Hi everyone, well on to our last country of the trip and thoughts of heading home...

We were both really sad to leave Oz, especially the Price's and Gorman's. Although we were really looking forward to getting to New Zealand and picking up our campervan, we both felt as though the trip was coming to an end and we were heading home. Anyway, with 4 weeks still to go we snapped out of it and got on with the next adventure!

After spending a morning waiting around and signing our life away, we were really excited to get our hands on our campervan and head off to explore this beautiful country. Charlie (as we are calling the Toyota Campervan that is our home for the next 4 weeks) is fantastic, he's got everything we need, wheels, a bed, kettle and basic cooking facilities … and a sense of adventure!

So having landed at Auckland airport and not going anywhere near the real Auckland, we headed south for Rotorua…a nice little town in the centre of the north island, although it smells of eggs!! Dad would love it! It's a volcanic area with lots of stinky geysers and bubbling mud pools, which were quite cool to look at, if not to smell! We also learnt a little bit about the Maori people (native to NZ) and their culture from our slightly camp, although built like a brick-s!*thouse Maori/British/Aussie guide.

Continuing south and heading for Wellington to get the ferry over to Picton on the South island (where it's all at!), we stopped off at Lake Taupo (biggest freshwater lake in NZ) and climbed Mt Tauhara (1,088m, bigger than almost all peaks in UK) which we started a bit late in the day and so had a very brisk walk up and then down this steep mountain, but well worth it as we had some great views over Lake Taupo from the top. We also stopped in at Tongariro National Park, which covers three mountains, including Mt Ruapehu the highest in NZ. Here we did another long walk taking in a 50m high Taranaki waterfall en-route. This was part of walk which takes several days and so there was a family cooling off/washing in the falls as we were there…looked a bit cold for us!

So after a few days checking out what the north island had to offer, we made it to the south island and as many people have said to us, it is beautiful. Our first stop was to stock up on some good wine in the Marlborough Wineries. We toured round the area on bikes (we thought it better to cycle under the influence than to drive!) and sampled some good sav blancs and pinot noirs. Also stopped at a boutique micro-brewery to keep Andy happy. To walk off the excesses in the Marlborough region we hit the Marlbrough Sounds for some walking. This is a beautiful part of NZ, with stunning coastlines and the weather was fantastic while we were here. We walked the first day of Queen Charlotte's Trail (a 3-dayer) and stayed at a lovely campsite with its own waterfall a short walk across the surrounding farmland - a nice stroll before breakfast. Next stop was Abel Tasman and Kahurangi National Park in the northwest, more amazing scenery although this time more beaches, but still lots of good walking routes, this time on the Abel Tasman Trail. The legs are getting a good work out, which therefore justifies the number of Tim Tams we are eating on the road!

The west coast of the south island from Westport down to Queenstown is just stunning, around every corner there is another breathtaking view, massive imposing mountain ranges, roaring rivers winding through deep valleys, beautiful coastlines scattered with tranquil bays and beaches and of course the glaciers. We had an amazing day on the Franz Josef Glacier, tramping across the top of the ice and through crevasses kitted out in waterproofs and crampons. We honestly didn't think we'd need the waterproofs, hats and gloves that the guides provided while we were back in town where it was shorts and t-shirt weather, but having climbed up an extra 100m and with a slight wind and sliding about on the ice itself, we were grateful for them! We had a great guide and a good group with us which I'm sure made all the difference. It was really interesting to see how much the ice moves over time and to see how destructive it can be. See, Geology can be cool (I might even have convinced Andy!).

Due to some rockfalls and wet weather resulting in raging rivers, we were unable to stop as planned at Fox Glacier and so pushed onwards to Queenstown. This is the biggest settlement we've visited so far in New Zealand and it still only has a population of 7500! It is set alongside a vast lake in a beautiful valley and certainly somewhere I could happily life…although I'd have to work in a bar as there isn't much else to do…other than bungy jump/skydive/parasail/luge etc.

We spent most of our first day here sampling the local ale and taking in the atmosphere and sunshine, before realising we'd had too much to drink to cook in the camper and had a yummy meal in town instead. As recommended by Vic, we took the gondola ride up to the luge track and had a bit of fun without throwing ourselves out of them a la Robert! The views over Queenstown were wonderful and better than from the top of Queenstown Hill in the rain!! Needless to say we had to get out of the rain and refresh with a view more pints after this trek!

We are now at Te Anau, set on another stunning lake, 150km southwest of Queenstown, from where we plan to visit Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound on the southwest coast. We are prepared for some colder weather (not really cold but certainly windy) and possibly rain while we're here and we've got plenty of bug spray as its sandfly city!!

We will update you on the last of the NZ adventures shortly...with only 12 days left we are fast running out of holiday time and realise we do actually have to go back home at some point!!

See you all soon

Andy and Gem xxx