We've been walking today in Abel Tasmen National Park. Got dropped off by a motorboat and waded ashore. Met there by a friendly dog that was happy to play 'fetch' with a large pine cone. A really good couple of hours walking through fantastic scenery followed by a relaxing time on the beach. Just finished off the day by having a couple of budget pizzas from Dominos in Nelson (£2.50 each).

The temperature has warmed up again which meant it was a perfect day for another day's mountain biking on the Queen Charlotte Track. The blue sky meant that the views were spectacular (see photos). Also picked up our South Island hire car, a white 4WD monster (or Toyota Highlander, 3.5l V6 engine)! Apparently this was all that was available as we were a day early - or at least that's the story Mark's sticking to! It has 16 cup holders! Staying in Nelson toni...

Took the water taxi this morning at 8:00 with the mountain bikes to get to the start of the Queen Charlotte Track - a long distance single track walking and biking route. We did about 15 miles today (and lots of ups and downs) and have now arrived at our overnight stop in Portage resort. Also saw some little dolphins on the way. Seems to have been a bit of a mix up with our booking so we have been upgraded to a room looking over the bay (see photo). For about ...

Caught the early morning ferry to the South Island. The two islands are only 15 miles apart but the crossing takes 3.5 hours because the boat has to manoeuvre out of Wellington Harbour, across the sea, and down through the Marlborough Sounds. It's meant to be one of the most spectacular crossings in the world when the sun is out, but it's also pretty good when it's cloudy (apart from the hour of heavy swell in the open sea). Staying in Picton at the moment. I...

Spent the day in 'windy' Wellington. Took the tram up to the Botanical Gardens, and then went to the cinema (as we were feeling a bit lazy and weren't in the mood for museums, etc). Rented a nice dual bike for a little trip around the seafront. Quite a fashion statement it was too! Think we'll stick to mountain biking though. Going to watch the fireworks on the harbour front tonight. Seems a bit odd remembering Guy Fawkes in New Zealand, but I guess it's a go...