we're back on - taupo to wanaka

hello everyone,

we have finally found somewhere with a half decent computer to post a blog on. sorry for the delay but we have been very busy and the west coast has limited internet facilities.

so, here's what we've been doing while you've all been talking football...

after leaving taupo on thurs 22nd feb we made our way to river valley, which is a lodge in the middle of nowhere. it was really nice and there was a river just by the side of it so we all went for a dip. that night we had a lovely roast dinner and got to know the people on our bus.

the next morning, while greg had a lie in and then played some volleyball, amy went horse trekking. it was really good and becsue me and two other girls were experienced we got to pretty much do what we wanted as long as we followed the track. it was amazing, i've never been on such an energetic and FAST horse. the scenery was amazing too. however near the end of the trekk i was first to go down this little ditch and found out it was a bad idea when we got down there. the mud was really deep and my horse, bling, got stuck. in the end he was completely stuck, you couldn't see his legs at all and he was just sat there. i jumped off and everyone was shouting for the guide. luckily he got himself out, but we were both very shaken afterwards.

from river valley we moved onto wellington, we were meant to be staying there for three nights but because we couldn't get a double for all of those nights we ended up only staying one. so we have no pictures from there yet... we will be going back there on our way back up north.

after wellington we took the ferry over to the south island and stopped for the night in nelson at a posh backpackers. nelson seemed a really nice place to chill out but because of full buses we only had one night there. we had a look round the queens gardens then had another good roast dinner and spent the evening in the bar.

our next stop was westport, we didn't do much there, greg played football with all the lads and amy watched american psycho with the rest of the group.

on the way to our next stop, lake mahinapua, we stopped to see a seal colony.

whilst there we also spotted this..

in lake mahinapua we stayed in a tiny pub / backpackers, kiwi experience stops there seven days a week and has a fancy dress party. so on the way there we picked up some clothes for our "what i want to be when i grow up" party.

those of you who followed ryan and emma's travels might remember him dressed as a woman and talking about a guy called les. this is the same place. we even saw a picture of them in the photo album. there are pictures all over the walls and in albums of past groups who have stayed there. this is our picture that will be in one of the albums.

the night there was amazing. we really got to know a lot of the people on our bus and had a really fun time. greg was a pirate and amy was someone who wanted to stay in bed all day.

the next day, tues 27th feb (HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGE CLARKE) we went to franz josef. on the way we stopped off at this random bushmans centre ran by a madman called pete. we paid $4 to watch a video of him shooting deer while mice ran along the floor and everyone was in fits of laughter at the crappyness of the situation. pete told us of this fierce wild pig he had and that one of our group was going to feed him. we were all expecting this crazy unstoppable beast, but all it did was potter in, eat and then lie down. very dissapointing.

some people tried 'pete's possum pie' but me and greg didn't like the look of it and were glad we didn't bother. we thought it would be like eating 'rat pie' in england, as they are a pest over here and don't look very tasty at all.

franz josef was our next destination. it was a really small but attractive town, famous for the franz josef glacier which is really special as it is known as a 'warm glacier' and the bottom is surrounded by rainforest.

we were lucky enough to have the chance to go ice climbing on our free day in franz josef, most of our bus wanted to go but only 12 could.

it was an amazing experience to see the glacier and then actually go walking and climbing on it. it was a lot of hard work walking up it and amy's boots were too small so they were putting presure on her shins. the climbing was very tough too but after doing it there was a real sense of achievment.

i (amy) had a really tough time my shins hurt so much that i really didn't enjoy the walk up there. infact it was really tough to keep myself going but i did and i'm glad i did and am proud of myself for doing it. the actual climbing was hard but in a different way, it was really scary. one of the guys on our bus, niell, was really scared too so we helped each other through it and made it in the end. this picture is of me and niell, he was so nice to me and i'm so glad he was there.

i (greg) found the walk and the climb very challenging but as i said earlier there was a real sense of achievment after doing it and when i got the hang of it, it was one of the best experiences i've had on our travels. it was also great to be up on the glacier with such a good group of people who all supported each other.

this is greg climbing, we have a lot of better pictures of him but we can't rotate them on this computer so you'll have to wait to see the rest.

this is greg and dom, one of the guys on the bus who we have become mates with.

this gives you an idea of where we were climbing. the walls we are on here, on the left, were the easier ones then once we had mastered those we moved onto the walls on the right, which were a lot higher and harder.

after the climbing we got back to the hostel and jumped straight in the hot tub. it was so nice and relaxing and we must have been in there about two hours. when we finally managed to pull ourselves away from the hot tub, a group of us went out for an indian at a local restaurant. the food was really nice and it was a really good night.

we left franz josef early in the morning in order to see lake matheson, a mirror lake. it was really pretty and a nice walk.

we also stopped at a huge waterfall, another nice stop. again we have pictures of the waterfall but we can't rotate them.

and that brings us to where we are now, wanaka. yesterday when we got here greg and the lads had a game of football while amy and a few of the girls went and sat by the lake.

last night, we went out to a bar with everyone on our bus. it was a really good night and was our last night with a lot of people. we had built up quite a good group over the past week or so and it was a shame that over the next couple of days we're all getting split up, with some people staying in places longer and others going home etc.

today we had a big lie in and have got some stuff to sort out, like washing etc as it's been a busy week. we're off to the cinema later with a few of the people that stayed in wanaka.

hopefully it wont be as long til we post another blog, we'll try and get on again soon. hope you've enjoyed this HUGE one.

see you all in three weeks! x x x