To get to Kaikoura we had quite a long drive from the AbelTasmanNational Park.We did most this journey in heavy rain and dark clouds, as we travelled across the country via the Lewis Pass (912m) which was a real shame because the clouds hid the spectacular mountains, although we did get snippets of views of the snow capped mountains we were driving past!We also stopped to see the longest swing bridge in NZ, we would have walked over it, except it was pouring for ...

We had a quick look around Nelson city centre, which seemed to be a really nice place and then went on a brief stroll to the 'Centre of New Zealand' which is on top of a hill within walking distance of the city. It was a lovely walk along a river and up the hill, the weather was beautiful too, great views of the city, port and surrounding area. We then drove to Marahau, which is at the start of the Abel Tasman National Park, where you can do one of NZ's great ...

We arrived in Picton just before lunch and were feeling very lazy so decided to go for a walk along the headland from Picton out to what is known as the snout! It was nice and sheltered during the walk but when we reached the end of the headland we were nearly blown over it was so rough! But we had a great view of the ferries coming in and out through the very narrow channels! Also of the Queen Charlotte Track, which is a famous walk around the Marlborough Sound...

We arrived in Wellington on Monday in the pouring rain! The mist was so thinck we could not actually see the city across the harbour! This has been the theme unfortunately for the last few days - rain! On sunday we had planned to do a walk in the Tongariro National Park. We knew that we could not do the famous Tongariro Crossing because the weather is still too bad here and we would have had to hire boots, crampons, ice axes, etc, which was well out of our bud...

Driving to Taupo the weather was nice and the forecast for the next few days wasn't great.Andrew kept saying that we may have to do the skydive today but I was not so sure about that! On arriving in Taupo we headed straight for the airport to compare prices and try and get a skydive booked for tomorrow. In the one company Skydive Taupo we were told that there was a plane going up with spaces in an hours time, our pulses definitely quickened on hearing this news...