Oops, its been far too long since we blogged last. Which means we have so much to catch up on. This is because in New Zealand we had to pay for the interent and we are too cheap to do that. And to be honest now we are here in Oz and the internet is also not abundant and free I am writing this offline with the aim of copying and pasting it into our online blog!

So I think the last time we blogged we were in LA. It rained in LA which did put a bit of a dampener on our spirits. However we should not complain as it was pretty much the first rain we had to deal with since leaving the UK!

Even with the rain, we got up very early one morning, took the metro, then a train then a bus and before we knew it we were crossing over the threshold to “The happiest place in the World” - yes we were going to DisneyLand! I was so excited and the magic caught us both from the moment we got in. We did pretty much all the rides. Our favourite was Space Mountain that we went of 4 times! We had actually gone on a Monday Holiday which was not our most intelligent idea. But the rain kept the crowds at bay and so the queues were short! In fact the rain was so bad that Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain had to be closed because they were worried about the water getting into their circuit boards. They did open up again and even better we arrived just as they were opening so once again there was no queue. Overall, Disney was just amazing and I had so much fun. It was a wonderful end to the trip round the USA!
Our next day was our very last – but it was still pouring with rain! So we decided to continue our Disney experience and we went to see Dumbo at the Disney Cinema in Hollywood! I had never seen the movie and it was amazing :)

Our flight to Auckland was absolutely fine. No dramas there. We cleared immigration and then headed to the domestic terminal to catch our flight down to Christchurch. We had all our details written down – except for the airline were flying with. Eventually we discovered it was AirNewZeland – so we checked in and had a very easy flight down to Christchurch.

In Christchurch we picked up our RV – and off we drove. About 2km away from the rental place, Stu put on the hazard lights...and the button fell into the dashboard – so it was back to the shop to get it fixed. Hence our RV was named – Duke (after Dukes of Hazzard). We drove to a small town called Oxford which was on the way to Arthurs Pass and set up camp for the first night. It was a lovely little campsite. I was just shocked at the only 5 minutes of Hot Water that I was to get in my shower in the morning – I managed though!

It was raining but we persevered to Arthurs Pass – and it was worth it, we saw some stunning waterfalls (not nearly as big as Niagra Falls obviously) and the sun even came out for a while. I then took my first turn at driving. I was a little nervous since I had not driven for such a long time and it was a bit bigger than Mum's car that I usually drive. But I took to it like a duke to water and soon I was whizzing round the corners over Mountain Passes! Eventually we managed to get some mony out of the bank. We had struggled with this because all the town were that small that they did not have ATMs in them. Although this was a problem it was such a good change from the US where you had a Starbucks on every street corner.

We camped at a DOC campsite (this means it was Government run, much cheaper and no showers) that night. It was lovely – next to a lake where we went swimming before dinner. Unfortunately we had our first encounter with sandflies. Horrible things. Bigger than Midgies but just as nasty and you can feel them biting! I still have the scars...and I think I will do for a while yet. My best one was on my 2nd toe and it looked like a huge bruise. Quite nasty. Needless to say we spent the evening in our RV on a killing spree!

The next day we visited the Fox Glacier and the Franz Joseph Glacier. We did a walk to the base of the Franz Joseph Glacier – but they are too dangerous to go on ourselves without a guide. I tell you if Fox Glacier mints were actually named after the glacier I am not surprised since the ice looked so minty fresh. The drive down the coast was absolutely stunning. And then we headed over the Haast Pass towards Wanaka. Over this pass we stopped at e “Blue Pools” that were so clear and blue but also freezing cold. I am impressed at the number of people who were swimming while Stu and I managed to dip our big toes in! We stayed the night in Wanaka – ready to head to Queenstown in the morning.

Queenstown – the home of bungy jumping! The main reason we were going there. So we signed ourselves up and went to the jump station. A bridge 43m high over the river...we decided not to do a tandem jump since that meant we could get lots of photos. Stu went first and I was absolutely scared just watching him...but the photos were amazing and he ran up to meet me on such an adrenaline high...I have to add that he went right into the water. This meant that I would have to at least make a good attempt at challenging him on this.
So it was my turn. My heart was beating so fast, my palms were sweating with nerves (they still do when I think about it). But there was no going back. My legs were strapped together to the bungy jump and it wobbled to the edge. It was a LONG way down. So I took up the position – just like doing a regular dive...5...4...3...2...1...and I was off, falling to my death (or so it felt). I hit the water and went right in and bounced. I was so disorientated – I had no idea where I was or what was going on. But the men came with their boat and rescued me. It was both the most scary and the most invigorating thing I have done in a long time. Although I said at the time I would never do that again – I am not looking forward and considering where and what size my next jump should be. 43M was a safe start – there must be better ones to do!!

That night we stayed at the base of Mount Cook – the tallest mountain in New Zealand .We woke up the next morning and it was all cloudy – we could not see the tops of the mountains above us. But we gave it time and by the time we headed out on our trek, the sun was breaking through and it was a beautiful day – we got some gorgeous pictures. But then it was onwards back to Christchurch – where we spent the night and then caught a plane back to Auckland for our north island adventure.

The North Island was totally different from the South Island – much busier, many more roads and lots more people. We had a bit of a troubled time getting a good RV – the first one we got had so many things wrong with it that we kicked up bit of a fuss and ended up getting a different one. Along with that we also got a free bottle of wine and a free tank of gas for our inconvenience. I am glad that we did complain since we ended up with a better truck. The first one had radio but it was in Japanese and that would have become far too annoying!

So we headed North to the Bay of Islands and spent the night on the edge of Piahia. In the morning we headed into the town itself and found it to be a tourist hotspot. So we headed away to a smaller beach and decided to do some kayaking. So we went into the sea and round an island and then kayaked up to some beautiful waterfalls. Unfortunately Stu lost his flipflop on the way. He got out of the kayak into some proper sticky mud. I had to pull him out. The kayaking was loads of fun, but we both ended up with horrible sunburn on our legs – the suncream came off in the water. In fact it is a week later now and Stu is still in considerable pain and is blistering. Means we are avoiding the sun!

We stayed near Auckland that night and in the morning we headed off towards the Coromandel peninsula. This was a day of driving and chilling. But I went shopping in Thames and bought Stu some new flipflops along with a sarong for myself and various other bits and pieces. We stayed in a really nice campsite which had a pool – perfect for cooling our legs in!

Today we actually managed to do something a bit more exciting – we climbed a hill that gave us a stunning view over the Bay of Plenty. It was a long way up in really warm weather but the view at the top was worth it and the walk back down was much easier. We decided to stay near to where we would be able to get a boat to the White Island (active marine volcano) in the morning.

However the morning brought stormy weather that meant the boat would not be able to land at the Island. As a result we headed to Rotatora. This was a good little place. We watch a inter-pacific island touch rugby tournament (woop woop – got me in the mood for the 6 nations that start this weekend) and then we headed to a Mauri village that was built on geothermal springs. It was really lovely seeing how they still live in terms of cooking and cleaning using the thermal water rather than using electricity. I like the idea – much cheaper!

It was still bad weather the next day – we could not go to the White Island. This meant that we decided to go to Matamata – the home of the hobbits. This was where Lord of the Rings was filmed – or at least the hobbiton bits were. It was a brilliant tour. Although the hobbit holes are not done in the way they were when the film was made, the shells are still there, as is the party tree and the lake. I cannot wait to watch the movie again and see it all :)

So our final day in New Zealand and we headed into Auckland itself to the Auckland Museum. It was a good museum. I really liked the stuff on volcanoes which is so central to New Zealand since they are essentially just waiting for the next one to happen...who knows when or which one – but it is certainly not a case of if, but of when. Scary!!

So we flew from Auckland to Melbourne and arrived into 35 degree heat – what a shock. New Zealand had been warm, but wow this place is really warm! We avoided the sun for the rest of the afternoon and headed to the beach once it was dark...

Well, that is you guys up to date – congratulations to anyone who has actually reached the end of this and are still reading. We are off job and house hunting for the next couple of days and hopefully we will be in more frequent contact!