The smell of rotten eggs hits us as soon as we open the camper van door. That and the steam escaping from the ground are signs that we've arrived in New Zealand's volcanic heartland. New Zealand sits astride a major fault in the earth's crust where the Pacific continental plate is sliding under the Australian one. That accounts for the earthquakes that regularly occur and in the centre of North Island, around Rotarua and Lake Taupo, generates some intense geo-...

It's funny sometimes, isn't it, how you get a song in your head that seems to have come from nowhere. For the last couple of days I've had one by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters running through my brain: 'You've got to accentuate the positive Eliminate the negative And latch on to the affirmative Don't mess with Mister In-Between.' It appeared in 'The Singing Detective' by Dennis Potter and has, apparently, recently been covered by Paul McCartney on his ...

That was how the site manager greeted us when we booked into the Wellington Motorhome Park, just after getting off the ferry from Picton. And you can see what he means. The park is situated on the waterfront, right in the middle of the City. It's a bit like camping on the Quayside in Newcastle. It's little more than a glorified car park equipped with electricity hook-ups and a shower block. But it's very convenient. 5 minutes and we can be standing on Wellingto...

Well it probably isn't but this is our last day on South Island and everyone says it's much better than the North. And we have had a fantastic time. Often we'd think 'well it can't get better than this' and then we'd turn a corner and it did! The scenery has been just fantastic. The wildlife has been wonderful. The food and the drink has been superb. The campsites have been great - and all of the toilets are clean and always have toilet paper - even the public on...

We have arrived in Kaikoura (pronounced Kaicoda) under sunny blue skies after two days of rain. Kaikoura is a stunning setting. Tourquoise blue sea backed by snow capped mountains and black sand. It would be possible to ski here in the morning before joining the surfer dudes in the fully macking double overhead corduroy to the horizon. But most people don't come here to ski or surf. They come to take part in various cetacean related activities - whale watching a...