Saturday 30th March Christchurch is a disappointment - largely due to the suffering caused by the February 2011 earthquake. There are still lots of buildings being propped up and lots of attractions closed, we do manage the gondola for spectacular views and see some para gliders in action. The roads and bridges are a mess with mass reconstruction bringing diversions and lots of bumps and humps. The people also don't seem as chirpy and chipper as in previous to...

Monday 25th March It is still drizzling on and off this morning so we took a walk around Queenstown - a real adventure paradise, weather permitting of course. Before lunch we decide to drive to Glenorchy about 45km away and walk around the lagoon for a couple of hours, there's a jet boat ride on offer but we would rather wait for a clear spell and tackle the Shotover River Jet Boat experience, claimed to be the worlds best. The weather pitches up real nice in...

The sand flies have taken their toll overnight and both Lyn and I have several ankle bites, itchy but not sore. We drive out of Haast, named after Julius von Haas the great Dutch explorer and after whom besides the town, there is als the Gates of Haast, the Haast Pass, the Haast this and the Haast that - he was also a concert violinist and wrote the first geology text for the Westland in the 1860's. Haast leads us to several massive glacier formed lakes, one of...

Saturday: Today we have booked a heli-hike on the Franz Joseph Glacier, consisting of a chopper flight up to the main face of the glacier and a two hour guided hike on the glacier. We get kitted up with rain and ice gear (including crampons for the boots supplied) and set off. This is one of the best things we have ever done and of course (as always) the photo's cannot do the trip justice by half. Suffice to say that it was awe-inspiring. The current glacier mov...

Wednesday 20th March Levin to the ferry terminal in Wellington was uneventful - until we got to the ferry terminal. We had booked the 14:30 crossing from Wellington to Picton on the South Island but when we got there at 13:30 we were told it was cancelled! We were re- booked on the 18:25 instead, not a train smash as we went to the Te Papa museum in Wellington for the afternoon which was fabulous - free and plenty to do and see, so we are all fully dosed up wi...