We had a great drive to Queenstown via Akaroa where we managed to indulge in some wine tasting, something Pete had been looking forward to before we'd even left the UK. Ash suddenly decided he wasnt going to be the designated driver which was convienient however we all enjoyed hearing how the wine was made and how the different tastes were acquired before heading to our accomodation for the next 2 nights. Queenstown was definately where its at for adventurous act...

We picked our car up around 10am on Wednesday morning and this was the first time we had our own transport on our travel adventure so far. As you can imagine, both Ash and I were happy about not having to catch a bus / boat / train for the next 4 weeks! Off we went on our first road trip over the hills leaving Christchurch behind until we reached Lyttelton, a small harbour town on the northern side of the Banks Penninsula. After enjoying fish and chips by the sea...