Emily, Laura, John and Julianne - Kapiti Island, NZ

Laura horse riding - River Valley, NZ

Emma on Morden - Taupo, NZ

Laura D, Emily and Emma doing the Tongariro Crossing - Taupo, NZ

Laura and Emily before their Zorb - Rotorua, New Zealand

Emily at Maori night - Bay of Islands, NZ

The sky tower which Emma jumped off - Auckland, NZ

Laura - Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Island Crossing - Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Venice Beach, LA

lots of news

We are now in Palmerston North which is very near the bottom of the north island. We are staying with Laura's family, Julianne and John who are lovely and have made us feel right at home.
Since Auckland we have done loads!
In whitianga we went to hot water beach for the day. when you dig a hole in the sand the water is hot enough to burn your feet. needless to say we didnt stay in the water for long. i also went boogey boarding with the youth hostel owner. the waves were huge and i was in the sea for ages!
In waitomo we went blackwater rafting through glow worm caves which was a freezing cold but incredibly beautiful. We started by abseling down a tiny whole, then went on a zip wire before jumping into the water and floating in the dark on rubber rings looking up at the glow worms. 3hours later we began the climb back towards the sunlight up a waterfall! we slept well that night!
Taupo was all go. we did a sky dive!!!! it was amazing and once you were off the plane it wasnt scary at all. we each had our own camera man who filmed us on the way down so we have a dvd to show everyone when we get back! not the best pictures though as the wind flattened our faces :S
Emily and i also did another walk up morden from lord of the rings. we stood at the base of mount doom but decided not to add 2hrs to a 6hr walk! i have decided that 4 hours should be my max!
In River Valley we went horse riding which was fun to begin with but did not end well. Emily fell off her horse when he tried to jump a dich and another horse fell into a marsh!

Love Emma x x x x x

Sky tower

i jumped off the sky tower in auckland! its the tallest tower in the southern hemisphere.
i only really did it because im too chicken to do a bunji jump but infact it is further to fall.
it was really scary letting go as you have to hang off the edge and can see how far away from the ground you are but after about 2 seconds they stop you to take a picture. at this point you are dangling in front of the restaurant to everyone is staring at you through the glass. not so good if you are desperately waving your arms from side to side trying to spin roung so that the photo can be taken. gives everyone else a good laugh i suppose!
you then have to speed up from 0 to 90 mph in a few seconds which was terrifying but after that its like flying and the views were absolutely amazing.
also found a discount voucher so i got free photos - proof that i actually did it!
emma x x x x

Bay of Islands, NZ

Days before Emily and i got to the Bay of Islands, there was torrential rain which washed away one of the major bridges! Luckily it settled down by the time we arrived. its raining now though on our last day!
we went kiaking a couple of days ago. normally the dolphins will come and swim alongside you put because of all the rain, the water is too muddy for them at the moment :( we still had a wicked time though (and got absolutely soaking wet!)
we went for another walk yesterday and sent about 20 minutes looking at an eel! we wanted it to come to the surface so we could take a picture! the waterfall at the end was huge but kinda yellow :s
we're going back to Auckland today to meet up with laura. the doc said shes much better but cant put anything on her shoulders for 3 weeks - guess we are carrying her bag!!!!
Love Emma x x x