Thursday - We drove from 'Queenstown' to 'Twizel' in the centre of the South Island today as it is a good base to visit 'Mount Cook'. We first drove up to "The Remarkables" ski area and got a stunning view back over 'Queenstown'; the lake, snowtopped mountains and hills. Then we drove to 'Glenorchy', round "Lake Watatipu", which was a quaint little "Goldrush" town situated on the lake. From there we then drove through 'Arrowtown' which was also a "Goldrush" town,...

Tuesday - It was a 2h journey from 'Te Anau' to 'Queenstown' along straight and bendy roads, but the weather was good so the drive was not all that bad. The scenery again was wonderful, especially as we drove along the edge of "Lake Wakatipu" which was very very big! The sun broke through the clouds and so the hills reflected really well in the water. We reached 'Queenstown' and checked into "Bugil backpackers", $17 a night and a really nice hostel. It has a good...

Sunday - Today we began the drive across to 'Te Anau', on the southern west coast of 'New Zealand'. We took "route 64" across the country through 'Gore' and 'Manapouri'. The scenery was stunning, clear blue lakes shimmered in the winter sun and the snow capped mountains ran alongside the roadway. "Lake Manapouri" was especially beautiful, we managed to catch it just as dusk was falling and so had the sun providing really colourful skies. We reached 'Te Anau' afte...

Friday - Well at 7am this morning Annie went and met her "Kiwi Experience" bus to start her trip. Then at 9am Neeley and I were met by the man from "Quality Car Rental" and we went to pick up our car! It is $18 a day with full AA cover and insurance - which is very good. We have got a Nissan Sunny '98 which is automatic and in a beautiful shade of white. We then filled up the car with petrol ($1.29 a litre - very cheap) and set off on our journey to explore 'New ...

Well I arrived safe and sound in 'New Zealand' today (Tuesday). We took a flight from 'Cairns' to 'Auckland' on the North Island and then flew down from 'Auckland' to 'Christchurch' on the South Island. We only had a slight delay on the domestic leg between "Auckland' and 'Christchurch' but apart from that the flights went well. Well it is fair to say that 'New Zealand' is bloody cold!!! It is about 5C-8C during the day and about 2C at night. A bit of a chan...