Another update

Published by Matthew J. Ward | Filed under Travelling, New Zealand

Indeed the whole keeping a running blog isn’t going to well, with the hectic schedule we have, finding the time to sit down in an internet cafe if few and far between. However today seems to be one of those days, so I will give a rough update of what we have been up to.

Well just to finish off the Thailand update; The last week was the beach week where we stayed in a hotel on Koh Samed. It was a great week and the weather was 36*C each day, worked on the tan a little, did some quad biking and generally chilled out taking in the sites and sounds. Not much to write here as it was generally a chilled and relaxing week. We did do a boat trip which included multiple snorkeling excursions and a spot of fishing. But by no means the highlight of Thailand. Thailand really was fantastic and arriving at Bangkok international airport (which is a remarkable piece of architecture) I reflected on the time we spent in Thailand with the highlights being the temple stay with the monks, learning about their way of life and meditation, also the school teaching and trekking stand out, but to be honest we have done so much, it really will stay in my memories for ever. Just simple things like playing football with the local teenagers and there fathers……I will take so much with me from this visit!!

Moving on to try and catch up….

We had a trouble free flight and transfer and have been in New Zealand for the last week and a bit. So far to summaries we have done loads of sight seeing (currently on the south island) we have done the trans alpine train which travels from Christchurch up to Greymouth on the west coast. An incredible journey and plenty of photo opportunities. We then travelled to Franz Joseph down the west coast again, where we stayed for a few nights. And took part in a full days trek up the Franz Joseph glacier which was fairly tiring but definitely worth the cost and the effort, with some great views and stunning ice sculptures formed by the glacier, it really was a great day. From Franz Joseph we are now in Queenstown which really is the adrenaline capital of the world, the buzz of the city is amazing and everywhere you look there are wild and crazy activities to do. Yesterday we took a trip to the Milford Sound which was a long journey but stunning to have seen. Today we are hopefully going rock climbing and chilling a little. I would have loved to have done loads of activities down here, but as we are on a budget and we have to leave tomorrow, this city will be on my re-visit list armed with a huge budget to do anything and everything!!! Well that brings me to the end of my update for now. If I get a chance in a min, I will stick a few more photos on my flickr account….. Not sure if I have posted the link here yet, but for those that don’t know it go here….
Sorry for the lack of photos, most of the exposures I take are in RAW format, and I don’t have access to any kind of conversion of viewing software here! I will post the others when I get home