Waking up in a campervan with snow capped mountains all around is a recommended experience! I set off up the Hooker valley with promises of Mt Cook views and I wasn't disappointed. I really wish it was possible to capture the vastness of scenes like this on camera but it just isn't. I felt so lucky to have seen Mt Cook from both Lake Matheson and Fox Glacier and now I was stood next to it with a clear blue sky on a stunning day - awesome! On my return from the ...

From Queenstown I headed East through Cromwell to a small village called Omakau. This was to visit David & Jenny Forsyth who I hadn't seen for quite a few years! It was good to see them again and catch up on their life in NZ. We headed to the local for tea where I was treating to "the best fish and chips in NZ"-a fair claim! We then headed home for the standard NZ fri night of Super 14 rugby. A pretty good standard I have to say! In the morning I at...

Back in Queenstown I was ready for some adrenaline so booked to do the "Fly By Wire". This is basically a tiny plane attached via a cable to a pivot at the top and you have control over steering and power. After some instruction on how to go as fast as possible I was chosen as the guinea pig for the day! It tuned out to be easier than I thought and I soon had the plane up to apparently 100mph! It was a lot of fun and nice to be in control of the adren...

The rain was bucketing down which created some pretty awesome waterfalls along the side of the road. Really hard taking pictures in the rain though! Taking in some very damp lookouts on the way I reached Milford Sound. Unfortunately the diving trips were finished for the winter so I booked myself on a cruise. I had wanted to visit the underwater observatory but it is out in the sound and I was on the last cruise of the day so no later one to pick me up. The crui...

From Queenstown I headed to Te Anau the main town giving access to the Sounds. After a recommendation from Greame I watched Shadowlands a 1/2 hour film shot from helicopters flying over Fjordland. Amazing scenery that there really is no other way to see! I stayed the night in Te Anau and set off the following morning to Milford Sound.