Sloshed in Sydney

I currently in the Emirates lounge waiting to board the plane onto Bangkok an have been helping myself to copious amounts of champagne! I have been watching Sky News and have been shocked to discover Heath Ledger has been found dead in his bed with a suspected overdose!

I had a nice relaxed day and met my brother for dim sum near the IKEA where he works. We went to see my cousin Mary's new flat, which has a great view of Sydney Harbour (apparently the fireworks were spectacular on New Year's Eve) (see photo). My cousin Catherine had a baby just over a week ago - as yet unnamed - but he is tiny and not a sound peeps out of him (see photo).

My luggage seems to be growing in size by the minute! I have acquired some Christmas presents in Sydney and I ended up having to post a big box back to the UK with all my walking clothes and boots, as there was no spare room in my luggage. I am salivating at the prospect of acquiring quite a few wooden carvings and buddhas on my Bangkok/Vietnam/Laos and Cambodia trip but lordy knows where they will all go. However, where there is a will, there is a way!!

The flight has just been called so am off to do a final purchase for my mother - Ugg slippers of all things!

Till Bangkok.

All Alone in Fiji

On Thursday 17 January, we did two more dives in the soft coral, at Rusi's Pinnacle (Rusi is the captain of the boat, a divemaster and with over 20,000 dives) and Golden Arches. There is a wreck at Rusi's Pinnacle, which was deliberately sunk in 2002 to give more variety to the dive sites and at Golden Arches there were a few swim throughs in the coral pinnacles. We saw about 8 baby reef sharks and a giant stone fish (which is gives you a nasty sting if you are unfortunate to touch it). I also took some other photos (see above).

I was diving with three other people in Lagoon Resort on Tuesday and Wednesday but they returned home to Melbourne and I was the only person staying there. Occupancy rates in the resort have fallen quite significantly in the last couple of years, as there have been a number of coups, the last one being in May 2007. Whilst you don't feel unsafe in Pacific Harbour, it has affected tourist numbers to Fiji. Jim has been keeping me entertained over dinner with his stories of his travels through Europe and Asia in his 20s, his life in Fiji (he has been here for 20 years after having owning his own life insurance business in New Zealand) and the filming of Anacondas. I did manage to watch Anacondas on DVD and I was correct - it is not one of the great masterpieces.

I really enjoyed diving in Fiji and it was nice to have the afternoons free to relax, watch DVDs, go for walks and go kayaking down the river (when we got completely soaked in the rain). On Sunday 20 January I went for a three hour walk around Pacific Harbour, but it was so hot and humid I practically wilted by the end of it. Cyclone Funi, which hit Vanuatu at the end of the week, passed by the western and south-west part of Viti Levu on Saturday evening but we only had slight choppy seas and some winds.

I experienced the true meaning of Fiji time when I checked into the airport on Monday morning. There were about 8 people in front of me, but it took 45 minutes to get to the check in desk. Air New Zealand are one of the most disorganised airlines I have ever flown with. The earlier flight to Auckland was delayed, as was my flight but it took over 20 minutes before I was told that I could leave on the earlier flight. I think that was the reason why it took so long to ceck in- the computer could not handle the fact that the earlier flight had not yet left. Hello - are we not in the 21st century?!!! I was, however, upgraded to business class, as there were no seats left in economy class but I left my bag in a heap of other bags which didn't look like they were going anywhere. I think the conveyor belt had packed in. I had visions of me arriving in Bankok with half my luggage somewhere still in the Pacific but luckily my bags arrived in Auckland. Air New Zealand's planes look like remnants from the 70s - business class is outdated and they still have the large TV screens at the front of the cabin where a lot of airlines ditched those a long time ago.

I am now back in Sydney for one night, having spent Monday evening in Rangiora. I was quite sad to leave New Zealand, as I have grown quite fond of the various animals and the rellies have really made me feel at home. Everything in New Zealand also feels wonderfully laid back, such that I feel nice and relaxed - hopefully prepared for the hectic pace of life and rip off merchants in Bangkok.

I am slowly getting up to date with my blog and will be finished adding more photos shortly. If you have time, please check back to see if the photos have been added - at least it will give you some idea of what I have been doing rather than ust reading my daily ramblings!

Big Fish Encounters

I was really looking forward to all the shark diving, as I have only seen grey and Oceanic white tipped reef sharks in the Red Sea but I had never seen nurse, lemon or bull sharks. I am glad to see that Beqa Adventure Divers supports the local community and environment. To encourage the upkeep of Shark Reef, a daily entry fee of Fijian $20 is charged to all divers and paid directly to the villages of Wainiyabia and Galoa, who own the customary fishing rights to Shark Reef. All food used for the Big Fish Encounter is provided by Fiji Fish, a local fish processing company. Each week between 800kg and 1000kg of fish scraps are reintroduced into the food chain to feed the fish and sharks of Shark Reef. There are a number of dive operators in Pacific Harbour but only Beqa Adventure Divers and another dive operator is allowed to conduct the shark feed (albeit in different locations).

We set out to the Shark Marine Reserve with a full boat, including two Japanese guys who were making a film for Japanese television (maybe I will be on TV!), and started our first dive at 9.30am. The divemaster threw in a couple of huge slabs of fish, which immediately attracted swarms of giant trevallies. We then got into the water and descended to 30m where the shark feed began. Hundreds of giant trevallies and other fish (red bass, grouper, sergeant majors, fusiliers) circle the feeder in a mad frenzy and then the nursing sharks (about 6 of them) come up to the bin and dig their noses in to get the fish. I had my own video camera, so I was allowed to film quite close to where the feeding was taking place. I didn't feel scared, as the feed is well controlled (provided you don't start flapping your arms about or grab any loose food, otherwise the trevallies will go for you). After 17 minutes, which is the maximum bottom time allowed at 30m before you enter into decompression diving and have to do mandatory safety stops, we then surfaced to 10m where the feeding continued. Again there were large swarms of fish, white tipped reef sharks, black tipped reef sharks and grey reef sharks. After another 20 minutes, we headed towards the surface. The shark feed was really good. I have never seen so many fish in one small area.

The second dive took place an hour later at 16m. We sat on a ledge just behind the feeder and giant bull sharks came and took food from his hand. There were about 6 bull sharks and they are quite scary - they cause more deaths than any other shark. One of the crew told me that on the last few shark dives, the bull sharks have been getting a bit aggressive, so the feeders have had to punch them on the nose to keep them in line.

We did two more shark dives on Friday and Saturday and each time there was no shortage of excitement. The biggest grouper I have ever seen - about 1.5 metres in length also came up to be fed. On the final 30m shark dive on Saturday, the nurse sharks and a lemon shark were about 1m away - they aren't aggressive but they do get quite curious. A Russian guy on the dive tried to grab the shark as it swam past (Russians always like touching the animals when diving). On the 16m dive, a lot of reef sharks were circling about a couple of metres above my head - luckily I had my video camera for protection! A big fat female bull shark which has been around for 5 years took some food out of the feeders' hand and then circled back to him for more - such that he had to dive for cover. Even though the visibility wasn't that great, I did get some great video footage and some pictures (see above - bull sharks and trevallies).

Fine and dandy in Nadi

I decided to have a quiet day on Monday 14 January in Rangiora before my flight to do my washing, update my blog and help Darren babysit Drew, as she had caught kennel cough from being in a glass box at the pet shop for 4 weeks before Darren took pity on her and brought her home. Updating my blog took longer than expected, so that it ended up being a mad rush to the airport. I keep forgetting that not every airport in the world is like Heathrow or Gatwick - i.e. when they say check in at least 30 minutes beforehand they really mean it. In Christchurch you can check in up to 10 minutes beforehand, as the airport is so small. It takes about 5 minutes to go through customs and security before you are at the gate (shopping is non-existent!).

I arrived in Nadi (pronounced Nandi) at 9pm only to be told by the taxi transfer guy that we had a two hour drive to get to the Lagoon Resort. The resort is in Pacific Harbour on the Coral Coast, namely the southern part of Viti Levu and which is about 150km from Nadi and 50km from Suva (the capital). Pacific Harbour is also known as the Adventure Capital of Fiji, as it offers a range of activities from diving to fishing, golf, whitewater rafting as well as various tours which give you an insight into Fiji village life and culture. Fijians seem to have a death wish - the roads are pitch black at night with no street lights, so that you often swerve to avoid people walking along the side of the road and stray dogs and cows. People also ride horses on the grass verges in the opposite direction. The Fijians are very friendly and laid back too (hence the phrase often used "Fijian time"). I quite liked the band playing Fijian music which welcomed us into the airport customs hall.

Lagoon Resort is on the banks of the Qari-ni-Qio River, which is a man-made inlet, and has 21 rooms. It is owned by Jim Sherlock and his wife Heather (both Kiwis). The Hollywood production of "Anacondas - The Hunt for the Blood Orchid" was filmed in Fiji and whole cast and crew took over the resort between June and November 2003 (see photo of the Bloody Mary boat used in the film). The film premiered in Suva in August 2004 and was only released in Fiji and the USA. Probably just as well, as the film sounded a bit like it would be crap (although it apparently grossed over US$50 million by November 2004!).

The diving was organised by Beqa (pronounced Benga) Lagoon Divers, an independently managed business on the resort which was set up by a Swiss investment banker. On Tuesday 15 January I had my first experience of diving in Fijian waters. We headed out to Beqa Lagoon (about 20 minutes away in the boat), which is an official Marine Protected Area and was named by Jacques Cousteau as "The Soft Coral Capital of The World." The Big Fish Encounter (i.e. shark feeding) takes place on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at two different locations in the Shark Marine Reserve, with soft coral dives on the remaining days. Marine biologists and scientists often come on the shark feed dives and observe the effect the feeding has on the fish. One counted 260 different species of fish on one dive alone a few years ago.

On Tuesday morning we had two dives - one on Fantasy Reef and the other on Side Streets Reef, which were nice and pleasant, with lots of soft coral, gorgonian fans and tropical fish. There were some things which I had never seen before, such as soft coral which is pink but turns white when you touch it and a clown triggerfish, which has large white spots on its lower body. I don't think the soft coral is as vibrant as in the Red Sea - the coral suffered quite severe bleaching in 2000 due to La Nina and it is only just starting to recover. It is also summer here, so that whilst it is hot and humid, it is the rainy season. We had some drizzle whilst diving, which is probably why the visibility has not been particularly great - about 10 metres. There has been quite a lot of rain recently, which churns up the water. It also rained for most of the afternoon after lunch but when it finally stopped, I walked a couple of miles to the Arts Centre, which has a bank, post office, supermarket, cafes and various arts and crafts shops. I don't think Fijians are used to the concept of walking anywhere. A couple of times people stopped to ask me if I wanted a lift somewhere, despite the fact that they weren't even going in my direction!

There isn't much going on in Pacific Harbour in the evenings, so for most of them I read and watched DVDs and managed to stay awake until 10pm - the diving really tires you out.

All my meals were included in the Lagoon Resort, which means that after a week of eating a breakfast buffet, two course lunches and three course dinners, I feel like a beached whale and will probably have trouble fitting into my wetsuit when I next dive in the Maldives.

Snorkelling in Kaikoura

This morning (Sunday 13th January) we went snorkelling in Kaikoura. The itinerary says that we were supposed to snorkel "within a couple of feet of native New Zealand Fur Seals as they cavort in the water". Unfortunately we arrived to start the snorkelling late and as some of the group were catching flights out of Christchurch in the afternoon, we weren't able to snorkel where originally planned. The water was pretty choppy and a cool 16 degrees (luckily we were supplied with 7mm wets0uits). I saw a few cold water fish and the huge kelp trees were pretty amazing. Other than that and feeling a bit seasick with the waves, there wasn't much to see and I think I stick with tropical waters.

Kaikoura lies almost midway between Picton and Christchurch (see photo of the coast where there are plenty of seals. The town is in the "sunbelt" of New Zealand, 191lm south-east of Blenheim and can boast plenty of sunshine hours a year. The name Kaikoura means "meal of crayfish" and was given to the area by a Maori chief called Tamatea. According to legend, he found the crayfish so good that he stopped here to eat some while pursuing his runaway wives who were eventually transformed into greenstone in westland. Maoridom regards the area as a place of historical significance. It was here that the demi-god Maui fished up the North Island from the sea.

I am now back in Christchurch (Rangiora) for a night, having done all my washing. I am off to Fiji tomorrow for a week's diving, although I have heard that it has been raining a bit there. I came back to Darren and Shane's only to discover a few new additions to Rangiora Zoo! Some little chicks and a new chocolate cocker spaniel puppy (Drew - short for Drewfus because she looks a bit gormless - see photo) She is cute though and a sprightly young thing. She follows you all around the house. I went to the loo I suddenly heard a yelp when I think I accidentally brained her when I shut the door. Poor thing. We took the dogs for a walk along Waikuku Beach (see picture at sunset).

Hiking in Punakaiki Rainforest and Nelson Lakes National Park

We left Franz Josef on Wednesday 9th January and stopped in Hokitika, which has plenty of pounamu (Maori for "jade") shops. I bought myself a New Zealand ruby from the Ruby Rock shop. The Goodletite form of New Zealand ruby is extremely rare and can only be found in Hokitaka. It contains ruby, sapphire and tourmaline crystals arranged by nature in one stone. It was originally discovered in 1892 by William Goodlett and although the stone initially caused a small "ruby rush" on the West Coast, the find was quickly overshadowed by a gold rush in the region. It was 100 years before Goodletite was rediscovered by Gerry Courmandeur, a Dutch born Master Gemcutter. New Zealand shopkeepers are so trustworthy that the woman in the shop allowed me to walk outside with several of these rubies to look at in the natural light. If that had been someone in England, those jewels would never have been seen again.

From Hokitika we travelling onto Puakaiki to hike amongst the limestone canyons and lush rainforest of the Inland Pack Track (see photo). The gold miners who first opened up the area over a century ago established this trail. We also went to see Punakaiki's famous Pancake Rocks, which are named because they resemble stacks of pancakes (see photo). At high tide with a heavy swell, seawater is forced upwards through blowholes but we arrived too late to see this. There is plenty to do in this area with beach walks and mountain tracks into Paparoa National Parks.

On Thursday afternoon we started the hike in the Nelson Lakes National Park from Lake Rotoiti (pronounced Roto-iti - see photo of me with backpack). The trail alongside the lake to the Lakehead mountain hut is very gentle. Nelson Lakes National Park straddles the Southern Alps, an area composed of beech forests, big lakes and even bigger mountains. The huts are unmanned, with no electricity or showers and you have to carry all your food and gear. My back pack was a little heavier than a normal day pack, but nothing I could not get used to, although others in the group struggled, as they had never so much carried anything more than a small rucksack before. On the second day (Friday), we walked alongside the Travers River, through native beech forest. At the lunch stop, three people in the group decided they would stay at Lakehead Hut rather than attempt the steep climb up the Hukere Stream to Angelus Hut. It was a steep hike with an elevation gain of 3000 feet (1000m) but it was worth it to swim in the freezing cold alpine lake next to the hut at the top (much better than smelling for another day without a shower!) (see photo). It was then a five hour hike out on Saturday, first along a stark ridgeline with dramatic views down to Tasman Bay and the mountains of Kahurangi National Park and beyond (see photo), then down through native beech forest. I didn't find the terrain particularly difficult, as I have walked on this and harder many times but it was nice to finally be out in the fresh air with incredible views. I decided that I would camp on both nights rather than be cramped in the hut and taking the risk of being kept awake by someone snoring. I don't miss all those pesky sand flies down at Lakehead Hut. I have been bitten to death and my legs look like they have been through a war zone with all those bits and bruises galore!

After the walk on Saturday and before arriving at our B&B in Kaikoura, we stopped off at the Forrest Winery near Blenheim for some wine tasting. I felt I was an old hand at it, it being the seventh winery I have been to since leaving England (not that I am an alcoholic or anything).

Franz Josef

After an early breakfast at 6.30am on Monday 7th January (one of the girls nearly mutinied last night when she told we would be leaving at 7.30am on the basis that she had a bad back and needed time to do her exercises!), we drove to Franz Josef via a few waterfalls and the Haast Bridge where an impressive river was surging past due to the amount of rain which had fallen on the West Coast (it rains a lot on the West Coast). The rains came lashing down the hole journey, such that the heli hike onto the Franz Josef Glacier which we had booked on in the afternoon had been cancelled. The guides had, instead, planned a walk up the rain forest to the terminal face and lower reaches of the glacier. Even though I like walking, I hate to do so when it looks like I might finish it looking like a drowned rat, I went for the alternative option - climbing the indoor ice wall at the Hukawai Glacier Centre in Franz Josef.

The Hukawai Centre also has a good exhibit showing the history of the glacier, the weather and environment of the glacier and the flora, fauna and geology. The average annual rainfall around the Franz Josef glacier is 5100mm compared to 4200mm in Tokyo and 1100mm in London (Manchester must fall somewhere between those two figures). Three of us decided sensibly to spend the afternoon climbing the 10m wall, which has 15 different climbing routes from the easy for beginners to a monster overhang for experts and the more adventurous. I had never done ice climbing before and after the first climb, due to the cold and straining to hold the ice axes, my hands started to cramp badly. The second and third climbs were much easier, particularly as you start to gain in confidence. Where, however, the top of the wall gets vertical and icy, I did start to shake a bit, as you rely on your buddy to belay you properly and because I was climbing too quickly for my buddy to catch up, the rope was slack most of the time. Thankfully I didn't fall! Anyway, we chose the right option, as those who went on the walk were drenched and turned back before they even went near the glacier due to the rivers being flooded. (See photo of me ice climbing).

Our evening accommodation was in Okarito, by the Okarito Lagoon and with a population of 30. By the time we arrived, the population had increased by a third! The next day (Tuesday), we kayaked on the lagoon, which is a bird spotter's paradise. It is unique in that it holds the only white heron colony in New Zealand. There are various inlets you can explore and initially, Nick (who was in my tandem kayak) and I heard a lot of birds but couldn't see them for the life of us. Eventually we spotted a couple of white herons (which can only be found in that area - see photo) and some other birds (although we didn't have a clue what they were). We had managed to change our heli hike booking to the following day, but even though it wasn't raining, it was too cloudy on the Franz Josef glacier to be able to fly up there. Another heli hike cancelled. We managed to get on the half day glacier hike walk, which takes you up to the first ice fall but as there were 65 people, we started late and there was a lot of waiting around to get people up and down. It's a real shame that tour companies pack in the numbers for the sake of their profits - it could have been a much better experience. Once on the glacier, however (where we were for an hour and a half), there are spectacular views of crevasses, tunnels and blue ice, as well as views down the valley. Whilst quite safe with ropes and steps cut into the glacier, some people found it quite strenuous.

Together with the Fox Glacier 20km to the south (which we did not have time to visit), it is unique in the fact that it descends from the Southern Alps to just 200m above sea level amidst the lushness and greenery of a temperate rain forest. The area surrounding the two glaciers is designated a World Heritage site. The Franz Josef glacier (see photo) retreated quite significantly before the 1980s but since then, it has been advancing at a rapid rate, such that the glacial landscape can change almost daily. Franz Josef Glacier is also named by the Maori as Ka Koimata o Hinehukatere (tears of the Avalanche Girl). According to legend, Hinehukatere loved climbing in the mountains. She persuaded her lover, Tawe, to go with her. Near the top Tawe slipped and fell to his death. The heartbroken girl's tears froze to form the glacier and they continue to fall, resulting in the advancing glacier.

Mount Aspiring National Park

On Sunday 6th January, Janet, one of the Canadian girls announced that she had had enough of being in the bus so much and decided she would spend three more days in Queenstown and catch an early flight back to Canada on the Wednesday. The general feeling was that there was quite a lot of driving on the trip, but then it is no surprise when you are trying to cover the whole of the South Island in only 14 days. A lot of driving must be done in New Zealand to get anywhere. Barry and Holly (our guides) were quite surprised, as no one had really mentioned the driving issue up until then but in true fashion when girls get together, there had been quite a lot of complaining about it the night before (by three of the other girls - one reason why I prefer to have more blokes on the trip as they are more easygoing and when girls get together they turn everything into a bitchfest - well these girls did anyway). The one good result about Janet leaving though, was that I was able to have a room by myself. No more sharing with the weird, moody Irish girl. I swear that she was in a strop with me because I was up late one night writing notes for my blog and the next morning I accidentally set the alarm for 7am rather than 8am. I mean, if you want peace and quiet, go for the single option. I nearly told her to get over herself and to stop being such a right miserable cow!

After leaving Queenstown, we had a brief coffee break in Arrowtown, a 20 minute scenic drive which was "Born of Gold" in the 1860s. The town's main street is lined with restored historic buildings, over 60 of which from the gold rush days are listed with the Historic Places Trust.

We then headed to Wanaka on Lake Wanaka. Laka Wanaka lies in the heart of the Mount Aspiring National Park (part of the Te Waipounamu World Heritage Area) and it also offers a vast array of activity options similar to Queenstown. In our case we opted for a gentle two hour stroll up to Rocky Mountain on Diamond Hill, which gave us great views of Lake Wanaka and Mount Aspiring (see photos with me in them - the other photo is of Queenstown in the distance. We also met some rather large sheep on the trail!).

Our night's accomodation was in Makarora, which is a small farming village directly next to Mount Aspiring National Park. There is nothing much there apart from the Wilderness Resort, which opened in 1959 as a basic camping ground. Since then, a cafe, restaurant and shop has been built. The bar provided the entertainment for the evening, where we met the group doing the Northbound trip of the Rimu and they challenged us to a karaoke competition. Even though they were older than us, the booze may have gone to their head as they went a bit mad singing and dancing during the karaoke. Maybe our group was just boring. The karaoke was abruptly cut short at 12am when the bar shut, so it was a fairly late night to bed for us.

Adventure Junkie in Queenstown

Queenstown is quite a remarkable place. I can't think of anywhere in the world where it seems that one town solely exists to provide a mind boggling array of activites to the adventure junkie. Of course, it wasn't always like that. The district was first settled in 1860, when pioneer run holder and William Gilbert Rees set up a farm and homestead on the shores of what is known as Queenstown Bay. Pastoral peace and tranquility was broken when sheep shearers Thomas Arthur and Harry Redfern discovered gold in the Shotover River in 1862, which led to thousands of people converging on the settlement to begin the search for gold.

The Shotover River is the second highest gold bearing river in history (yielding 12oz of gold per yard of gravel), second only to the Klondike River in Northwest Canada. The river was so lucrative that it yielded a record-breaking 57.6kg of gold in just one day. The Government bought the wild frontier town in 1863 and pronouncing it "fit for a Queen", christened it Queenstown. After the goldrush, agriculture was the mainstay of the economu and the improvement in raod and air access in the early 1950s made Queenstown a popular holiday spot for southern South Islanders. International tourism boomed in the early 1970s with more direct flights and cheaper fares. There are also over eighty vineyards in Central Otago (with the pinot noir grape receiving international attention).

Queenstown lies on Lake Wakatipu and is nestled in the Remarkables range of mountains. Lake Wakatipu is New Zealand's longest lake (84km) and the third largest (291 sq km). It is 378m deep, which puts the lake floor below sea level. It rises and falls up to 12cm every 5 minutes. Lake Wakatipu, a contraction of waka-tipua-wai-maori is literally "the freshwater trough where the giant demon lies" or commonly, "the hollow of the sleeping giant". According to Maori myth, the wicked giant demon, Matua, captured Manata, the beautiful daughter of a Maori chief and fled with her to the mountains. On the way, he went to sleep. Matakauri, a young warrier who needed to prove he was worthy of a chief's daughter. While the giant slept, Matakauri rescued Manata and then set fire to Matua. As the giant burned, he melted and after a while, all that was left of him was his beating heart. The hollow where he lay filled with water and became Lake Wakatipu - his head at Glenorchy and his feet at Kingston. Presumably Manata and Matakauri lived happily ever after but the legend tells us that the heart still beats beneath the water, causing the constant rise and fall of the lake. The scientific explanation for this, known as a seiche, is caused by variations in atmospheric pressure. I like the sound of the Maori legend better!

The Lord of the Rings and countless Bollywood movies were filmed around the Remarkables and you can do various LOTR tours in the area. At 2343m high, they are one of only two mountain ranges in the world which run truly North-South (the other is the Rockies). OK, so now that the general knowledge is out of the way, more importantly, what gut wrenching activities did I put myself through?

On Saturday 5th January, the early start continued when I was told to meet at the Queenstown Information Centre at 7.30am to sign in for the start of my "Shotover Freefall Combo". After registration, there was a 10 minute bus journey to the Shotover River to do the Shotover Jet, which was founded in 1965 and is the only boat licensed to operate the Shotover River Canyons. You speed in mere centimetres of water along the Shotover River and into the canyons, The jet does full 360 degree spins but the ride only lasted about 25 minutes and I did find it a bit too tame for my liking. I was at the front of the boat and managed to stay drier than those at the side but I am not sure if there would have been a bit more momentum at the back. Still, it was only the first activity of the day, and therefore, merely a warm up!

After that was whitewater rafting on the Shotover River. Whilst the Shotover Jet was quite chilled out, the rafting was run like a military operation and we felt like sheep being herded along a conveyor belt to collect wetsuit and lifejackets. There must have been 10 boats with 7 people in them (not including one rafting guide). Before the rafting started, I took a 10 minute helicopter ride to the start of the rafting, which was spectacular. I was lucky to sit at the front, so had widescreen views, as the pilot hugged the twists and turns of the mountain. The trip took 2 hours and we travelled a good 16km. Simon (from Preston in England) was our guide and he definitely made it fun, getting us into various positions - "get down', "hold on", "go left", "go right". He also knew a lot about the history of the area and on numerous occasions pointed out old rusty remnants of equipment from the gold panning days. A couple of times Simon let us jump into the water for a swim down the river and the second time, we were submerged into mini rapids (gulping a mouthful of water). I was with a family of 6 Danish people, who had been rafting before, so it was good to know what they were doing and none of us fell out. Mind you, the highest grade of the rapids was 3 (5 being the highest) but it has definitely given me the taste of doing some more challenging stuff. The Zambezi River is supposed to be great, so Africa here we come!

It was then back to Queenstown for a lunch break, before I took the bus to a private airfield about 20 minutes' drive outside of Queenstown to do a 15,000 foot skydive with NZone. I was a bit put off by the bungy jumping, as apparently the jerk you get from the bungy cord can be unpleasant, where injuries such as whiplash and ruptured retinas not being uncommon. The fact that you would do the skydive in tandem with an experienced jumpmaster was quite appealing. I would be in the plane with two other Chinese girls, who were only going to jump from 9,000 feet and whilst their instructors were helping them to kit up, along comes Bill (from Pennsylvania), my instructor trying to look really smooth with his aviator sunglasses, as if he had just come from the set of Top Gun (Tom Cruise he was unfortunately not! All the skydive instructors are men, so they must have a great time spending their days being strapped to female customers. Not so fun if you are a 20 stone fatso). Bill has been skydiving for 8 years and working for NZone for 4 years. Not a bad day at the office if you ask me!

The training we were given was very brief - ie how to jump out whilst strapped to your instructor and how to land. Then we headed out into the plane - all three of us decided that we would have a cameraman film our jump so, there were 9 of us in the plane and it was a very tight squeeze. Once the girls had jumped out, I was in the plane with Bill and Dom (my cameraman) and the scenery was spectacular, surrounded by the Remarkables, bright sunshine and no cloud in the sky. I didn't actually feel that nervous and at 15,010 feet, Bill showed me his altimeter and said it was time to go. We inched forward to the door, which slided open, then Dom stepped outside, hanging onto the door so he could film us. I adopted the banana position (ie head back, legs bent outside the plane - plus smile for the camera) and after the count of three, we were off. I was thinking that once we jumped out of the plane I would suddenly have an amazing view but the next thing I know I am upside down (Bill has decided to do a forward somersault outside the plane!). The feeling you get on a rollercoaster or on bad turbulence when you feel as if your stomach is in your mouth only lasts for about a couple of seconds. You then start to freefall for 60 seconds at 200km per hour, but strangely, because there is so much upward pressure, you don't feel as if you are falling, more as if you are flying. All this time Dom is filming and taking pictures, holds your hand, then spins away upside down. You really get carried away with the moment, then Bill pulls the parachute at 4,000 feet and you spend a leisurely few minutes drifting towards the landing pad, with spectacular mountains all around you (I think the skies around Queenstown offer some of the most panoramic views anywhere in the world - other than the Everest region, of course). Bill also kept turning the parachute 180 degrees in different directions, but not for long as it really made me feel dizzy.

My landing was quite smooth (Nick in our group who did the skydive in the morning had quite an unsmooth one, with the instructor sliding on his backside for a good 10 metres). All of a sudden it was over but the massive headrush you get with all that adrenalin pumping around you lasts for ages afterwards. I just wanted to go and do it all over again. The only disappointment was that Dom told me that his stills camera had not worked in the day (there is a wire from the camera which they stick in their teeth and they bite on it when they want to take photos). Apparently it had broken earlier in the day and he had changed it but it had been temperamental ever since. A shame really, as some of the shots in the air would have been great but the DVD looks really good. I also picked up a leaflet to learn how to solo dive anywhere in the world, which is rather tempting (and also much cheaper than doing it in the UK)!

Unfortunately we had only one spare day in Queenstown, but I could definitely spend a week there doing all the activities. There is so much to do, including hiking and mountain biking. Some of you probably think I am a bit mad for doing it but I would definitely do it again (only to get some decent shots in the air) and I am glad I didn't opt for the bungy, as I think it would probably be a bit of a let down! This was definitely the highlight of my trip.

Sea Kayaking on Milford Sound

On Friday 4th January, it was a ridiculously early start (6.15am breakfast) to head down to Milford Sound. Most people see the Milford Sound from the deck of a cruise ship, but we had a better way of doing it - gliding along in a sea kayak (in tandem), which causes minimum disruption to the various wildlife you can find on the sound. The trip is run by specialist kayakers. Milford Sound is the only fiord which can be accessedby road and is rated the 8th Natural Wonder of the World by Rudyard Kipling and you can see why. The views are breathtaking. The Sound runs 16km inland from the Tasman Sea and is surrounded by sheer rock walls which rise 1200 metres or more on either side - the fiord is dominated by the mile high Mitre Peak (1695m) which rises vertically upwards from the waters below (see photo). Lush rainforests cling to the cliffs and tree avalanches are common. There are numerous waterfalls which cascade down the cliff faces, some reaching a thousand metres in length. Small propeller planes arrive every five or so minutes in the landing strip between two of the mountains.

We kayaked for about 12km and saw some sea lion sunning themselves on the rocks. We also nearly got attacked by some sea gulls as we came too close to their nest and their chicks. The weather was perfect for kayaking - blue cloudless skies and very little wind, although we were wearing our thermals, as it was a bit chilly at 7 in the morning. We also tried some hote berry juice, which only grow in the South Island behind waterfalls. I don't know which mug volunteers to pick those! Luckily none of our group capsized (there had been 4 in the last 3 months).

In Maori legends the fiords were created not by rivers but by Tute Rakiwhanoa, a godly figure who came wielding a magical adze and uttering incantations. In 1823, the first European sailed into the Sound. John Grono was a famous sealer and named it after his birthplace, Milford Haven in Wales. The first settler, Donald Sutherland arrived in 1877 and named his collection of huts "The City of Milford". He eventually built a hotel and people have been arriving there ever since (it is apparently New Zealand's most visited natural attraction).

Early explorers wrongly named the fiords "Sounds". Sounds are caused by river erosion, whereas fiords are gouged out by glaciers (and New Zealand was full of glacial activity thousands of years ago). Milford Sound is over 400m deep and receives up to 7m of rain a year (falls of 24 inches in 24 hours have been recorded).

After the kayaking, we continued onto Queenstown where I would have a free day on the Saturday for my activities. You will have to wait until I get back to Christchurch to read about them I'm afraid.

Cycling the Hollyford Valley and walking the Routeburn Track

On Thursday 3rd January, we woke up to pouring rain, which didn't look like it was going to ease up and which caused a few of us to abandon our 18km cycle ride down the Hollyford Valley to Te Ano. Luckily, it did and we set off on our cycle, but my thighs had stiffened up from the walk up to the Mueller Hut and it was a very hard slog. At one point there was very strong head winds but I am used to that from cycling to work along the Thames. One of the American women has been bragging on the whole trip how she spent a couple of weeks recently cycling 700 km round New Zealand (bla bla bla) and has bored us to tears but we were all so happy when she nearly came in at the back. I think she made the excuse that she wasn't used to a mountain bike (she only rides some lightweight road bike which Lance Armstrong uses) and she had also overdressed (she hadn't brought along her super duper lightweight goretex). A case of sour grapes I think!

After the cycle, we drove to the Divide, which is the start of the Routeburn track and is the lowest point on the South Island (about 450 metres). It takes 3 days to walk the whoel track towards Queensland and the Maoris have been using it for centuries. That area is known as Te Wakipounamu, the land of greenstone. We did the much shorter walk up to Key Summit, which only takes an hour and a half and gives you spectacular views over the valley. The valley was carved by a glacier 15,000 years ago, hence the deep valleys and towering mountains. Unfortunately we walked up when it was cloudy, so we had a view of not a lot!

The drive continued and we stopped to cycle 17km to Humbolt Falls, which is quite a spectacular waterfall (see photo). Onwards then through the Homer Tunnel, which comes out at the top of a spectacular alpine road which winds its way downhill to Milford Sound (apparently there is no petrol at Milford Sound so you need to fill up at the nearest town, Te Anau about 2 hours' drive away). The lush rain forest carpeting the lower slopes of the mountains gives way to the massively steep, glacier carved slopes and waterfalls of the Darren Range. We had our first glimpse of Milford Sound when we went to the local pub for dinner - again stunning views. One thing you can't escape from in Fiordland is the numerous sand flies, which are as bad as mosquitoes and make you feel as if you are at the bottom of the food chain!

More driving in the bus

On Tuesday 2nd January, we continued in the bus onto a town called Cromwell (see photo), where we did a 30 minute walk to stretch our legs. The walk gives you a view over Cromwell, which is located in the valley of the Upper Clutha, deep in the heart of the dry interior of Central Otago in a landscape of bare brown hills, of tussock and briar, of purple thyme and tors of schist, of broad basins and fertile valleys, of Lake Dunstan's pristine waters and of gorges carved by two great rivers (as quoted from the brochure!). This landscape was first trodden by the Maori hunter and trader, opened to European settlement by the sheepmen, exploited and transformed by the gold seekers and later by the dam builders and now home to the merino and deer farmer and orchards and vineyards. Every year Cromwell holds its "Movember" moustache growing competition, with entrants raising money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Not to be outdone, the women also have their own competition, who are asked to leave their left armpit unshaven for a month! Apparently last year the competition drew 14 women and a good few smelly armpit hairs I can imagine.

From Cromwell we stopped in Queenstown for a couple of hours, which is on the shores of Lake Wakatipu (see sunny photo of lake and Queenstown gondola) and otherwise known as the adventure capital of New Zealand. There are activities galore which you can do here, including the Nevis Bungy Jump, which is a terrifying 134 metre drop. We had to book our activities for Saturday, when we would have a free day in Queensland, and I decided to be an adrenaline junkie for the day (you will have to read on to see what I did). I could not, however, bring myself to do that bungy jump or any other one for that matter.

We then continued on towards Lake Manapouri (via Te Ano) (see cloudy photo), where we stayed for the night. Lake Manapouri is the South Island's largest lake and at the start of the Fiordland National Park, but the views weren't particularly great, as it the rain clouds came in. The sand flies started to bite too (why do I always get bitten? It must be my sweet blood!).