After all the rain last night, good weather was not expected but luckily for us we had one of those perfect NZ days where there isnt a cloud in the sky and you manage to go a whole 12 hours without it raining! Drove down highway 6 and stopped off at a seal colony which was quiet cool, unfortunatly this is not the best time of year to see them though. Also stopped off at the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks for lunch which was great and some fantastic scenery all day. A...

Arrived in Westport in the afternoon, fairly relaxed day and not too much driving which was good with my hangover! To be honest Westport was a bit of a s***hole, there wasn't much there and we were told not to leave the hostel after dark as its not safe. It rained constantly as well! Went out for pizza as it was cheaper than cooking in the end and watched the rugby. Everyone decided to have a night off from the booze which was good. Sat with my cup of tea an...

Up early as had to get on the shuttle to get to the ferry but 7.30. Jo still in a mood so she stayed in Wellington another night while Nicole and I and the boys got on the ferry. It was really windy, so much so that I slid off my seat whilst asleep and Nicole was rather ill. Arrived on the other side and there were only 16 of us on the coach, compared to 51 on the N. Island which felt a bit weird. Stayed in a 'hotel' as they called themselves, really nice th...

Up early to go and give Buzz his bottle of wine, I picked the short straw and had to wander down the street in my pjamas at 7 in the morning. Went back to bed and had a good lie in as it has been the first day this week that we have not had to be up early to pack up and leave. Went with Nicole and Jo to get lunch which was nice. Then wandered over to the Te Papa museum which was really cool. Spent a couple of hours there until we were all a bit museumed out! ...

Bit of a boring day unfortunatly! A lot of travelling involved as left River Valley early to get down to Wellington for early afternoon. We ended up having Indian for dinner as no-one could be bothered to cook. It was probably the best meal we have had for the last week as we seem to be surviving on sandwiches, fruit and noodles. It was also our last day with our driver (Buzz) as we are staying an extra night in Wellington while he carries onto the S. Island so...