Finally landing in Auckland, 2 days later than planned, we took our connecting flight to the south island of New Zealand.

At this point we were raring to get kitted up and hit the mountains to get some snowboarding in. Thankfully the weather was amazing with clear blue skies and fresh snow, perfect conditions for the slopes.

The last time both of us were on a snowboard was 4 years ago and in all honesty, we weren't brave enough to go it alone, so we booked 3 lessons with the hope that we'd be doing jumps by day 4! We were really surprised and proud of ourselves as after 3 days/ 21 hours on a snowboard we were both confident boarders, going on the advanced runs and whizzing past the beginners with a smile on our faces! No matter how good you are though, when you fall, you fall hard and after 4 days we were more than ready to hang up our snowboards and relax again.

Well, not quite relax. From Queenstown we hired a 2-man camper van, our home for the next week. Unfortunately it was winter in New Zealand, hence grey, wet and bloody freezing. Being true Brits we didn't let this hold us back as we trundled around in our little van, over and around the majestic mountains of the south island. Our first stop was Milford Sound, supposedly one of the most beautiful places on the planet, when you can see it. Unfortunately for us, the weather closed in and we couldn't see 5 feet in front of us or above us, the tour boats were cancelled and the one and only access road was closed behind us. We were stuck, for 2 whole days. The fun of the camper soon wore thin once we were hostages in it. On the 3rd day we could finally leave, a convoy of 15 cars all driving to freedom, hurrah!

Once back on the road, we headed up to a town called Wanaka, set on the shores of Lake Wanaka and surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Here we made the most of the sporadic sun and completed numerous mountain and lake walks, relishing in the scenery and fresh air. As our time in New Zealand was relatively short, we tried to squeeze in as much of the sights as possible, so from Wanaka we drove north to the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers. The winter weather followed us and for 3 days it rained constantly, but we managed to see the glaciers and the thunderous rivers surrounding them. Driving around New Zealand provides a truly magical experience with some truly beautiful and breathtaking landscapes, comparable to Wales but magnified 5 times over!

After 2 weeks in the south island we flew to the north island and drove north to a small town called Ngunguru, nestled on the Tutukaka Coast. Here we stayed with friends, Karen and Alex, who treated us to some yummy home cooked food, took us to some beautiful beaches and provided us with great company for 3 days. James celebrated his 29th birthday on a deserted beach, drinking beer and playing bouls on a warm winters day, bliss. After 3 days it was time to leave so we drove south and back to Auckland where we spent 2 days with our friend Deb, who proved to be the perfect host, taking us to beautiful beaches and great restaurants in the capital city.

3 weeks in New Zealand flew by and we took our final trip to Sydney, Australia. Our 1 year working holiday visas kicked in and the pressure was on to find work and somewhere to live. To our surprise and relief, after 2 weeks we had both landed jobs, mine a 6 month contract, James a 3 month contract, and had moved in to a lovely little flat in a great location. Our Aussie life seems to have taken shape relatively quickly and we appreciate that we're incredibly fortunate to be here, earning money at last and enjoying working life in a different country. We'll definitely be in Sydney until March 2010, enjoying the Australian summer, sunbathing on Bondi beach and eating fresh seafood every day. Our travels are on hold but our journey and experience continues, and we're loving every minute of it.