Back to city life! It\'s Christchurch easing us back into it before we head back home on Monday. We\'ve just returned from Kaikoura, a gobsmacking wildlife haven. We did the whale watch and saw 7 sperm whales, each bigger than the 16m boat we were on. We were accompanied back to shore by a school of Dusky Dolphine, perhaps 300-400 of them, all swimming around the boat. It was a scene that cannot be put down in words. The fact that they have \'relations\' with eac...

Hi all So we are now in Lake Tekapo in the p**ing rain! Never mind. Its far too wet to even consider doing any walks so in sheer desparation this morning we went to feed the mental salmon in the salmon farm. By mental.. I mean hungry I guess as they were all jumping out of the water everywhere! We went to deer park heights a few days ago and the weather was awesome. The views were amazing. Very Lord of the Rings esque! In fact quite a few of the scenes were f...

We\'re now in Queenstown after a couple of days at the glaciers of Fox and Franz Josef. We got lucky with a couple of breaks in the weather to get some decent views though all scenic flights were grounded due to low cloud. Bit of a shame as we were hoping to do a trip. Instead we did it on foot, walking up to the ends of both glaciers and doing a walk round Lake Matheson. This is the lake where most photos are taken for postcards... we did our best at our impress...

We've just returned from the Abel Tasman National Park following the compulsory wine tasting in Blenheim after sailing to the South Island. We had a cracking tour with Ray, a 75 year old local who knew his stuff. A few sips of nice wine round the way were had by all involved. After that we headed up to Abel Tasman National Park. It is a must see. We took a walk around the coast followed by a few sun-downers on the beach front. The photos will follow! The scenery ...

Regarding Jane's last entry in my defence the lure on the fishing rod was twisted and the fish weren't hungry!!! We're now in Taupo, extreme activity capital of the North Island. It has rained solidly all night and all day so far so most things are off!!! There is a finish post for some endurance running event in the park opposite, the clock is still ticking at 27 hours. Since the last entry we have travelled down from the Bay of Islands. We stopped off at t...