As the airbed on Mark's floor became deflated we moved into a hostel in the ever so slightly seedy area of King's Cross, where if you're not a prostitute, drug dealer or policeman you're a backpacker or a pigeon. Hitting a highly stressful patch in our travels, we decided to do something that has comforted us across the world; no, not abusing alcohol....gawping at strange animals. Featherdale Wildlife Park (an hour out of the city) allowed Victoria the opportuni...

THE MELBOURNE IDENTITY (I've been waiting to use that for ages; it also contains a bit about Sydney, but let's not get picky) In Braveheart, the rebelling Scottish army first see William Wallace and are suprised to find that thier hero isn't a giant of a man with magical powers, but rather tiny Mel Gibson wearing kid's facepaint being pulled along on a rocking horse. Much the same is true of Ramsay Street. We were shocked to see how small it was; the only giveaw...

Today's blog is separated by a dotted line (-------) to represent our cross over from North to South New Zealand. If you like, print it out and use scissors (or a guillotine if you're posh) to cut the page in two. Alternatively take a tea break at the half-way mark; Anzac biscuits are recommended as a dunking companion. If you are unable to find Anzacs in the UK simply rub a HobNob on a sheep for a few seconds prior to eating. Whilst in Rotorua we visited the Agr...

After a glowworm has eaten, its digestive process leads to the greenish glow in its backside; the same thing happens to Victoria after a bowl of nachos. Seeing them in the Waitamo Caves (glowworms, not nachos) meant we were essentially paying to look at millions of dots of fluorescent poo. The caves were the first sight-seeing activity for Gill, who has kept us active in central north island and has annoyingly joined Pat on her mission to get us out of bed before...

For your interactive enjoyment of today's blog you may want to pour yourself a glass of Hawke's Bay white wine, draw Maori symbols on your face (black felt tip will be fine) and nibble on pistachio nuts. A 400 metre long tape measure will also come in handy as will the knowledge that 'wh' in New Zealand is pronounced with an 'f' sound.One of the great aspects of New Zealand is the fact that only 4 million people populate an area slightly larger than the UK. Over ...