Moved about a bit since I left Rotorua, where I did an extreme amount of not a lot, thanks to the rubbish weather, although on the day I left I did manage to see some geysers, and some bubbling mud pools, which was quite cool. Rotorua is some kind of geothermal hotspot in NZ, so the place smells a bit funny (like rotten eggs, but it's actually sulphur). Also had a few dodgy locals roaming around the place.

After Rotorua I got a bit more adventurous by going black water rafting in some glow worm filled caves, and then throwing myself out of a plane that afternoon. Ness will be proud that I finally did a skydive :) wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, although I did shut my eyes when we first jumped out the plane. Opened them and almost shat myself as I was freefalling on my back and staring up at the plane. However, as soon as the parachute opened the dive was amazing, as I felt like I was falling really slowly, and I could see for miles, all over this huge lake with lots of LOTR scenery everywhere.

I've calmed down from all my mad activities now, apart from hiking on Franz Joseph glacier yesterday, which was COLD, but awesome at the same time. Never seen scenery like it.

The next few days are going to be relatively normal, as I have done all the so-called "mad" activities that I wanted to do (I'm not big on getting cold, wet, being on boats or jumping into rivers tied to elastic) so I am now going to do some relaxing in Queenstown for a while. Although unfortunately Queenstown is Partytown, so that might not happen :)

Just finished 4 days of exploring Auckland - my first 4 days in NZ!

Was a nice enough city, very quiet compared to Australian or English ones, I was wandering round the high street on a Saturday and it was almost empty. Which is nice really, no crazy people bumping into you or trying to mug you :)

I am trying to save money at the moment, so everything I have done so far has been free, including a free tour I got when I bought my Kiwi Experience bus pass in Oz, which was pretty handy, as it meant I got out and about to see more of Auckland that I would have done on foot.

Auckland is pretty mad really, it is built on top of about 48 volcanoes, and you can still go up the ones that still exist today, although now they look like nice grassy hills. I went to the museum and was pleased to discover that another one could pop up at any moment, which would be the ultimate fun for people who live there :) I even went in a fake house which simulated what would happen if a new volcano did decide to turn up. All in all the best museum I have ever been to, because I am geeky, and found the whole volcano section really interesting.

I've now started my Kiwi Experience bus thingy, which means I can hop on and hop off round both islands, although sometimes it seems more like a tour, as they are constantly wanting to book people into certain accommodation and on certain tours/activities. Tonight I am going against the grain and am staying in a hostel different to the 33 other people on my bus. Quite proud of myself really, as this one is cheaper, and run by some very nice people. Also down the road from the local beach which has proper LOTR scenery going on :)

Tomorrow I am off to Routura, where I am told there is a lot of bubbling mud, and a Maori performance for us tourists, which sounds like fun :)

Whoops....

I do realize that on my last post that I said I was going to write more frequently, but in typical Sod's Law style, my hostel stopped doing the free internet. Will try to cram everything in this post without making it too long :)

I am now writing this post from New Zealand, after spending just over 2 months living in Brisbane. During that time, Ness and I split off from each other, because we had altercations and fisticuffs.

Only joking.

Long story short, she went to Noosa to stay with this Aussie guy she met in Mission Beach, and lived with him for about a month, before realising he was a bit of a nob-jockey. From all accounts, he was weed smoking dole scum who refused to get a job. During this time I decided I wanted to make some travel plans of my own, seeing as I thought Ness would be staying with Tim long-term. She came back to Brisbane after I made my plans, and has since made some of her own, and is now staying with her brother in Sydney, but we are still in close contact.

I have to admit that I had a great time in Brisbane, even without Ness there, I made some great friends at the hostel, and I think that made it easier to get used to travelling on my own.
With the money from my two jobs - slave labour (cleaning the hostel) and being the world's worst waitress, I flew to Adelaide and then did a Great Ocean Road tour to Melbourne, which was awesome, despite the weather being a bit shit.

And, whilst in Melbourne, I met...PAUL "ONE-LEGGED NEIGHBOURS GOD" ROBINSON! And also Stingray and Elle from Neighbours, although they don't have Paul's cool status. I am a bit sad that I didn't get to meet Harold "Dirty Harry" Bishop, but I did get to buy a signed postcard with him on, which is almost as cool.

Melbourne was a nice city, although I think I preferred Sydney, as either Sydney has less weird people in it, or I was just staying in the weird capital of Melbourne. I almost stayed in the world's worst hostel, which was above a pub, and despite me having a reservation, offered my a mattress on the floor of a tiny room overflowing with other people's stuff. Fortunately I managed to get into another, nicer hostel, so I was able to tell them where to shove their mattress.

So here I am now travelling round New Zealand, will be a bit weird, as even though I have been on my own for the past month, I have been surrounded by people I knew and got on well with. So fingers crossed I'll find the same here :)