Queenstown, well to be honest I didn't spend much time here but did join in what it's known for...drinking although I didn't have the time to explore any of it's extreme sports that it's also known for. I initially arrived in Queenstown 31 May for a quick night, arriving late afternoon checking into Nomads hostel which was a busy place and a place the Kiwi Experience guys stay at. After a stroll around the pretty down and down to the lake and grabbing some food...

Most people do Milford Sound in a day and on a strict timescale, a 3 hour bus journey to Milford Sound, followed by a 1.5hour cruise and then the bus back. This approach didn't appeal to me and it seemed a lot of money for hardly any time at Milford Sound. I researched and found a hostel in Milford Sound and a longer cruise for a good price first thing in the morning, so decided to do a night there. I jumped on a early morning bus to Milford Sound and the drive...

As with all the journeys through the South Island of New Zealand, the trip from Nelson to Franz Josef was a stunning journey that hugged the coast before dipping into the mountains before arriving at Franz Josef. Along the journey we stopped for lunch at Dolomite Point where we had time to walk around and see the Pancake Rocks, the rock formation of the coast that gets it's name from looking like a stack of pancakes. Once at Franz Josef, the bus conveniently s...

The bus took me off to my next town; Nelson. The scenery on the journey is amazing and was lovely driving through the wine region of Marlborough, famed for its Sauvignon Blanc (one of my favourite wines). Fascinating to see how they try and cope with heavy rains and hail but erecting huge tarpaulining sheets over the vines. There was a brief change of buses halfway, where I ran into Nellie; whose bus had also pit stopped in Blenheim. Once arriving in Nelson, it s...

It was dark and freezing when I arrived at Kaikoura but on a plus the bus stopped right outside my hostel; Fish Tank Lodge. The lady on reception was lovely and friendly and the place definitely had a fish tank theme in the lounge area. I dumped bags before heading out for some food, in the way of a fish and chip shop. It was so cold and I was seriously under prepared for it so I headed back to the hostel for a decent night’s sleep. I chose the bed next to the ...