Kiwi adventures and more reunions!

Well observation number 1 is "MAN ITS SOOOO COLD"! I seriously haven't been in temperatures as low as that for ages, being a professional winter dodger and having 2 summers in a row. I got a shock when I got off the plane.

Anyway, after an entertaining flight, having a laugh with a really nice guy who was on his way to visit his girlfriend (typical!), I rocked up to Sullys - an Irish Bar in Christchurch to catch up with my mates Leigh-Ann and Chloe. Was a bit speechless at first after all this time - where do you start catching up on 7 months worth of chat??? I heard the girls did a sky-dive the day before they arrived, which got me off the hook! The night ended in Mickey Finns, another Irish bar, which is slightly/very/ultimately tragic (delete according to your level of drunkness).

On Friday we went up the Gondala (chair lift) to a look-out point of Christchurch. Beautiful! From the little I saw of NZ it is absolutley gorgeus - all very scenic lakes and mountains, probably too many of them (u don't appreciate stuff as much when there is a lot of it.)

Friday night involved going to see the Canterbury Crusaders v Wellington Hurricanes (well realistically what else would you do with Leigh-Ann and Chloe on a Friday night?) It was very American'ised night - cheerleaders with the worst timing ever, knights and horses running round the pitch as if they were going to do battle, and battered hotdogs on sticks (and I thought Scotland was bad!) I actually really enjoyed the whole match, although there wasn't enough tries. New Zealand rugby certainly has a very high-standard (both play and players!) And it has Dan Carter.....

On Saturday we drove up to Kaikoura to go swimming with the dusky dolphins in the Pacific Ocean. www.dolphin.co.nz/kaikoura/ Check it out. It was such an amazing experience, especially going in the freezing temperatures of the ocean and putting on the most ridiculous wetsuit and head gear ever! It freaked me out at first as the dolphins swam so quickly but when they went underneath and around you it was magic. The ultimate adventure with nature! What freaked me out most though, was on the way back to shore, we passed a whale watching boat..... No one told me there was whales in there!!!

Another night of carnage, firstly in the hostel and then in Sullys, randomly bumping into Fraser and Antz in their last few days of their round the world trip, and watching Barney and Chloe perform on stage! Top night!

I don't want to talk about Sunday - am fed up with goodbyes - there has been far too many of them recently. But what a weekend, shame it wasn't for longer.......

April antics... the minor celebrity action continues...!

.... mainly because the Comedy Festival is in town for the whole month. So I've been taking full advantage of this and seeing as many comics as possible. The minor celebrity action contines, as after an all night drinking session, I randomly bump into Danny Bhoy at Riverland, having breakfast with his mate and starting what seemed to be an all day drinking session as some other comics rocked up later. Its funny that you never really know what to say to comedians in real life. Danny Bhoy certainly wasn't impressed when Emma and I asked him to pose for his picture with one of his flyers (which I just happened to have in my bag by some fluke!)

I also saw Phil Nicol in a show called "The Naked Racist". One word of warning, please do not EVER book tickets to see this show if you have a low tolerance to middle aged full on nudity in your face. I was disturbed for days after. Ed Byrne and Adam Hills have been the favs so far with their shows. Well worth a look.

Spent the long Easter weekend doing a mini-tour of Victoria! ROAD TRIP ALERT! It was such a top weekend which started off at Kyeton races about 2 hours north of Melbourne, sipping champers in the sun loosing money as my horses were absolutley cr@p! I'll learn the hard way! Its funny how so much stuff in Mel is gambling related! The crew had rented a massive big house in Woodend and we had a bbq that night followed by drinking games, resulting in a few laughs and sore heads the next day! Check it out - well posh!
http://www.macedonranges.com.au/

On Easter Sunday, we went down to the Great Ocean Road to check out the surfing competition at Bells Beach. The only problem was that there were no waves! Seriously. It got shifted down the coast, but was too far to really drive out there, so we went to the best beer garden in the world watching the sunset and playing footie!

Another one bites the dust as Adam left on his travels to Thailand and Scotland - we did manage to send him off in style, firstly down at Mornington where there were scooter racing into the little hours of the night (and on a school night!), and then in the city in Young and Jacksons bar who have a top live band!

And I'm settling well into my new pad - just round the corner from the best restaurants and I have a new local for the winter time with rooftop beer garden which is perfect for those sunny Sunday arvo's!!!