There isn't much to do in Greymouth but it's a convenient stop between Franz Josef and Nelson.As it is the home of Monteith's beer - which we have drank many pints of it since arriving in NZ - we simply HAD to go on the brewery tour. And sample yet more of their fine ales!Greymouth is also a good base for a day trip to Arthur's Pass - an alpine village great for walks and er, not much else. Along the way there, we also managed to get up close and personal with se...

Came here to do a helihike on the Franz Josef Glacier and I can honestly say it was one of the highlights of our trip.The weather was perfect (mostly) and the helicopter ride was fantastic (I want to learn to fly one). We got to go higher than those people doing a full-day hike (and didn't have to endure 8 hours of walking - we still had the energy to go out for beers in the evening, while the full-dayers were asleep by 8pm)!The only downside was getting a wet bu...

Another "same same but different" moment. Wanaka a very similar to Queenstown - it's next to a huge lake with mountains in the background. I just isn't quite as big or popular (or expensive).As in Queenstown, we did various walks which were all very nice (plus it's free and gives us a chance to work off our 8 month old beer bellys)!God, I'm getting a little tired of seeing beautiful mountain scenery and lakes....just kidding! ;o)

The adventure capitol of the world - you can skydive, bungy, ride/sledge the rapids, parasail....and get the t-shirt/DVD!!Needless to say, we didn't do ANY of these things! Are we boring old farts??! Some may say yes, but I would disagree! I have already been bungy jumping and have jumped out of a perfectly good plane, so I didn't feel I needed to prove anything.Plus, it costs a lot of money to do all these things (which I certainly don't have).And, I'm a boring ...

Gateway to both the Milford and Doubtful Sounds.The first was Milford - we did this as a day trip, which included a 1 1/2 hr cruise. We saw more dolphins and waterfalls and it was a glorious sunny (but cold) day. Lovely!However, I think the best scenery was along the way - Mirror Lakes were very nice (and did indeed have perfect reflections.....just like mirrors!); and the view from the top of the Key Summit Track was amazing and definitely worth the effort.The f...