On returning from the airport we chilled out at our hostel for a few hours before meeting up with Shelby, a girl we had met in the Whitsundays. Thankfully she knew a great little cafe, The Circus in Mt Eden where we were staying so we enjoyed a lovely catch up with her whilst drinking coffee and treating ourselves to a slice of chocolate cake; a true luxury when travelling! The evening was topped off with a drive up to the top of Mt Eden with Geordie John, a grea...

After a long few days of driving and site seeing we decided to head to Raglan, the surfers town on the west coast, just south of Auckland. Here we stayed two nights and enjoyed lounging around in the hammocks and strolling around the town. I even got to try out some of New Zelands famous green lip mussels which were delicious! Whilst we were in Raglan the weather decided to take a turn for the worst and so we didnt get to make the most of the free kayaks that the...

On the evening of the 2nd February we all headed to the Mitai Maori Village to learn abit more about their history and culture. Set within the natural bush setting, we arrived at the village and was welcomed into the food tent where the evening got off to a great start with a funny compere who managed to greet people in over 15 different languages. Once our "leader" was chosen (a massive guy from Canada who we all thought was suitable for the job) we sa...

By the time we arrived in Picton we checked into Tombstone Backpackers and was ready for a chilled few days before catching the ferry over to the North Island. Our drive from Nelson to Picton was through the Marlborough Sounds and we were close to the Queen Charlotte Track so we spent one afternoon walking pàrt of it and enjoying a good old walk with a packed lunch. The backpackers was one of the nicest we´d stayed in and so we all enjoyed the free hot tub and...

When we arrrived in Nelson we were all suprised at how big of a place it seemed, we´d been used to small little towns with not many people! Ash was very happy however as within a few hours we were on the beach and he was having a cheeky kitesurf. This topped his day off nicely whilst we all sat on the beach enjoying the sun and scenery. For dinner we tried out the hostels BBQ which was great! Much to our delight we were also surprised with free home made scones ...