When we told people we were staying at Greymouth for a few days their immediate response was WHY? Well there's Monteith's Brewery for a start. My favourite tipple in NZ. You can even buy it in Waitrose. Secondly we wanted to go to Arthur's Pass which is renowned for a number of good full day / half day walks. On the way to Arthur's Pass we decided to stop at one of the viewing points. Immediately our car was surrounded by Kea's (parrots) who then tried to eat...

The Lonely Planet describes Nelson as NZ's most liveable city. If that's the case then where is everybody? We went out for a drink on a Saturday night and the whole place was deserted. Nelson is geographically the centre point of NZ. The exact spot is marked with a spire. The main reason for staying in Nelson was its proximity to the Abel Tasman National Park. Yes you've guessed it......another walk. We drove to Marahau and caught the water taxi to Bark Ba...

We based ourselves in Te Anau for the trips to Milford and Doubtful Sounds. Milford Sound is easily accessible by road and attracts tourists by the bucket load. To be honest I was slightly disappointed with Milford Sound. I think I've been spoilt on this trip! It's good but not that good. On the way back we stopped off at The Chasm (eroded boulders), Key Summit (two hour return walk on the Routeburn Track with amazing views) and Mirror Lakes.

After the slight disappointment with Milford Sound I was hoping Doubtful Sound was going to impress. Thankfully it did! We opted for an overnight cruise (only $5 more than the day cruise and it meant we didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn). It pretty much rained the whole time we were there. This gave the place a more menacing feel.

We decided to make a dash for it from Dunedin to Invercargill taking in a few sights of the Catlins along the way. The area is fairly remote with lots of twisty roads to keep you on your toes. As we had been to Cape Reinga at the top of the North Island we had to make a stop at Slope Point - the southern most point of the South Island. Other highlights include the waterfall at Purakaunui Falls and the 160 million year old fossil forest at Curio Bay.