NZ Trip.

Hi. It is Sunday today and we are enjoying temperatures of about 27 degrees and loads of sunshine.

The "hangi" went really well. The food was delicious and the NZ wine was excellemt. As part of the Maroi display they showed us a Haka. They then got some of us up to do it along with them. Terrific fun.

On Friday we had a long drive down to Wellington. Even though this meant a long time on the bus we stopped at various places along the way. Including Haku falls, a deserted ghost town and a town called Foxton which just seems to be full of people running eccentric businesses.

We arrived in Wellington late afternoon and went on a scary ride up Mt Victoria from where we could see the whole of the city. In the evening a few of us went into town. Had a bit to eat and then found a great Welsh pub to have a couple of beers.

Yesterday we got on a ferry and travelled to the South Island. The trip was a little windy and cold but the scenery travelling down to a place called Picton through Queen Charlotte sound was majestic. We then spent some time in Picton and a couple of us took the oppotunity to take a paddle. It was blissful.

We then travelled to a town called Blenheim and got ready for a meal at a local winery. The winery is owned by a firm called Montana and as well as providing us with lovely food we also had the chance to sample some excellent wines.

Today we are travelling down to Christchurch. We are on the coast road which provides brilliant views over deep blue seas and on the other side up to rugged mountains. We are 4 or 5 hours away from Christchurch but I'm expecting the time to fly because of the scenery and the company.

Bye for now.