The corresponding picture is what Lake Wanaka is supposed to look like. Currently I am looking over the lake from our hostel over a large settling of fog, rain and mist! Hooray!

It is beautiful all the same, its autumn here so the trees are lovely colours and the scenery is still fantastic even though we can't see much of it!

Anyway. Updates...we set off from Nelson to a lovely place called Greymouth (yes, it's as dull as it sounds) where we had a nice hostel but its so cold here and we cant get used to it! We stayed in Greymouth for a night then it was back on the bus down to the Franz Josef Glacier for two nights and our glacier hike.

Kate hurt her ankle so decided not to come on the walk, and we wisely decided to do the half-day walk instead of the full day- it was bucketing it down with rain and freezing cold. We set off after acquiring our gear (a not so waterproof jacket, not so waterproof trousers, and already soaking wet boots) and walked up the the base of the glacier. We divided into groups and put on our crampons, which was brilliant, i felt like Bear Grylls! I decided then would be a good time to check on my belongings- my rucksack had 4 inches of water at the bottom and my wallet and camera (in its not-so-waterproof case) were floating miserably around. Bad times.

The glacier itself is amazing though, especially in the rain- all along the valley there were huge waterfalls and the rivers underneath the ice were thundering along. It was very cold and wet but definitely worth doing! We spent the remainder of our time at the hostel drinking hot chocolate and watching the Lion King and Phantom of the Opera! Couldn't have felt more at home.

Next morning we set off for Lake Wanaka- which is where we are now. It's a bit too rainy and cold to do much but we've had a wander round and resisted some bargains in the surf/snow shops- its a real ski resort destination here.

So theres not much to do, but the hostel is nice, has a woodburner and some great views over the lake, so no complaints. It's proper Lord of the Rings territory around here, the journey down was like going through two different countries- around Franz Josef it was rainforest with ferns and palms, which is bizzare seeing as it was right next to a glacier, but as we travelled over the mountain range south east, it started to look more and more like dartmoor! Granite and grass mainly, with a few enormous lakes thrown in.

So, later on today we're heading down to Queenstown, Not much more hope for the weather, and we're skint so no skydiving or bungeeing unfortunately, but everyone says its a really awesome city so looking forward to it. After that, we're travelling up to Christchurch for our flight back up to Auckland, where we're meeting Sam for a few days, then its Fiji time! Missing the sun already. Will update from Auckland most likely, missing you all lots, especially Mum! Thankyou for phoning! Made my day!

Lots of love to everyone, Emma, Lucy and Kate xxx