New Zealand

Wellington

Bit of a hassle arriving somewhere new at this time of day - our first potential stopping point has no room for us, so a 30 minute drive out of town is necessary, out to Hutt Park.

I think we've found the best camp site in the world - it has a 'bouncy-castle-thing/jumping pillow' that's about as big as Trafalgar Square...nearly. Thankfully, being late/dark, there's no kids around, so we have it all to ourselves. Paul gets a bit wheezy with all the excitement.

Next morning, up early for the return trip into Wellington - also hoped to get back onto the pillow for a jump around, but too many little people around.

Parked up easy enough and walked through to the centre, via Starbucks.

Enjoyed the Te Papa museum, though it's frustrating that the lighting on a lot of the exhibits is so low that you can't read the descriptions and text. Took a tour of the parliament building, and learnt the meaning of 'daylight robbery' ('Window' Tax), also Clock Tax. Whatever next......ridiculously high fuel tax..... Interesting also to learn that the man on the street can request an audience with Members of Parliament and have their say - apparently they have an absolute freedom of speech..

Took the cable car up to the botanical gardens - not great views, but a pleasant walk back down the hill through the gardens.

Elton John is playing here tomorrow (only NZ date) - considered it, but decided against going.

Happy Birthday Mr Pratchett! 21 again etc etc...

Wanganui and Whanganui River

Next day - no need to spend more time in Wellington, so back on the road out toward the Kapiti Coast, stopping in Wanganui town on the way - nice Thai for lunch. Already we feel that the North Island is a lot more built up than the South!

Booked our Whanganui River Jet boat/Canoe tour here, though the location is a couple of hours away, mostly on a gravel track.

A fair way into the bumpy (though beautiful scenery)drive, the steering pulls to the left and 'yes' we have a flat tyre. Paul always hates driving on these unsealed roads - maybe it was always a case of 'when' rather than 'if'. A pain in the arse either way.

First problem was not finding the manual for the van, nor where the spare is kept. Nor the tools to jack us up. Other than that, we're in good shape, apart from the narrow road that we're stranded on.

Three minutes later, we get ourselves together and get on with the job - an hour later, we're ready to roll, though still quite a way from our destination, and now without a spare....

Thankfully we decided to stay in the back yard of the tour operator, rather than drive this road the next morning and risk missing the trip altogether.

Being in the middle of nowhere, great stars tonight, including our first clear look at the Southern Cross.

No rush next morning - our trip doesn't start until 10.30, so folding chairs out and some time in the early morning sun.

We thought that maybe we were the only ones on the trip, but other cars soon pull up and we have a full house. The river is nice and flat and the jet boat skims across with no trouble. Not quite a thrill ride, but a buzz nonetheless, and our driver (Ken) gives us some info and history of the river along the way. 32 kilometres and several sets of rapids later, we arrive at the landing for the Bridge to Nowhere and take the 40 minute walk through the trees. The Bridge was built in 1936 and was to be the main route through the area, but regular flooding washed most of the surrounding road/track away and $200,000 later it was decided to 'abandon' the area, including kicking out the last 3 farm residents. So, hence a Bridge to Nowhere.

After some tea and biscuits we make our way back to the boat and 22 kms back downstream to pick up our canoe - our transport for the last 10 kms back.

Had hoped that going downstream meant less work for us - wrong! Took us a few minutes to get our paddling routine taking us forward, rather than in circles. Quite hard work on the way back, but enjoyed the cliff sides around us.

Several sets of rapids along the way, that didn't seem to tricky on the way up, but now looking a bit daunting. Thankfully got it right most times, except getting stuck on the penultimate set, and almost got caught out 100 metres from the finish line with a bit of swell. Really enjoyed our trip, and hope to do more kayaking/canoeing along the way.

Now for more fun on the unsealed road, but glad no problems this time. Stopped at a wreckers yard along the way (toward National Park Village) and friendly Ted said he'd sort our broken tyre tomorrow.

Spent the night in the Youth Hostel car park and set the alarm for 6am and a weather check ahead of walking the Tongariro Crossing - the best one-day walk in NZ apparently...

After a night of stars and clear skies, we're disappointed to see clouds surround us and forecast of high winds, basically putting a hold on the walk, which would simply be uncomfortable and unenjoyable with no views from the craters - or being blown into one.

The forecast not looking good until after the weekend, which may be a blessing as it'll be extra busy at the weekend (apparently 900 on the walk last Sunday!)

Drove on to Taupo instead, along the lake, and took in the Huka Falls and Craters of the Moon in the afternoon. The 'Craters' is a park area, within this 'Thermal' region, with many steam holes and bubbling mud pools. Annoyingly it starts raining half way around.

Stayed at the free campsite just before the Huka Falls - initially parking up by the rivers edge, but soon moved back up a little as we watched the river rise up the marking post....

Took breakfast away from the soaking conditions in the campsite and drove up to the town lookout - not the most inspiring view, but still not tired of the novelty that is our freedom in the campervan.

Rotorua

Nothing in particular to keep us in town today, so on the road to Rotorua. This is another thermal hotspot area, and there's a cool walkway through the public park, where we get to see our first bubbling mud, finishing with a paddle in one of the hotwater pools. Perhaps a little too hot as we walk away with chubby red legs.

Took a walk back out to the lakeside and along the edge - getting slightly lost, but not for long. Lake nice and calm this afternoon.

Tried to get to the Zorbing Centre (10 foot high 'balls' that you climb into then roll down a hill), but they closed early. Not a problem as we find ourselves passing the campsite that had eluded us - gorgeous place right by the water.

Returned to the Zorb place next morning, but rather disappointed to see that the ride is literally one minute, and probably not worth the bother for $35 each. Instead, we get our kicks on a Luge ride.

The Luge is similar to the Olympics-thing, but you're on a mini gocart, that is powered by gravity, taking you down the smooth concrete track. Good fun, no injuries and we get 5 goes each, as well as a go in the cable car to the top of the track.

Again, nice weather today, so a quick sit down by the lake, watching the skydivers plummet towards the ground, then off back towards Taupo.

There's a Gliding centre in Taupo that we were unable to find a couple of days ago, but made it this time. Chris has wanted to go up in a glider for some time and we're sure that the $150 ticket would cost 150 pounds back home. A little bit of luck today and Chris gets on the next ride in a few minutes time.

The glider is smaller than I thought and I still can't get my head around why someone would choose to take a powerless flight - powered ones are bad enough!

Nevertheless, after ensuring that all cash/credit cards and PIN numbers were in my possession, Chris gets on board with her geriatric pilot, and the tow plane pulls away, with an octogenarian walking the glider upright until we've built up some steam.

Chris took the acrobatic option, rather than the figure-8, so would soon be doing a loop the loop. The planes take a while to get to 5000 feet before dumping the glider in mid-air. The views of earth from upside down are, apparently, breathtaking, though she did admit later to feeling a little bit sick, though quick to point out 'it was due to excitement'. The views were good (over Huka Falls, Lake Taupo and out to Tongariro National Park), though the clouds had built up and the wind had died down a little, so the trip was slightly shorter, but no less exciting, than planned (25 minutes). Chris would like to say a big thank you to her work colleagues at William Sturges & Co, Ealing for paying for this memorable experience.

By the way, the main reason for returning to Taupo was to revisit the opportunity to walk the Tongariro Crossing - the forecast much better for tomorrow.

Tongariro National Park

Great views of Mt Tongariro, Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngauruhoe as we make our way crosscountry. Stayed at the DOC campsite and enjoyed the evening in peace and quiet with the stars above us.

Cursed the alarm going off at 6am, but we needed to be at the Park village for 7am to get on the shuttle bus to take us to the Tongariro Crossing. Weather conditions nigh-on perfect (a little windy), so far...

Other than the weather, the other negative to the Crossing walk is, being the most popular one day walk in the country, it attracts quite a crowd. This is confirmed by our own busload, as well as all the other busses we pass on the way.

The walk takes us across to the foot of the volcano and across the saddle. There is an option to climb to the crater rim, but it's a bit of a scramble up and the wind is stronger up here - decide against it! The wind unfortunately failed to die down as hoped, so the higher we climbed (to the crater pools) it became a little dodgy, with walking a fairly narrow point with fairly high drops either side. We both enjoyed the walk, though Paul enjoyed other walks in NZ a lot more (Hooker Valley/Mt Cook probably best for me).

Managed to get the walk complete in just under 6 hours, and pleased to get an hour to sit in the sun before being picked up at 3pm.

Finished the afternoon with a drive to Te Kuiti, which is on the way to Waitomo Caves area. Nice little 'one-street' town, and a great campsite by the river. Though, the man there was a bit grumpy. Should have cooked something healthy tonight, but Fish and Chips ended up in our bellies.

Waitomo

Weather seeming to take a turn for the better and another clear and warm morning for the short drive out to Waitomo. Not sure if we'll get a cave trip here, but Paul definitely going on a Quad bike tour.

Timing pretty spot on, and a trip leaves in 10 minutes time, though I'm warned that the bulk of the party are schoolkids...

No need to be concerned, the trip is good and the crosscountry track gives many opportunities to get near to death and nature. Shouldn't complain about having nice weather, but it would have been fun to drive after lots of rain and get some mud splashing around. One small disappointment was that the '2 hour adventure' was acually 1 hour on the quad, and time either side for transport transfers and getting kitted up. Annoying!

Hamilton

Off in the afternoon to Hamilton (biggest inland town in NZ). Sorry, nothing much to report here - just a stroll around town (quite nice, in the sun) and a mid-afternoon curry. Possible trip to see James Bond tonight, but decide against it and enjoy a warm evening with some chocolate at a nice camp site, just outside of town. Spoke to bruv, at last! - glad all is well in their new home.

Coromandel Region

Quite a drive North to the coast - stopped off at Karangahake Gorge for a walk. Not the best walk as the track follows the road way, where there a bunch of roadworks and cars are backed up. Did the return route through a dark and long (1100metres (that's 1.1kilometres Ed )) tunnel from the mining days over 100 years ago. Had hoped to get sprung by zombies, or at least monster rats.....nothing.

Further up the road we stop at surf-haunt Whangamata. Only 5.30pm and it's a ghost town, though the best fish and chips (Craig's) is open and ready to serve. Enjoyed our meal looking out to sea, and feeling pretty good about it.

Stayed the night at a pretty campsite in Hahei, just behind the sand dunes and got ourselves a spot just by the river that feeds into the calm sea. The beach is empty and gorgeous - the water before us, flat as a pancake and peppered with rocky islands out into the vast bay area. That said, it's a bit chilly so we don't hang around.

Hot Water Beach

Up early-ish to catch low tide and hopefully get a hot bath at Hot Water Beach. So-named because of the underground thermal pools that feed into a small area of the beach - the usual thing to do is hire a spade and dig down till you hit the hot stuff. I guess we weren't up early enough and, despite several attempts to strike hot-gold, the crowd earlier risers manage to find (and hog) the best bits.

We did get some heat-experience - there's a small outlet just where the waves lap up onto the shore and you can feel the boiling (literally) heat bubble through. Chris was here in 1997 and remembers having no trouble digging out a pool. Perhaps the spade-hirers need to consider branching out over the next few years...

There's some tucked away beaches in the area, just a short walk along the coastal track, which is a beautiful sight on this clear and sunny day. First stop is Catherdral Cove - wish it had been quieter/less people. Manage to get some sun, though the water a bit too nippy for us, and most others, today. Saw a rather large Ray flap its way along the calm waters edge. Apparently,could have been an Eagle Ray, though.....maybe not.

Less appealing, there's also Stingray and Gemstone Bays, though both a little smaller and less accessible.

After all that exercise, we grab a bunch of picnic things and sit down on the grassy back behind the beach and watch the kayakers prepare for their adventure - it's looking a bit choppy out there...

More driving in the afternoon, taking us through Whitianga, just making it in time to satisfy the sudden milkshake craving. Hopefully not a pregnancy related craving, though Paul has been a little emotional recently.

Back on the road (Route 25) and through Coromandel Town, though not stopping - especially if they're charging $1.66 for a litre of gas!

Then onto Thames via lovely scenery (blossoming crimson Pohutukawa Trees) and petrol at a more reasonable $1.44.

Drove through Miranda to Opere Point and stayed at the campsite near the beach. Not quite paradise, but nice to walk along the sand with the tide far out in the distance.

Paihia - Bay of Islands

Friday 15th December - a lot of road covered today, on Highway 1 through Auckland and up to Paihia, though stopped at Whangerei and enjoyed a mountain of icecream in the pretty 'basin' area. Nice to see folk enjoying a Christmas lunch - no-one drunk enough yet to launch into a rowdy version of 'Ding-Dong Merrily on High'. Maybe we'll pass the time on the road singing our Xmas faves.....or maybe we'll put Motorhead on just one more time.

Get to Paihia late afternoon and make enquiries about the various boating opportunities. Looks like we've got three options - a sexy catamaran, a not-so sexy cruiser, or a step back into the old days on a Clipper. We'll sleep on it...at the nice Twin Pines campsite, just behind the Haruru Falls. Made friends with more ducks and shared some bread with them.

Alarm beeps at the crack of dawn and the clear skies give us the push to get up and go boating. We take the sexy option and our catamaran (On The Edge) sets sail at 10am. Whilst nice clear skies, the wind not too strong, so the pace, 'leisurely'.

It's a couple of pleasant hours across the bay, though we don't have the legs to make it across as far as 'Hole In The Rock' (you can work out what that might be). Once we're anchored up, lunch is served on board and it's pretty good - nice to have potato salad after sooo long.

Before we give our food time to digest, Paul grabs a kayak and heads off (miraculously in a straight line) across towards the rocks. Slowly but surely, everyone else on board (about 30 of us) gets out onto the water, and heads for shore, where we get an hour to mess around.

The crew have a 'knee-board' and Chris patiently awaits her turn. The girls seem to have the knack and get going first time - all managing to stay on for a lap of the bay. If only I'd video'd Chris's return to shore. You're supposed to let go of the towrope and elegantly glide up the shallows of the beach - however, Chris must have leant a little too forward and was dunked (with some force) face-first into the water, with an impressive slap. Once I had managed to regain control of my bladder, I was relieved to see that she was conscious and moving - in fact, grinning all over.

Back on board for the return trip, we are treated to some speedy sailing with the wind picking up. Not only that - with us slicing through the waves, we are joined by a small pod of Bottlenose Dolpins, surfing around us. A really cool site, watching them race between the outer hulls of the catamaran, coming up for air now and then. Chris was a little upset that one slightly overdid it and 'nutted' a small boy hanging off the back of the boat. Sorry, I'm mistaken, it was a buoy.

Unfortunately, we were struck down with sea-legs on returning to shore, so sought refuge in a nearby bar. Normal feeling was soon returned to these armchair sailors.

Spent a second, comfortable, night at the Twin Pines campsite.

Next day, yet another early start, this time to do some laundry, before the road taking us over towards the West Coast and our route back down towards Auckland. Stopped off for a lookout over Hokianga Harbour, and a short walk to the South Head.

Driving on through the Waipoua Kauri Forest. Enjoyed our last (boo-hoo) onboard lunch in the Spaceship and took a walk into the forest to see the largest Kauri tree in NZ. A big bugger (that's the technical term) - standing some 25 metres, but with a girth of 13.8 metres. Said to be around 2000 years old.

Stopped for coffee and sweeties in Dargaville, before the final leg on the road to Takapuna, which is just a short distance outside of Auckland. Nice, but slighty cramped, campsite.

Auckland

Once checked in, we left the site for a 15 minute drive to Devonport, which sits across the water from Auckland. Had the best (well, Paul thinks so) Fish and Chips, sitting on the wall by the harbour - watched by a cheeky group of seagulls. And a sparrow.

Walked around the bayside town for a bit before, what should have been, a short drive back to the site. 50 minutes later we finally get there, via downtown Auckland and a bunch of crap signs.

More 'boo-hoo' as we bed down in our camper for the last time.

Monday 18th December - the alarm goes off at 6.30am so we can begin our packing and getting the camper ready to return it. Both feeling a little miserable today - we've really enjoyed our time in the Spaceship and are sorry our adventure in it has come to an end. After packing our stuff (a bit of a struggle - have our bags shrunk?) we give the camper a bit of a clean - unfortunately, no $50 notes found tucked down the side.

After a couple of calls home (good to talk to you Ed - good luck with your move!) we start the final leg of our road trip. Thankfully the morning rushhour traffic has gone and we soon find our way (Chris - thanks for navigating us so well through these 7,326 kilometres) to the Spaceship Shop.

Thanks to the guys there for sorting us out with the new tyre we had to buy after the puncture - much appreciated, and rounded off a perfect Spaceship experience.

We'd booked into the Auckland YHA for our last two nights and glad to dump our stuff off, though we did get the self-service 'pay'lockers wrong - assuming that we could re-open our locker during the 12 hour hire. Wrong - so $2 more to re-lock it. Muppets. (Us!).

Got a few chores done in the city today, though didn't get as much done as planned. Glad to get the blog up to date though.

Pleased to finally get to see Casino Royale - yeah, I think Daniel Craig did a good job and agree that it does take the Bond franchise in a new direction. Eva Green is pretty hot too.

More chores and rain the next day, cue haircut for Paul and another trip to the movies, Crank.

Got ourselves some more passport photos ahead of South America, picked up an underwater camera ahead of some favourable underwater conditions in Moorea, and finally found a place to burn some photos to DVD. Made some final phonecalls home, sorry not to get hold of everyone.

Shame the weather didn't improve during our stay in Auckland, places look much better under blue sky.

And, that's about it for NZ - it has been a blast and we hope to return again.

Our top 5 highlights;

Dolphins at Kaikoura, catamaran around Bay of Islands, our Spaceship experience, magnificent Milford Sound (thank you for the good weather!), Chris's glider flight.

This could easily be a top 100, but I prefer to keep it brief for once!

Bit of a drag waiting to check in at Auckland Airport, with 3000 other travellers. Other than that, a painless relocation to Tahiti.....

Te Anau and Milford Sound

No luck getting in to the first camp site we tried here, but that was probably good as it was quite cramped anyway and the one we ended up in gave us a perfect spot overlooking the lake.

Yes, so this is our entry point for Milford Sound (119 kms away) and we get some details from the nearby info shop on the various trips. We take up one of the extended nature cruises (Red Boat Cruises - $65 - recommended) for the next afternoon. We choose the afternoon as the forecast suggests that things'll brighten up...we'll see.

Just a wander around town that evening, quite a busy place, where previous spots have been quite empty of tourists. The town sits perfectly alongside the beautiful lake, shame about the clouds this evening. Again, making the most of the light hanging around until way after 9pm.

Next morning we head off, with no rush, towards Milford Sound, leaving late morning to avoid joining the convoy of coaches and cars all the way there.

Stops on the way include; Cascade Creek/Red Beech Forest Loop Walk. Also, Chasm Creek, where the gushing downstream water has smoothed the rocks over many many years.

Arrived at Milford Sound to pretty skies and the fantastic view of Mitre Peak (1692 metres), mirroring in the shallow waters below. Paul had been waiting to see this scene for real, after years of admiring it from a placemat at the Newton household.

Had some time to kill before our 3.45pm trip, so just looked at the amazing sights around us in the warm sun.

So Milford Sound - the area dubbed as Fjordland, flat waters below high peaks and numerous narrow waterfalls - this time, not due to the rain, but the melting snow above. Apparently, up to 10,000 waterfalls are created after a heavy downpour. Would be nice to see I guess, but happy for the warm and dry conditions today.

Our 2.25 hour cruise gets underway, the boat very nice and with good facilities, though we spend all the time outside, up at the front of the upper deck. Difficult to describe what we can see - it's all sooo amazing. The water is perfectly flat, and we get up close to the vertical walls ahead of us, sometimes taking on the spray of a nearby waterfall. The cruise takes us up the channel towards the Tasman Sea and the engines are cut for a few minutes for us to enjoy the sights in perfect silence. Again, conditions just right and none of the surrounding peaks are topped with any cloud, giving the ultimate view. Apparently the conditions haven't been this good for a few days.

As well as the sights, there's an interesting commentary as we cruise along - these guys seem to really enjoy what they are doing.

Obviously pleased with our timing re. weather conditions, but also the 'town' area (little more than a couple of accomodation places/restaurant/bar) was quieter at this end of the day, with most of the coach tourists headed back to Te Anau, leaving the bar nice and quiet for a couple of pints.

Stayed at one of the DOC campsites tonight (Lake Gunn), parking up by the lake edge. A little chilly, but couldn't ask for better surroundings and got a great view of the starry sky. Watched appalling mountaineering-type film 'Scream of Stone' (Donald Sutherland) - cack.

Took our time getting up the next day, enjoyed the peace and quiet of the lake area.

Planned a bit of a hike from The Divide, a sort drive back towards Milford Sound. The walk is a upward track that leads to Key Summit (919 metres)(the walk is along part of the Routeburn Track) - took about an hour to get to the top for the best 360 degree views so far. There's an interesting nature walk at the top and the info sheet tells us that if we had been here 250 million years ago, we would have been standing under the sea...

A bite to eat in the 'van followed a lively walk and then we took the road back to Te Anau, including a stop at the Mirror Lakes, though the wind a little too strong to keep the surface perfectly flat.

The good weather followed us back to Te Anau, and we also managed to get our top spot at the camp site. After a couple of tasty pies in town, we spent the afternoon enjoying the sun and facing up to the challenge of doing our diary notes....going back several weeks. Painful, but glad to get it done.

It's now Monday 20th November and we take a moment to remember Christine's lovely Dad, Derrick. Can't believe he left us 2 years ago.

More chores this morning and we manage to fill two washing machines with our laundry - there must have been some underwear recycling over the last few days. Glad it's not been too hot over here.

Before leaving town we took the waters edge walk up to the control gates (for the hydro electric station) and back again, but stopping on the way back to see the birds (Kea's, Parakeets, NZ Pidgeon's) at a small wildlife area. Clouds starting to come in...

More pies for lunch, then on the road, Ipod cranked up (Foo Fighters) for the journey to Queenstown.

Queenstown

Yes, another stretch of road taking us through mega-scenery (sorry, I've used 'fantastic' and 'amazing' too frequently), including past Lake Wakatipu, where a small gravel beach catches our eye and we pull up to check it out. The water is perfectly flat and clear and we find ourselves doing our first bit of sunbathing in weeks. Stones lying around us perfect for skimming, Chris not very good at it.

Since Chris was here 9 years ago, Queenstown has changed hugely - simply a lot more built up, lots of fancy apartments to cater for the year round tourist industry.

Checked out the town in the afternoon, and stayed back out (8kms) in Frankton at the lakeside Motor Camp. The Frankton Lake Walk just in front of us and Paul takes off for a run along the path - comes back a bit wheezy. Lovely path, with some lovely houses on the hillside.

Another climb the next day, though we opt out of the 6-8 hour 'demanding' Ben Lomond walk, for the more favourable 3 hours of the Queenstown Hill Walk. More top 360 degree scenery and no more than a handful of little fluffy clouds scattered around the blue sky. As well as sights and sounds, there's a pleasant alpine whiff in the air - could have stayed up here all day, but we make the most of it anyway. We'll be back here someday...

Back at the bottom of the track and we crave peanut butter sandwiches, before walking back around town and sitting by the waters edge. Got chatting to Floridian John who had sailed to NZ across the Pacific out of the Panama Canal - a 9 month trip!

Despite it being quite early, well 5pm, the three of us decided to go along to the Minus 5 Bar - an ice bar, which is more of a tourist attraction that a 'walk-in' bar. Our NZ$25 got us 30 minutes and one Vodka cocktail, though Paul managed to wangle a free second one after his ice glass sprung a leak. It was in fact -7.5 degrees inside, though we're given anoraks, gloves and thermal booties to keep us warm. The bar is quiet small, but an interesting sight with all the ice sculptures.

Feeling the effects of the cocktails we seek Fish and Chips nearby - lovely, especially with the beer.

Fairly early night tonight, but watched Matrix Revolutions in the van first.

Wednesday (22nd Nov), made the most of internet happy hour and caught up with our blog and had a tasty indian for lunch.

Drove out (44 kms) to Glenorchy and took one of the short walks, out to the lagoon. Stopped at the DOC campsite on the way back and decided instead to stay one last night in Frankton, making the most of the creature comforts. Had another run along the lakeside, before heading back into town for another push to get the blog uptodate...nearly there now. Very helpful and friendly guys at The Outpost, which aswell as being an internet cafe (with a cafe), they can book all the tours for the area.

Will be leaving town tomorrow and, shockingly, we've not managed any of the thrill experiences that Queenstown is famous for. Never mind, there'll be similar things to do further up the track...

Have finally sorted ourselves so that we can get some photos uploaded - watch this space!

Last day in Queenstown and we spend the whole morning getting right up to date with this blog - that's 9 hours on the internet in the last 36 hours!, we hope people are reading this

Just after another curry lunch we hit the road towards Haast, via Arrowtown - the scenic route, via the Crown Range Road. Amazing scenery on all sides, and great views of Queenstown to the back. This stretch of road is said to have fences adorned with bra's, but we didn't see any.

On the way, passed Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea - both huge and surrounding mountain scenery stunning. As we got nearer to Haast Pass, the rain returned so no stops for walks along the way. We did briefly stop at the crashing Fantail Falls, which was just off the road.

Haast and Jacksons Bay

Stayed at the chilly (inside the building/common area) YHA in Haast, though used our plug in heater for only the second time. Cosy, though stuffy through the night.

Met up with our Dutch Spaceship Friends, Peter and Patty. They are Dutch, not their Spaceship.

Torrential rain started early next morning and, at breakfast, we listened in on a conversation that a US family were having about the NZ cycling tour, and that they hadn't yet ridden in rain. Yet! Poor folks - the rain briefly quietened and they set off, 2 minutes later it all started again, full pelt.

We drove the 40-odd kms to Jacksons Bay, hoping to see some Fiordland Crested Penguins, though another day of bad luck. Nice drive through stunning rainforest, and the weather conditions do add an edge to the view. Did the Wharekai Te Kau walk through the rainforest.

Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier

Next drive on to Fox Glacier, and a walk to the Terminal Face, probably getting about 80 metres away. What a sight, a living glacier right in front of us - this thing moves down the valley at about 1 metre a day! Despite the rain, made the most of the view before the short drive up to Franz Josef Glacier.

Arriving into the town quite late in the afternoon, we chose an early dinner and kept our fingers crossed that the small bits of blue sky we could see would become bigs bits of blue for an evening walk.

Well, conditions were fine at the campsite, but as soon as we parked up at the Glacier carpark about 5 kms away, the grey clouds came in, with a little shower.

Because of the rainfall today, the streams flooding out of the mouth of the Glacier were too wide to cross, so the view, albeit stunning, was from afar, probably a kilometre away.

Amazing glacial blue is the overwhelming sight, though the ice is covered in the dust and rock that it grinds away at as it passes down the valley. Low clouds obscure the top of the icepack, but the scene is awesome.

With more rain the next morning we decide against a second visit to FJ Glacier, nor a tour to actually set foot on it. A helicopter tour would have been great, but the visibility too poor for them to run.

The road on from here takes us up the windy west coast through Hoki and Greymouth and then inland and through alpine forest to the thermal spa area of Hanmer Springs. More driving today that sightseeing (other than the on-th-road scenery) - about 400 kms covered.

Hanmer Springs

Skies quite clear as we arrive here late afternoon, and after a quick mooch around the small town, we sit down for a quiet weekend pint. Decide against visiting the Spa attraction today.

Sunday turns to be very relaxing, though initially disappointed as we wake to clouds after a starry night. Arrive at the Spa for opening time at 10am and get our swimmers on for the first time in a while.

A bit chilly walking around the pools (manmade, but containing thermal water from underground) but soon feel great having a hot soak (39 degrees) as it starts to shower. There's several pools scattered around the site - rock pools (36 degrees) and eggy sulphur springs (40 degrees). Probably should have pushed ourselves to use the swimming pool too, but quite happy to relax and go wrinkly.

Kaikoura

After lunch at the nearby bakers (first apple pie for a while), we're back on Route 7 and heading to the east coast and Kaikoura.

Just miss the info centre when we arrive, but get to the Dolphin Encounter Centre and book ourselves for the first boat out tomorrow morning - 5.30am! Sounds like they've had lots of pods around over the last few days, so fingers crossed...

At the other end of the esplanade is a seal colony, though the only wildlife around are winged, including a pair of Oyster Catchers, with their stand-out long red beaks,red eyes and red legs.

With our trip now booked, next thought turns to accomodation for that night. Being skinflint backpackers we cringe at the thought of splashing out for a nights stay, only to leave at 5am, so we pluck up the courage to 'rough it' for the night, finding a quiet spot at the local lookout and getting great views of Kaikoura below.

A little unsure if we were allowed, but no 'no camping' signs around.

No problems in the end, though not too keen on the early start next day, though pleased to see the sky quite clear.

Arriving at the Dolphin Encounter shop, we soon get our gear ready - wetsuits and snorkelling gear - and then off in theus for a 5 minute ride round to South Bay.

After a bit of wind last night (wethar conditions, not Chris), the sea a little choppy as we make our way over to the expected dolphin area. On the way over we were stalked by 3 '747-like' Albatross.

The dolphins were spotted quite quckly and we could see many of them jumping around in a wide area. This location is centered around a deep oceanic trench, which is an ideal spot within the food chain - it's like an underwater food court, with things like SUBway and KFSea. Also you can probably get 'Sponge' Cake there too.

Not ideal snorkelling conditions - the waves are a little high - but once we're in the water the conditions and cold water soon the last things on our minds.

I think I'd underestimated the use of 'WOW' in this part of the blog - I'll have to upgrade its use here to 'MEGAWOW'!

As soon as we're in the water and looking down into the abyss (though visibility not so good at 3-4 metres), the Dusky Dolphins are soon swarming around us - dozens of them, all over the place, circling and eyeballing us. Difficult to describe how amazing it was, also quite difficult to breathe at the time.

The dolphins buzzed around us for the whole time we were in the water, other than a couple of 30 second gaps. Usually took not much more than some underwater singing, or diving down to get them back, checking you out.

Couldn't believe how lucky we were to have so much life around us - this must be the best place in the world to swim with dolphins.

Not sure how long we had in the water, maybe 45 minutes, then back on board to dry off and warm up, still with all manner of acrobatical leaps going on around us.

Knocked back some hot chocolate and ginger nuts as we watched our sea friends ducking and diving around our boat.

Had a little while to enjoy the surroudings before the cruise back to land, a little smoother for the return.

Still early when we get back and try to phone home to gloat a bit - no bugger in!

Nothing else in town for us, so head out (via the supermarket and a re-stock) towards Blenheim and the winery area. Unfortunately arrived too late to get on a wine tour that day, so drove on to Nelson.

Nelson

Quite a big town here, and had a sniff round before driving to the MaiTai Camp, a few kms out of town. Nice camp site, by the river, and we had a walk along the bank, taking us most of the way back into town. Despite limited time in Nelson, we both agree it would be a nice place to live....

Spoke to the folks back home that night - all well there.

Lazy day next day - got some washing done, Starbucks, lounging in the library and watch The Departed (4/5) at the cinema (cheap Tuesday). Had a nice evening on the site, home to some friendly locals.

Spent the next morning in Nelson, before driving away towards Abel Tasman National Park.

Abel Tasman National Park

Along the way we saw a sign for Harwoods Hole - 178 metre deep vertical cave. After a 11 km bumpy road, and a 45 minute walk, we get to the hole, though quite a limited view down into it - depending on how far you were prepared to lean over the egde....with no safety rails!

Decided against doing any of the 2/3/4 day walks (perhaps not quite good enough conditions for these fair-weather travellers!), though certainly up for a hike.

Weather not too kind - chilly, showery, gusty and quite a long drive on a dirt track to our camp for the night (Totaranui), within the National Park. Nice open and quiet space for us, though no facilities (cooking/power), despite it costing the same as most of the other camp sites we've stayed at. Of course, fantastic surroundings!

With sarnies and nachos for dinner, we settle down early and watch a NZ film 'Kombi-Nation', about a group of Kiwis travelling around Europe in a VW camper. Pretty good.

Very breezy, but nice clear skies next morning - we set off from the car park on our walk, which should take about 6 hours. The loop will start along the coastal track and various stops along the way include, Apapai Bay, Mutton Cove, Separation Point and Whariwharangi Bay. The track then heads inland and takes us up Gibbs Hill track, where we start to sweat as we hit the steeper summit.

The views amazing all the way along and agree that a walk over several days would be perfect if it was just a little warmer and you could get into the sea.

Enjoyed a cold can of Coke and nice chocolate when we get back to the camper, some 5 and a bit hours later. With achy legs we drive up the road towards Farewell Spit and have a short walk out onto the beach, though the rain soon starts.

Unsure of where we'll sleep that night, we take an evening stop in Takaka at the Wholemeal Cafe for dinner. Cool place, with a great menu - veggie curry for Chris, and Blue Cod for Paul.

Still unsure where to stay, and with it getting late we stumble across a car park at the start of a trail and there doesn't seem to be any restriction on overnight stays. No trouble that night, though not the best nights sleep for Paul - sandfly bites itching like mad!

Up early next day for the short drive to Marahau (another start point for the coastal track walks), though our plans are just for a short stroll to Appletree Bay, which takes up the best part of the morning. Yummy banana shakes at the cafe.

Managed to swap our DVD's at Old MacDonalds Farm, though limited choice sees us walk away with 'Transformers - The Movie'.

Left the fairly clear skies of Abel Tasman and returned to Nelson to be greeted by dark clouds and lots of rain. Perfect weather to push us into the cinema and an afternoon of Borat! Mad!, then onto the library for some reading up.

Nelson, again

Cheap Falafel and Kebab dinner in town, then back to our favourite campsite for American Psycho on DVD for afters.

Attempted poached eggs the next morning - I think we'll stick with fried or boiled from now on. Today not going too well - we managed to get a bag of clothes into the laundry, to then find no dryer free.

Stopped in town at the Saturday Market and bought some fruit and veg, at half the price of the supermarkets.

In the afternoon, drove out to Cable Bay and enjoyed the view from the comfort of the cab - lazy bu**ers decided against a walk and sped on up to Marlborough Sound, taking the road along the Kenepuru SOund - sadly disappointing as the views are blocked by teh tress, though every so often there's a break and you can see the beautiful bays and caves below. Spent the night at a Department of Conservation campsite in Portage - 'Cow Shed Bay' - got a spot right in front of the water, which was a gorgeous sight the next morning, mostly still on top of the water.

Agreed on a walk this morning, so drove teh short way to Anakiwa and walked the coastal 'Queen Charlotte' track for a couple of hours - more lovely secluded bays and rainforest. Stopped for a while and stretched out in the sun, accompanied by Mr and Mrs Duck.

Picton

PM, drove to Picton, but took another cliff top stop to enjoy the view on the way.

Picton's a fairly small town, considering it's ferry links to the North Island. Got our stay off to a good start here, with a couple of double scoop icecreams. After a quick wander up the high street and back, we grab some grass by the waters edge and sit in the sun, whilst preparations for the Xmas parade go on around us.

We notice quite a crowd gathering up on the promenade, and soon start to hear the parage make its way through town - quite an odd sight on a hot and sunny day - Santa must be sweating buckets in that outfit today.

Choose to stay at the Waikawa Bay Holiday Park and get ourselves a huge patch of grass to occupy. Paul went for a run, whilst Chris sat on the grass and read, though got a dose of hayfever (...and everything! - (private joke)). Took an evening stroll down to the marina and finished the day with some frisbee and a bottle of wine. Happy Birthday to Thomas and Sophia - I remember being 7, it was a good year...

Had hoped to get on a wine tour in Blenheim today (4th Dec, our last day in the South Island), but the driving rain puts us off and Chris has a haircut here instead - small town, not much going on, so back to Picton and hang around for our crossing at 6pm.

No dramas during the 3 hour crossing - the first hour is spent winding our way through the Sounds, then not much else to see before we get into the capital, Wellington, just after 9pm.

Continues in North Island entry...

New territory for Paul, though Chris has been to New Zealand before, back in 1996. Also, now 13 hours ahead of the UK.

Exciting start as we break through the clouds covering the mountains and wide open spaces below.

Our time in New Zealand (to 20th December) will be split between South and North Island - probably 4 weeks in the former, last 2 weeks up North. Hopefully this will help our plans re. hiring a camper, as we hear that the deals are better as we're essentially helping to relocate vehicles back to the more popular starting point of Auckland.

We had considered dipping our toes into a bit more adventure and camping our way around, but with the weather in Oz not being as good as we hoped and reports that NZ is wet and windy, we kept our fingers crossed that a good camper deal would come our way. More on that later...

Christchurch

Nice and quick getting through customs/immigration etc and soon found the cheap route into Christchurch, $7 each on the local bus.

Soon dropped into the centre of town - and just a few minutes walk from the YHA around the corner. Pleased to see a Starbucks in town, though it's clear now where our budget is going wrong.

Drop off our bags and waste no time in getting back out to sniff around the town. Soon realise it's actually quite cold, so back to the room for some extra layers - Paul chuffed that he bought a fleece in Sydney, just incase.

Christchurch easy enough to navigate, and on first view a nice little place. 2 further Starbucks located. Happy to not do too much today, so spend the evening in front of the telly after noshing some cheap fish and chips. Rain falls sufficiently hard enough to knock out the satellite picture. Thank goodness for a July copy of Ralph.

Next day, the mission is to sort out our transport around NZ, and our first stop is the 'Spaceship' shop (www.spaceships.tv), to check out their funky looking MPV/Campervan. They're little people carriers that have been converted to include the basics - full width bed, food storage/little battery powered fridge (big enough for 3 bottles of beer), water can - also, a fancy ceiling mounted DVD player/7inch TFT screen. We had already looked at the more traditional 'bigger' campervans, and whilst perfect for us, they're pretty pricey and heavier on fuel, so a killer cost for a 6 week trip.

Wasn't too long for us to be sold a Spaceship hire, only NZ$54 (just under GBP20) a day, plus managed to wangle a day free. So, that's our accomodation sorted for the next 38 nights. The nice lady was also very helpful and showed us around the vehicle - also, sorted us a 'newer' one. Our Spaceship is called 'STIN' and there's about 200 out there on the roads of NZ.

Chuffed, we thought that sorting our transport was gonna take ages, but sorted by 10.30am. Another day of very little to worry about, except take it easy.

Whilst chilly today, the sun came out for us and we spent some of the afternoon sitting on a sun-trapped bench in the botanical gardens, next to the river. Said hello to the ducks and lots of people going past on punts. Treated ourselves to a Subway and managed to get us a free drink from the Juice Bar when our order was wrong.

Sat in on an interesting talk at the YHA given by a Maori chap.

Noticed tonight that it was still quite light after 9pm - probably dark by 5pm back home in England.

Despite being excited at the prospect of picking up our Spaceship in the morning, we slept very well. Didn't take too long to sort out the final paperwork and we were soon on the road, Paul splitting his attention between driving on NZ roads and tuning in the radio.

Stopped at the edge of town to load up on supplies, then straight out towards Mt Cook, taking a lunch stop in the quiet town of Geraldine. Don't tell anyone, but I sneaked into the camp site to fill up our water tank.

Gorgeous scenery on the way, and not too much traffic. The Spaceship nice and easy to drive, though a bit sluggish on hills - maybe there's a hyperdrive button here somewhere... no, that's the hazards!

Lake Tekapo

We expect many 'WOW' moments here in NZ, and the first comes as we find our way to Lake Tekapo - WOW, never seen water that colour, such a beautiful grey/blue/turquoise, with snow-capped mountains as a backdrop. We chose to stay at a campsite by the lake-side, though lake-front would have been better. With the blue sky completing the amazing view, we had a nice walk along the lake - little noise but the waves lapping up at the edge. Gorgeous yellow flowers of spring along the edge too, and at the top of the lake a small church - perhaps this kind of setting would get me (Paul) interested in one of those wedding things.

Not much in the way of nightlife here, but who needs that when you've got your own in-house DVD player and that Will Smith classic - 'Hitch'. Actually quiet cool snuggled up watching a film, whilst looking through the 'moon-roof' at the stars - only 37 nights like this left to go.

We both slept really well on our first campervan night, and fresh the next morning to move on. Just before heading out of town we made our way up to the Mount John Observatory, moreso just to get the view from the top. Unbelieveable winds nearly blow us back down again, though the views were impressive!

Mount Cook

Now on our way to Mount Cook National Park, but one more lake stop (Lake Pukaki) first, and another magnificent site, though sadly clouds in the distance covering Mt Cook. The clouds worsen as we get closer, then the rain starts and stays with us for the rest of the journey, all the way to the visitor centre. Oh well, we'll wait in the Spaceship and make some sandwiches.

The rain doesn't stop for the rest of the day, though we're armed with information for the local walks and chuck on the waterproofs for the first walk, the Tasman Glacier View Track. First visiting teh Blue Lakes, though they're now green, then onto the Glacier view proper, though the main view is the Glacier Lake, containing lots of icebergs, though you can look up the valley to see the 'blue' of the bottom of the Tasman glacier.

The weather stopped us doing much more that day, so we made our way to our first Department of Conservation camp site - pretty basic, though there was a toilet there. A little cheaper too, just $6 each, and our money goes in a envelope into the 'Iron Ranger'.

Tonight cinema presentation is 'The Basketball Diaries' - pretty good DiCaprio film.

Next moring - WOW - for two reasons. Firstly because Chris thought that history was to repeat itself and a flash flood was going to pass through here like it did in 1913 and washed the Hermitage Hotel away - it did rain all night, a little bit of thunder and lightning too, but the Spaceship stood up to the job. Second, and more importantly, the view next morning as we slid the side door open (whilst still under the duvet) was an amazing view of the snow capped mountains ahead of us. Not sure of the name of the range, but simply breathtaking, but that could also be blamed on the chilly wind coming down the valley.

Took us a little while to get going in the cold, but we took the Hooker Valley walk (3.5 hrs) from our camp site. Interesting walk all the way through, including across swing-bridges, with gushing rapids below. Treated to great (but not completely clear) views of Mt Cook (3755 metres).

Lunch back at the van, and we were joined by a family of ducks and their naughty little chicks.

Back on the road for the same route out of the National Park, though treated to some great views with clearer skies as we drove away. Stopped back at Lake Pukaki, but still a little cloud over Mount Cook, but the wider view was fantastic.

Stopped in the small nearby town of Twizel, used the internet in a launderette - what a great idea! - but pleased to get out on the open road again. WOW - realise that we can connect the Ipod to the car stereo - no more sharing an ear each!

Made a couple of detours on the way - one to try and find a whale fossil (unsuccessful), another to find the Elephant Rocks (sucessful). The rocks are in an inland field of huge boulders (actually these began as sand buried here some 25 million years ago and hardened over time), and is strangely reminiscent of Tellytubby land, though it does have a claim to fame as the place where they filmed The Chronicles of Narnia (2005) - the lion character Aslan had his lair here (I think).

Oamaru

Miserable weather met us at Oamaru and our camping spot had us facing into someones living room. Had a look around town the next morning (in the rain) - not much to see here, though the gardens next to the camp site are nice. Took a short drive to the coastal area of Bushy Beach where the rare Yellow Eyed Penguins have a colony. These little fellas are quite shy, so the DOC have built a hide from where you can view the nesting area - unfortunately all the critters must have been out to sea today. Best time to see them is late afternoon.

Left Oamaru for Dunedin via the coastal road and Moeraki.

Stopped to see some more ancient boulders on the way, this time on the coast. Again, these formed millions of years ago out of limestone crystals.

Dunedin

Arrived in Dunedin (Celtic name for Edinburgh - and we certainly made the Scottish connection with the grumpy weather). Starbucks also here

To get out of the weather we spent a couple of dry hours in the cinema (Flags of Our Fathers - 4/5) then on to the 'Top 10' (nationwide chain) campsite on the other side of town. Got ourselves a lovely little spot with garden table, though doesn't look like we'll get to relax here on the outside very much.

Planning to spend a couple of days here in Dunedin and mooched around town, the (excellent) museum and a trip out to Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world. Enjoyed watching The Who documentary, 'The Kids Are Alright', though reminded myself that I won't be able to get the new album for another few months. Anyone heard it?

Otago Peninsular

A little bit of admin the next morning (including this blog), though nice to see the sun come out as we start the drive around the waterside drive along the Otago Peninsular. Scenery gorgeous, though the driver careful to keep half an eye on the road. First stop up at Taiaroa Head, home to a small number of Albatross. You know what's next - no sight for us, but had a little more luck down at Sandfly Bay, where we waited in a beach hide for 2 hours, to be shown that one of the little Yellow Eyed Penguins had been hanging around up the hill all the time. Walked back along the beach towards the car, passing several huge Hooker Sealions, to see three Penguins make their way out of the sea - WOW. Was a bit of a scramble to get back up to the car park over the windy sand dunes.

Facts - I mentioned that the Yellow Eyed Penguins are rare, there's only about 3000 breeding penguins left. They can head out 45kms from shore to get their feed, as well as live up to 20kms inland. They're shy too and easily distressed - maybe there should be no 'attraction' to see them here at all...

Balclutha

Drove to our resting destination of Balclutha - most things closed up by the time we arrive, though the chippy open. And they were great.

The campsite was nice and quiet, and we played with Buddha, one of those Boxer-type dogs with wrinkly faces and breathing problems.

Watched a p-poor Bruce Willis film in the cosy lounge area, and enjoyed a hot Ribena.

No hanging around next day, the route taking us to Invercargill, via The Catlins - a place of isolated forests and windswept bays. Stopped off at Nugget Point and viewed out over the rocks by the lighthouse to see more sea lions, and bird life. Just nearby is Roaring Bay, home to more penguins, and we catch the sight of one just heading into the sea - also one other preening itself up on the hillside.

Other stopping points on the way - Tautuku Bay and Lake Wilkie. Felt the need for a power-nap near to Curio Bay before stepping out onto the 180 million year old fossil-forest, left over from the Jurassic period. Petrified tree stumps and fallen log fossils all about us. Oh, and it was raining.

Invercargill

On the scenic route via Haldane and Fortrose (rolling hills one side, crashing surf on the other), finishing the drive for the day at Invercargill. Where there is a Starbucks.

Of the camp site choice, Chris is up for the one where you can help feed the little(orphaned) lambs, just a few kms out of town.

Russell Crowe's 'Master and Commander' showing on the main screen tonight and we've got the best seats in the house.

Soggy morning and Chris watched the lambs being fed.

Off into town - had planned to visit the museum, but waylaid by the internet at the library and we seemed to manage a free session. Glad we have finally sorted our accomodation for Tahiti over Christmas - we had considered changing our flights, cutting it out, as it was looking like an expensive week. However, sorted for a weeks b&b for just over a couple of hundred quid, though we're a couple of kms from the beach. No problem, though reckon we'll find it a little costly whilst we're there - anyway, that's in a few weeks time.

Next port of call will be Te Anau, for Milford Sound, and the drive takes us through a lovely little 'port' area called Cosy Nook. Lovely hills behind, and more crashing waves in front....and not a sole in sight, save for some sheeps. By the way, it's true what is suggested about the numbers of sheeps and lambs here in NZ - they're everywhere, especially as we're a few weeks into lambing season.

Had hoped to spot some whales and/or Hectors dolphins from the lookouts along the way, though nothing this time.

After a 20 minute drive along a gravel track, we arrive at Lake Monowai for a short walk, through the forest to a opening that looks out across the lake with the rocky hills towering behind.

Te Anau and Milford Sound continue on next entry...