Today was a driving day... Left the Golden Bay YHA in good time and had to head over "that" hill! Takaka Hill, but it didn't seem so bad going back.... (it was one of the lord of the rings locations) Passed through Nelson, Blenheim and picked up our old friend the SH1. The scenery was beautiful and it's clear that the mountains and hills are the dominant feature of the landscape. Passing around the coast there were hundreds of seals, we stopped at the Ohau Poi...

At last, consecutive days of sunshine!! Had a late start today, may have been the glasses of wine we had with our dinner! The sun was gorgeous today and we had planned to go kayaking, so 7km up the road into Pohara to the golden bay kayaks... We had missed the guides so spoke to Nigel on the phone who said for us to come up to Tata beach, Cornwall Place Reserve where he would wait for us with a kayak. On route we found a signpost for penguins... We think they ...

Today we caught the ferry to the south island. We were worried it might be rough as the crossing is notoriously rough and cyclone Wilma was forecast to hit the north at around midday but it couldn't have been calmer! The only real drama was that we had to park Lucy on the train deck - yes, the trains travel on the ferries here! The crossing was really pretty, particularly the last hour or so when you travel through Marlborough Sounds, so we sat on the deck the w...

Today was our last full day in the North Island. We had a lazy morning, watching the sun rise over the sea again. All mornings should start this way! We checked out of our hostel in Napier and headed to the supermarche to stock up our supplies. After breakfast on the beach, we left Napier to drive to Wellington. This took 6 hours with a couple if stops. First, Masterton where we stopped in the park for lunch and a quick walk. Next stop was Stonehenge Aotearoa,...

Today we woke up to a beautiful sun rise looking out of our hostel window... I missed it as was fast asleep, having woken up every hour thinking it was morning, but Jo said it was a wonderful sight. There's always tomorrow morning. Here we are at the end of the day, sat on the beach finishing off yet another subway (there are not very many appetising mid price range places to eat here!). The beach is stony and we learned today on our very own private wine tour t...