On our way out of Franz Josef we stopped at Lake Matheson which, on a calm day, reflects a perfect image of nearby Mt. Cook. We took a 2hr walk around the lake and snapped some good pics of the double-ended mountain effect. Later on we arrived at our accommodation in Makarora. It was only a short stopover before we arrived at our next main destination but the accommodation alone is worth a mention. We were in a tepee-esque 10-bed unit with a high, slanted roof. ...

I ended the last blog entry by pleading 'bring on some action!'. The maori gods answered my call in Franz Josef. It only took us a few hours to get there from Barrytown, but the drive alone was more dramatic than the previous three days. The road that we took is in the Lonely Planet's Top 9 Drives in the World and it hugged both the sea and mountains the whole way. It was spectacular, but nothing in comparison to the Torquay to Newton Abbot commute via Newton Ro...

A three hour ferry ride and a network of sweeping mountain roads brought us to the South Island and Abel Tasman respectively. Immediately after arriving in our new land the scenery changed dramatically. Same ideas but on a bigger scale. The Stray bus stopped at Nelson - a kind of 'funky' little town - to pick a few passengers up, one of them being Ally who we met at the Funky Green Voyager and again randomly up a mountain. He's a TV producer and worked on Blue P...

Just a short and sweet entry this time as we have had just a short and sweet stay in the big smoke. NZ's capital Wellington is also known as Windy Welly (because it's very windy) and Wellywood (because films are produced there). Fact! We visited the Weta Cave (by way of a 2hr walk) which is the company that contributed digital, prosthetic and miniature effects to the Lord Of The Rings, Chronicles Of Narnia, District 9, Brain Dead and a gazillion more feature fi...

We're back on the Big Orange Bus for the first time in three weeks and on the road to National Park. Before we got there the driver stopped and allowed us to walk down to Tawhai Falls. This is where Smeagal/Gollum splashes around trying to catch a fish in the Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers. Our first proper LOTR location visit. That wouldn't last long though. Our accommodation becomes a ski lodge in the winter but caters for backpackers and tourists througho...