Auntie Hil and Uncle Nick come to visit.

Hil and Nick arrived with us after having receiving a $200 (£63) fine for bringing soil into the country on Nick's hiking boots - they were declared a "bio hazard" and were taken to be cleaned by people in rubber suits - well a lady with rubber gloves. Nick thought it was worth the money to get them cleaned! (Though being called "Noxious Nick" was probably starting to get on his nerves by the time he left!)

We had a great time with them and were able to show them the sights. On Saturday we headed up the peninsula and enjoyed watching the albatrosses glide over our heads with their massive 3m wing-spans. From the hides you could see the huge chicks waiting to be fed. We also went on the "Natures Wonders" tour which involves travelling on 8 wheeled all terrain vehicles to visit a private beach inhabited by yellow eyed penguins and a fur seal colony. We had actually got fairly close to a large male sea lion earlier in the day which we had spotted sun bathing on the beach near the road.

On Sunday we took a 4 hr train trip up into central Otago, the rocky terrain was beautiful and amazingly empty. The train stopped for a short while in the middle of nowhere to allow people to stretch their legs - when it started again I was horrified to find Tom wasn't in his seat and in panic I charged down the length of the train, perhaps not taking enough care to avoid the exceptionally large American OAP's who seemed unaware that on trains you sit on seats and walk down passage ways. I got to the far end of the train - no sign of him! Back up to our carriage - there he was happily eating chocolate. He had nipped to the toilet just at the wrong moment and come out to see me frantically charging in the other direction - presumably thinking I was in urgent need of a coffee from the buffet car!

After meeting us for coffee on Monday morning, Hil and Nick left us to tour South Island. They were last seen heading to Invercargill to try find the motorbike from the movie, The World's Fastest Indian. It was fantastic to see them and to be able to share our NZ experience.

They claim that all our accents have changed - Maya's the most and mine the least. We have noticed T and M are pronouncing their friends names differently - Jiff (Jeff), Esha (Asha) and Merton (Martin).

Grace is still enjoying being here, although her 8 week stay is about to end we will be sad to see her go, but I'm sure family and friends in Liverpool can't wait to get her back.