Trip of a Lifetime

only just had chance to get on t-internet so gonna put my entire journey so far on this entry

first night on the south island was nelson, this is is a nice little town to the north of the south island but at night it becomes one of the weirdest places i've ever been to. there are actually saloons at this place, the bars have swing doors and wooden floors! there was a bar called pills and thrillz that must have been a drugs den! that said the pub/hostel we stayed in was cool and really nice and we had a free beer tasting which is always good. next morning had a walk and had some great views of the abel tasman national park and stood at the spot which is supposed to be the centre of new zealand which was cool

went from nelson to westport, it rained all day and it was a day to forget, played a game of poker (and won) in the evening but that was the highlight of the day

went to lake mihinupua today to go to the 'poo' pub where we had a beach party which was a really cool evening, on the wau we went to see a seal colony and also these really cool pancake rocks and extreme blow holes which are where the sea goes through gaps in the rocks and creates awesome sprays of water
- at the 'poo' pub i heard the weirdest myth ever - the guy who runs it (this slightly eccentric old man called les lisle who happens to be an ex-all balcks rugby league legend) apparently saw this neanderthal type man in his garden taking a dump on the lawn, when he tapped on the window the beast turned around and starting knocking one out in front of him before walking away, only in new zealand could you hear a myth like that!

from the 'poo' pub went franz josef, the weather was once again miserable but had a wicked time paint balling in the afternoon. the next day i went on the franz josef glacier which was really disappointing cos it was just cold and wet and there were too many clouds to see anything. the next nmorning though we had great weather and got a really good view of it and i was gutted i was unable to do the helihike cos i had to continue my travels that day

from franz josef we went to a little town called wanaka - the views are stunning all the way and when we get there the town is next to the southern alps and a huge lake. went out for a quick drink but generally had a quiet one. was gonna go the cinema but the town is so small the cinema only has one showing of one film every day and we missed out showing at 8 (it was only nacho libre anyway) - i almost forgot on the way we stopped at a bushmans centre which was this cool little cabin that taught us about hunting in new zeraland where they killed deer and stuff, they actually jumped on deers hanging off helicoptors! saw a couple of possums and a wild pig as well as deer outside

from wanaka we went queenstown, on the way we stopped at puzzle world which is this weird little place full of illusions and stuff and a huge maze which takes forever to find your way out

watched other guys do a bungy today and signed up for one myself tomorrow (the one i'm doing is one of the biggest in the world at 134meters) gonna be on the beers again tonight and that takes me up to now so i'll keep you guys informed how the bungy goes

did white water rafting at river valley, this cool little lodge in the middle of no where

wellington - done drunk

kinda rushed this one a bit so thought i should go back in and give a bit more detail

river valley is a remote lodge between taupo and wellington on the north island and set (as the anme would suggest) in the middle of a valley renowned for its water sports ie. white water rafting and kayaking although you have to a good kayaker (i think thats what they're called!) to kayak down this river!

it was set up about 20 years ago by a keen water sports enthusiast who set up a lodge to base his weekend visits to the river. over a period of time this developed and now they host backbackers and have other facilities such as a small pitch and putt course and horse riding amongst other things

check the website www.rivervalley.co.nz

when we arrived in wellington it was around 6 and the only thing everyone could think of was the night out (well that was what i was thinking of anyway), when we first arrived though our driver took us to one of the highest points in wellington and we got a great view of the capital

the night out certainly didn't disappoint, we had met up with some friends from the bus in front and there must have been about 30 of us out on the town.

what made things even better was that it was a saturday night and wellington was heaving with people. there was some very sore heads the next morning when we had to get up for our early ferry!

did a skydive from 15,000 feet yesterday, went out partying on the night for holloween

went to see mount doom from lord of the rings today on a 7 hour trek, getting drunk tonight

cool stuff!

the maori concert was crazy, loads of maoris in grass skirts and stuff doing the haka and other dances and stuff, saw a maori village

check out the website
http://www.maoriculture.co.nz/Maori%20Village/Home

went on a mid night walk on sunday night at waitomo, also went cave diving which was nuts, climbing up waterfalls and abseiling through rocks which got very very narrow and then had to swim and push yourself through all sorts of small spaces - it was quality

i'm now in taupo, been in hot pools, they're like something out of a film the water is like bath water for temperature and there are a load of waterfalls you stand under

partying in taupo is quality as well, was out all night last night and gonna be going out in fancy dress tonight for halloween

Kia Ora! (greetings)

The kiwi bus is quality, i've already done sea kayaking and going to a maori hangi tonight where they're gonna do the haka and stuff!

first night was stuck in a dorm with germans and a couple, auckland generally has nothing there but the first day of the kiwi bus was great, sat down feeling nevous and this stunning dutch girl came and sat next to me - result, all the poeple are really friendly on my tour and up for getting drunk so evrythings all gravy

went to see where they filmed lord of the rings this morning, had a tiki tour through an old gold mine earlier going over rope bridges and stuff!