Hotel Ibis Christchurch

... sufficient in the upmost- if something breaks you have to fix it yourself!<br>When we get back i feel shattered but elated at what ive seen- ill never forget this day. I go to bed and have the best nights sleep that ive had so far.<br><br>Day Four<br><br>Wake up feeling really refreshed and go for a lovely breakfast across the street, then go back to the Botanical Gardens and read my book in the sunshine- this is the life! Tomorrow its Sydney and i cant wait.

... hard work, but climbing the ice was awesome. We got special crampons to our shoes so we wouldnt slip, and climbed up it, going through ice caves. The ice was so blue it was magical. Only one problem, the rain. It was raining so much my bag soaked through. Turns out my mobile phone didnt like this and refuses to work anymore. Not only the one but the nz one too. And not only this but the glacier bashed my camera and this stopped working. Now if theres ever a time for a camera to ...

... a smouldering dish on the ground, with 3 womenfolk rolling around laughing. This was basic male firebonding &amp; the ritual must be upheld, no matter what the utensil. Laurie lamented that he was hanging out for a nice feed of fish 'n chips. Not tonight, baby. Tonight we feast on seared meat! The kero flame eventually subsided, so on went the snags (sorta meat). "That'll get 'er goin' " announced Ol' Dolly to the masses, through a haze of black chemical smoke. "I never met a ...

... between the really hot pools and the bath water ones. And we enjoyed ourselves people watching. We are now back in Darfield. The first night (Friday) we got to ride in the back of David's 1931 Model A to the pub where we had tea, and I had the best oysters of my life. They came from a natural oyster bed off of Bluff (the town we caught the ferry from to Stewart Island). Saturday I was crazy enough to get into ANOTHER cave! Ah, the crazy things that love will make people do! But I ...

the rest of our time in queenstown was just as awesome as the beginning, despite feeling burntout from so much action in such a short period of time. our first day with cogan, tex and anita was pretty awesome. we went white water surfing; with wetsuits, flippers, bodyboards and helmets we swam through rapids and tried to get onto the continual waves made by the currents. pretty awesome stuff, but we were completely exhausted ...

... suddenly as the mountains had appeared, the land became a flat patchwork of coloured paddocks. Why some areas were created as circles I don't know - maybe the remains of alien visits years ago!! So now in the Base Hostel I am deciding on where to go next and what to do. I had thought of heading south to Stewert Island and the Catlins, though now will most likely continue north and spend a little more time on route to Auckland. Christchurch is a ...

New Year's eve was great - out in Auckland for drinks and then fireworks at the Sky Tower. Had already climbed the tower earlier - stunning views across Auckland - and explored our new 'home'! Think we'll like it once we've figured out where we're living and how to get around. New Year's Day on the beach in 30 degrees, bit of sunbathing ...