Paradise Bay Resort St. David

... Hot Beach. It is known for the hot water that bubbles up from the sand. Parents and Kids dig in the sand and create a circular hot tub out of sand. It is only done at low tide and our timing is a bit off as the tide is still too high for many of the best locations to be on dry land. It is getting very cold as winds begin and the storm appears to be getting closer. We get in our hippie van and head on south, unsure how far we will drive.

... Ass". Assuming this to be "S", Kay and I go through the entire alphabet over the course of an hour. We're afraid to ask for a clue as this will be met with consternation. We finally ask "Can we see it now Ken?" "No", he replies.."We saw ih lass ni". The answer was stars and although technically the sun could count as a star at 3 in the afternoon, I don't think he got the jist. So we decided the best way to improve his english is to punish him ...

... Crossing. ...es war eine ausserst lohnende und atemberaubende Wanderung in vulkanischer Landschaft, mit Blick auf Kraterseen und der anstrengende Aufstieg hat sich gelohnt. Nach sieben Stunden laufen hiess es bei mir abends um sechs Uhr "Gute Nacht!". Nachdem ich dann tausende von Gluehwuermchen in den Waitomo Caves bewundern durfte, habe ich ein paar Tage in einem hostel in Rotorua gearbeitet, dann in Raglan, dem Surferparadies von Neuseeland und dann ...

... mountain boarding dude who introduced himself as Dante but who's real name is Benjamin. His dad's a pilot who lives in the Middle East and thus he's been all over the world, lucky *****. And now he's settled in as a chef in nowheresville Raupo but is quite satisfied. Uh... actually, I haven't done anything cool in Welly yet. I just napped and went and got some free food and partied with the backpackers a lil... sleep

... Te Anau to Milford Stopped at Te Anau for brekkie then drove some 121 k to Milford. Just for a change - We made loads of stops... Had a snack and checked in for our overnight cruise on Milford Sound. Our boat was the Milford Wanderer, sister vessel to the Milford Mariner. We had our safety briefing and got under way. It was a little windy, so after a quick blast up the fiord, where we saw some seals, we turned and moored up in Harrison Cove, our home for the night. While there, I ...

... is also a half marathon being run for the first time. It's just the kind of thing I have brought my running kit halfway round the world for so I am cursing the timing. During the game I contemplate changing my plans again and staying another night to do the run. We go for drinks after the game but I leave relatively early as the bus to the ferry(I am heading to the South Island straight from Wello) leaves at 6:45am. Ironically its the worst nights sleep ...

... the penguins, you are allowed on the beach but there are conservation people around to make sure you don't go to near, the beach is full of this petrified wood again it's facinating, there are 5 colonies surrounding this beach & they have all just had their babies,as not much was happening at that time she suggested we went back down about 8:30-9:00 as the tide would be coming in, we went back to a different viewing point which was much ...

... for the next 2 nights. On the bus were some other cool girls, Jodie, from Canada, Sarah from Dublin and Zoe from the UK (I had met Zoe previously in the Bay of Islands at New Year's Eve on The Rock boat). 4 of us girls decided to stay in the tent for 2 nights - I'm well and truely used to 'Roughing it' now, so it didn't bother me, especially as it was only $15 to stay in the tent (about 6 quid!) But after the second night of rain, I was greatful ...

... since discovered they do!!). Refuelled we set off once again, finding it hard to keep upright and realising just why Wellington had acquired the reputation of being a very windy city. We wandered around the central areas of the town and liked both what we saw and the general ambience. There were a number of interestingly designed buildings and a great deal of random art work, much of it quirky and fun. To get an overview we took the cable car to the top view ...