We should just get jobs in a zoo

We were told about a place perched up on a hill called Deer Park Heights, where you can drive through in your car stopping off to feed various animals on the way. The winding roads climb higher and higher as you go, with fantastic views across Queenstown and surrounding areas.

We befriended goats, donkeys, pigs, llamas and a few brave deer. They only wanted to be our friends because we had a big tin of animal feed, but we enjoyed their affections anyway. You'd think they'd never seen food before, the way they react when they see you - check out these donkeys! And I was chased by a llama when he realised I'd left him for a friendly looking doe.

There's no business like snow business

One of the main reasons for our visit to New Zealand were the mountains. Particularly the snowy mountains, which when combined with a snowboard, a willingness to take a few knocks and bumps and some very warm clothing, make for great fun.

We've had about five days and nights on the slopes at two different ski resorts: Coronet Peak and Cardrona. These sites were witness to plenty of exhilarating cries of 'weeeeee!" as well as some less-exhilarating and painful expletives.

Conditions ranged from delightfully sunny (we both have pink noses) with thick powder snow through to freezing blizzards with hard ice, zero visibility and strong winds. But when it was clear, we were treated to stunning clear views of surrounding mountains.

We went from being beginners through to being able to whizz down both Green (beginner) and Blue (intermediate) slopes (some of these colours from the slope coding system must have rubbed off on us as we've ended up with green and blue bits all over our thighs). But, by the end of our final night, we had both managed to ride all the way from the top of the mountain without killing ourselves or those around us.

Country no. 11 - officially the furthest we've ever been from home

We said goodbye to Dais, adieu to Australia and hopped on our flight for New Zealand wondering how it would differ to it's neighbour. Turns out it much more affordable, which is rather pleasing! The flight over was pretty impressive too - as we started to descend we had the most awe-inspiring views of the outstanding landscape we would soon be exploring.

We arrived in Christchurch (the main town on the south island) last Wednesday evening. Had some locally brewed beer and some grub and headed to the local art gallery which, luckily for us, was open late on Wednesdays. The building is absolutely fantastic but the works inside were less inspiring than what we'd just seen in Sydney.

Adrian and I were up early the next morning to catch our bus to Queenstown in the NZ Alps (lazy lot, can't even be bothered to come up with their own name for these stunning hills). The journey there took about 6 hours, and doubled up as a pretty impressive tour - the views were amazing. We went over mountain passes, through valleys, passed by a huge lake.... We were glued to the window.

Less than 30 minutes after our arrival here the snow started to fall. Heavily. Being Brits, we were pretty excited about this. Then, when we were shown to our room with huge glass doors overlooking Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables (mountain range, see above, taken from our hostel) I actually jumped up and down uncontrollably because I couldn't believe we'd arrived in what appeared to be the land of Christmas, and it was right outside our bedroom window, in August! It's not just the land and the clocks that are upside down here.