After a delayed ferry transfer we arrived at Blue Lagoon Beach Resort and were greeted by the friendly staff. After a quick introduction by Mary about the resort we were able to check in and grab some lunch from the restaurant. First impressions of the resort - I thought Manta Ray Island Resort was great, this was even better. We were pleased to see we were in an eight-bed dorm without bunk beds. This is defiantly a luxury as a back packer!! There were eight sin...

Time for some sun! We arrived in Fiji and the heat hit us as we walked off the plane. This is what New Zealand was missing. Through security we were greeted by a lovely lady who pointed us where to wait for the driver to arrive to take us to bamboo where we were staying for one night. On check in we bumped into Christine who we met on our Whitsunday tour in Australia. That evening caught up with Christine and enjoyed a couple of drinks as the sunset. With an ...

We had a long journey ahead to get back to Auckland. We stopped in Taupo for the night but this time instead of staying in Base we stayed in Urban Retreat which was so much better with free wifi and a cheap bar we couldn't complain. The following day we stopped via Rotorua and visited Rainbow Springs Nature Park which has it's own Kiwi Bird sanctuary. I learnt a lot about Kiwi birds and the importance of the Kiwi bird conservation. Most kiwi chicks don't surviv...

Kaikoura was the last of our destinations we were visiting for the first time. We crossed the cook straight and headed back into Wellington for a couple of nights to catch up with James who we had left in Wellington on the way down south. James had been doing some farm work north of Wellington to earn some money before continuing on the Kiwi Bus. Kathy, James, Sam and I headed to the Weta Workshop for a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how Weta create some of the...

Kaikoura is one of New Zealand's top nature tourism destinations. This is based on year-round whale watching, dolphin experiences and spectacular scenery - a peninsula of wild rugged coastline, between the Pacific Ocean and the snow capped peaks of the Seaward Kaikoura Ranges, rising to 2600m and forming a dramatic background for the marine life that is often seen close to shore. Resident sperm whales are the main attraction, but there are at least another eigh...