A week in Taupo via Wellington We sadly bid a farewell to our campervan in Christchurch relieved that we hadn't added to the numerous dents that it had when we began and headed to the airport for the short flight to the bottom of the north island and Wellington. Our ever expanding carbon footprint was added to further but we had very little option as coach travel was more expensive and the train only runs three times a week. We only had half a day in Wellingt...

Campervan: The Sequel Day 1: Christchurch - Pareora Collecting our 'Jucy' campervan in Christchurch was a much easier and far more pleasant experience than collecting our previous campervan had been. Equipped with enough headroom to stand up and a fridge, microwave and a heated towel rail we felt we were fully set…this is flashpacking. We took to the road heading south to Pareora, just outside Timaru where Rachel's parents (a friend of Jenny's) were waitin...

Christchurch After 7 weeks we left Australia to fly to New Zealand. A 6 hour stopover in Auckland airport provided some enforced downtime as we waited for our cheapie flight to Christchurch and the south island. We'll be back to do Auckland later in the trip. Arriving at our pre-booked hostel in Christchurch late at night shouldn't have been a problem except that they didn't have our booking. The ensuing discussion saw us refuse to pay for the wireless intern...