someone they know appeared in it, etc. Had lunch at the Wharf in the sunshine then went on the Shotover Jetboat in the afternoon. Fantastic! Had a great time and got drenched, started raining when we were on and it felt like hailstones on your face. Exhilarating! Kept doing 360 degree turns which was brill. At night we went to Minus 5 ice bar. Got kitted out with parkas and gloves and enjoyed a vodka cocktail from frozen ice glasses - smashed them at the end! Went for Japanese afterwards.

Sunday we took the bus trip to Millford Sound in Fjordland. Got picked at 6.40 so an early start! Stopped at Te Anau on way, 4 hours to get there. There were beautiful waterfalls and snow capped mountains on the way. Weather wasn't too great while on the boat. Took some pics, they look very atmospheric! Glad we did it though.

Leaving Queenstown and our lovely hotel room :-( heading up to the glaciers next. Woolies at the ready girls!

Wellington to Picton... and beyond!

Catch the InterIslander ferry to the South Island. Journey goes in fast, it looked white outside as it was clody and rainy. Arrived at Picton and took the 1 towards Christchurch. Land is barren here, like some pcarts of the Highlands in Scotland. Our hostel in Christchurch was the Stonehurst, came recommended in the Lonely Planet, still not sure why!! Room was basic, Kim found something suspect on the wall next to her bunk (something you'd usually find in a hankie) so had to cover it with a plaster before she could get to sleep! Loads of stairs to climb which wasn't great for me, but handy for the city centre.

Christchurch is lovely, Cathedral Square is the hub of activity. Had a market on while we were there and I picked up some new sunglasses for much cheapness. Got the cable car round the city which was fun, stopped at the Art Gallery and spent some time in there. Went out for drinks at night to a bar on Manchester Street then Sullivans Irish bar (we can't keep out of them!). On the way home got accosted by a stag group with the groom to be dressed as a prisioner. Had to write a message on him in permanent marker - hope it came off in time for his big day.

Taupo - Wellington

Head to Taupo on the 5 South, stop at Aratiatia Rapids at 12pm in time fro the floodgates opening. Water crashes through the dam as we watch from the bridge. Next stop was the Huka Prawn Farm (purely by chance) where you can catch your own prawns. It's the world's only geothermally heated freshwater prawn farm. Had a game of Killer Prawn Golf, was rubbish at it! Found the Huka Falls further up the road, great views from the bridge.

Further south we went through Palmerston North, and had a few stops on the way for essentials - Subway cookies! The front tyre tread came off while we were driving on the motorway towards Wellington. Helen kept control of the car and brought it to a stop at the side of the road. Everyone was fine but we had to get recovery to come rescue us from the side of the road. Lovely man put on the spare and we made it to Wellington to Nomad's backpackers. Beautiful hostel, more like a trendy hotel. Our room was fab and we had our own bathroom (you appreciate stuff like this when you're on the road!!). Got a new tyre from Tony's Tyres who gave us it for free, what a nice man!

Went on cable car with great views over the harbour and city. Had a beer in the cafe at the top enjoying the scenery then explored Botanic Gardens and found sundial. Couldn't tell if it worked as it was a little clody, sure it does! Went out to Molly Malones Irish bar at night for some Irish music and Guiness.

Rotorua, NZ

Rotorua is a hub of crazy activities - some quite difficult to do with a moonboot on! We've visited Wai-O-Tapa Thermal Wonderland, saw some really cool geysers and bubbling mud pools. The place smells like sulphur... lovely!

We went to the Polynesian Spa for a dip in the therapeutic waters overlooking Lake Rotorua in the afternoon. Today watched Helen being rolled down a hill in a giant plastic ball with water in it. HydroZorbing! Afterwards we went to Skyline and rode the gondola up to the top. The girls then had a go on the luge back down, then Hels & I went on the Sky Swing which swings you out over the hill overlooking the city at great speed!! Was great, think my stomach's almost back to normal.

Oh and stopped to take pics of the giant Kiwi fruit on the way here!

Starting the New Year off in style

As I stepped off the kerb onto the road I went over on my foot! After getting it checked out in Auckland I have fractured the 5th right metatarsal (litle toe bone) so have to wear a moonboot for the next 3 weeks. Girl who fitted me for it was from Hamilton, Scotland! Know same folk, it's a small world!

Getting used to the moon boot, we're in Coromandel region now, staying in Whitianga. It's beautiful here, stayed at backpackers right on the beach, now at the Cat's Pyjamas Hostel. Went to Hot Water beach yesterday, girls tried boogie boarding on my cousin's boards we've borrowed. Hels and I went on the Cave Cruzer today, to Cathedral Cove. Was really cool, Captain Bob even played a few dittys for us in the cave and had a go at playing the didgeredoo. Great acoustics in there!

Northland, NZ

Travelled up to Northland on 27th December, by the West Coast. Go through Helensville (Helen has her own town, wow!), Dargaville, stopped at Waipoua Kauri Forest and Laura and I checked out the huge Kauri trees. (Check out the pics taken by the Four Sisters on my Fotopage - Where's Shazza? I'm in the tiny head in the middle of the trees waving).

Got car ferry at Rawene heading for Ahipara which is beautiful. We hadn't booked a room so head on to Kaitaia and check into a motel. Visit local Foodtown the next day for a shop, bit scary as looks a bit strange. Drive to Backpackers Hostel in Taipa, Doubtless Bay. It's a house with 2 guard dogs, later find out Star is the Alsatian and Bonny os the other big dog. Nina the owner is lovely and makes us feel at home. Our dorm is an out building at the back of the house in the huge garden.

Visit Ninety Mile Beach that day and have lunch in the sand dunes! Make firends with a stray dog then we can't get hime out the car! Thought he was coming to Cape Reinga with us!! Drove to Cape Reinga, the most northern tip of NZ. Stunning views and a lovely lighthouse with sign posts to all over the world. The road here is gravel for about 20kms so our car's wheel arches are filled with sand and stones!

Stop at Mangonui Fish Shop on the way home for fish & chips, with lemon instead of the usual vinegar. Shop is on a jetty over the harbour so eat our dinner with the water lapping below us. Went back to the hostel, had a few beers and played cards by lamp light outside our dorm with Bonny guarding us.

Next day we drove to Paihia in the Bay of Islands. It's beautiful here, and the sun is shining. Stayed at Pipi Patch Backpackers (great name!), cool place near the beach. We walked to town and booked a cruise for the next day and sea kayaking for NY's Eve. Also had my fortune told (you know I love all that). It was interesting, all good stuff, keeping the reading to myself for now see if it happens!

Day in the Bay cruise was fab. We stopped at Russell, then went dolphin spotting. Saw some cool dolphins, they were round the boat. We went to the Hole in the Rock, that was brill. Went really cold when you are going through the hole, kinda spooky! Got some good pics there. We stopped at a deserted beach to have lunch and in the afternoon some crazies tried boom netting, where you jump in a big fishing net and get dragged along the top of the water for thrills. We were too cold otherwise would have tried it!

Sea kayaking was fab on NY's Eve. Laura and I tried that while Helen & Kim went quad biking. We started off on the beach and kayaked up the river to the Haruru Falls. It was great, really peaceful and saw lots of cool birds and Mangrove trees, the only tree that grows in salt water. Hels & Kim enjoy quad biking, unfortunately our car has a flat tyre but they get help from a nice man to change it.

For New Year we have drinks in Pipi Patch, Mako's on the sea front then The Lighthouse. Stay there for countdown then cross the road to watch the fireworks going off on the water after midnight.