We finally make it to the southernmost tip of the South Island and record the event by having our photos taken at a marker showing the distances to the Equator and the South Pole while being assaulted by a wind so fierce that it threatens to blow us to one of those destinations if we don't hang on to the sign tightly enough. Dunedin is very pleasant. It's a remote city, far far away from the rest of New Zealand and with some of the most English-like weather. I...

We're at another beautiful lake in fiordland - the gateway to Milford and Doubtful Sounds. Our hotel is surrounded by lakes and mountains and great views no matter which way you look. Unless you keep your eyes at ground level in which case you mostly see souvenir shops selling stuffed kiwis wearing a bemused but jaunty expression and dressed in All Black jerseys and a plethora of household items made from sheepskin. Which on closer inspection prove to be quite...

Busy and bustling, it's a bit of a shock to arrive in Queenstown - cars, shops, restaurants and most of all people. The majority of whom are dressed in brightly coloured jumpsuits en route to jump out or, or off something a couple of hundred feet of the ground. Crazy People. We grab an armful of brochures and consider the options. We discard most of them as being a bit too dangerous and possibly involving the temporary loss of use of a limb or two. A bit mor...

We left Christchurch by train - the TranzAlpine, a spectacular journey that goes through 18 tunnels between the east and west coasts of New Zealand and takes about 4 hours. A great trip. On arriving at Greymouth we picked up our hire car, a Toyota Corolla. As we are travelling for over a month I had done a lot of research on cost and this was by far the cheapest quote, NZ$40 a day (about 16 quid). When we picked it up we discovered how they had managed to ach...

Finally in New Zealand and it's easy to see why so many people compare it to the UK - it can get really cold, even in the middle of their so-called summer. Bizarrely we are stocking up on cold and wet weather gear because we've had about 4 seasons over the course of two days. Christchurch is apparently the second largest town in New Zealand, which seems incredible; there are so few cars on the road it's hardly worthwhile looking up and down the road before cr...