Don't forget to wear a life jacket.

DEAR SPOOK, the photo's don't really do justice to how much we laughed when we saw the ramp that was to save us if our brakes failed. This is just before The Gates of Haast, isn't it. The road down is very steep, and the runaway ramp is also far steeper than it looks in this photo. We imagined that if we shot up this whilst out of control, we would fly through the air and into the gorge. It is amazing how green it becomes once you leave the top of Lake Wanaka at Makarora. And how the sandflies multiply with each km. You even tell me that the mosquitoes are only 5 minutes out of Wanaka, as you got bitten twice last night in Albert Town and we were never bitten in Wanaka. Maybe the thunder and lightning storm brought them out. It was raging while you were on the phone, and then Finn recieved 26 messages from his classmates and one from his teacher, which were written during the storm. He loved reading his mail and felt as if NZ was not so far away.

Now you are heading off to Queenstown and Hugh McPhee's boat. You are well and truly off the radar. Even if there was an internet cafe in the middle of Lake Wakatipu, I imagine you, Hugh, the whisky and anyone else on the boat, will be off the radar. Hugh must be so chuffed to have got the chance to socialise with a fellow Lochaber man. It adds to the 2 degrees of seperation theory in NZ. When he was having lunch in Jan's cafe in Bannockburn and she recognized the Scottish accent, she asked him where he was from and he said Spean Bridge. She told him that a man from Roybridge (3 miles distant) was living in Wanaka. And Hugh said, 'yes, I had dinner with him last night'. In fact it sort of puts the 2 degrees of seperation further afield than NZ. Jan is from Australia, but knew you really well when you were a lad in Roybridge, and Hugh and you know each other EXTREMELY well from life in The Braes. And all of you were within 50km of each other on the other side of the world. So maybe when Finn felt quite close to NZ last night, he was right to.

It was lovely to be here for the children coming off the bus on a very wet and dark afternoon. They were very excited to see the christmas tree and we all had hot chocolate and coffee while they decorated it. Very christmassy. No carol's, thankgoodness. After tea, we had to continue the festive spirit with a quiz and charades. We may be burnt out by Christmas Day.

xxx