Day 13

Day 12

Day 11

Day 10

24^th December

Today was a special day in the Haynes family. Christmas eve is also Mum’s birthday! She got a few present from the kids, and then we went to have lunch at the Boathouse restaurant overlooking the water. It was most delicious.

We then said goodbye to Julz as she flew to see her husband in Auckland. We then spent the night singing carols at a service held by the Salvation Army. They were small but welcoming, and the message and songs were very fitting.

Day 9

23^rd December

Tania and Jono came to NZ with the intention of bungy jumping. Today was the fulfillment of this expectation and the release of much built up tension. Both of them were very nervous as they neared the Kawaru Bridge, 43 metres above the Kawaru River. The jumps can be seen in the videos below! Tania acknowledges that her ‘jump’ cannot really be classified as a jump, and she laughs whenever she sees it.

After bungy jumping we had a great lunch in at the Queenstown waterfront, enjoying the best weather of the trip thus far.

We all needed a break from each other, so we split up for the afternoon, and then met back together again to go to an Ice Bar aptly titled “Minus 5”. The photos speak for themselves.

Day 8

22nd December 2006

Yep… that’s right! Today we all went skydiving!! Yes, ALL of us … including mum! After having a relaxing morning shopping in town we arrived at the airstrip at midday. We boarded a tiny little plane. Our respective instructors were all awesome and from all over; Hungary, Holland, Canada and New Zealand. We’re all really glad we got the opportunity to do it, and our nerves were pretty good for most of the way, although the three women on the trip seem to think that Jono was looking a little more nervous than anyone else (Jono – I disagree!)

After the sky diving, Julz and Mieneke continued shopping while Tania and Jono went a checked out 'Puzzling World'

Jono showing his dark side

Tania and Jono finishing the giant maze in record time!

Day 7

21^st December

Today we drove from Fox Glacier to Wanaka. Wanaka is an extremely beautiful town, with a large lake (Lake Wanaka!) right beside it, with snow capped mountains behind it. Once in Wanaka we went to see the Bond movie at Cinema Paridiso (Thanks Pat!). This cinema is very funky with huge arm chairs and couches instead of normal cinema seating. There is even a yellow beetle positioned in front of the screen from which people can watch the film. One of the most enjoyable experiences was during the intermission when they served homemade cookies straight out of the oven! Yuummmmmmy!