After our eventful n long drive up to Franz Josef we arrived, just in time for a power cut which also meant dinner was pretty sparse! We are staying in a tree lodge which satisfied my desire to be Tarzan n I guess that makes Bex, 'Cheethah'! Next morning we woke to brilliant sunshine with my body still aching n burnt! Perfect then for the trek up the glacier! We actually enjoyed the experience n as you can see by the pics the scenery is pretty spectacular. It ...

Since our time away we have definitely failed in some basic traveller 'don't do's! 1. We left with 2 suitcases,bought to be ideal travelling size. We now have the 2 cases,a new 3rd case,rucksack n bag! Plus we have sent back a box of stuff on a slow boat home and currently have a box full of clothes that we are about to also post home! 2. Don't underestimate the sun over here. We have both had days of bad sunburn despite being tanned. Factor 30 is needed when...

There is so much to do in Queenstown,bungee from both the original(Kawaru River 43 Metres) n biggest (Nevis at 134 metres) in Australasia, parachute off the mountain, jet boat across the lake or ride the rapids. So, we have had a lovely 5 days relaxing,eating delicious food,drinking Sauvigion n genuinely taking in the incredible n beautiful scenery. We have a great hotel with a pool,gym n room all overlooking the beautiful Lake Wakatipu so vast,clear n turquoise...

Day 3 in NZ and things were already turning into a disaster when we went to pick our car up and the office was closed. Was yet another public holiday for the zealanders! Do they ever work!! Yes I know that's a cheek coming from us! Panic struck as we had a 7 hour drive to do to Queenstown so we went to an all day breakfast place for a huge full English to contemplate what to do! Well after a palava we got the car and finally set off at 3pm! We needn't bother aski...

After dragging Bex from what was certainly the most comfy hotel bed of out trip so far at 5.30 am, we took the 9am flight to Christchurch, New Zealand very sad to leave Sydney. What a difference NZ is! It felt like we had stepped back in time to an English country town in the 1930's. Red telephone boxes n village greens, statues of Queen Victoria n church bells ringing...we were both expecting Miss Marple to walk round the corner. It is very beautiful with ult...