New Zealand was a bit of a change from our trip so far as we hired a car and set off to explore the country. This of course meant that we got to stop off at some of the more unfamiliar and slightly strange sights, and meet some equally "individual" characters. Brendan loved catching up with Sam Lovejoy, the DJ at heritage FM, who was in the middle of playing the Sound of Music soundtrack end-to-end for his afternoon radio show when we dropped in. We both had a blast at Puzzling World, especially being stuck in the maze for over an hour. And, there is nothing we now do not know about the "highly rewarding but very tedious" world of book restoration.

There were, of course, also the extreme activities that we fully threw ourselves into … so to tick them off the list we did … jet boating, a luge, a 15,000ft sky dive (amazing!!), a bungy jump (well Brendan did!!) and white water rafting.

We also set off to explore some of the famous scenery and national parks. One of the highlights for both of us was the three days that we ditched the car, hostels and good food, for the comforts of a kayak and the our paddle power to explore Abel Tasman. There was nothing quite like waking up in the morning sunshine, packing up all our belongings and setting off for a day on the water, kayaking alongside seals, stopping at deserted beaches for lunch and deciding where to rest up that night. Of course it wasn't all that idyllic as we also had to contend with the New Zealand weather as they headed into winter, cooking freeze-dried meals in the dark (who forgot the torch!!!) and constantly being damp.

Finally, we continued to add to our wild life spotting (and attempted picture taking) with sealions, seals, dolphins, Sperm Whales, Albatross (massive), etc.

It was great to have a bit of home-from-home before heading onwards (and be able to speak English!!)