We knew we'd arrived in the ski-ing heartland of NZ because everything was suddenly expensive and posh and new built and not like the NZ i'd come to know at all. Wanaka was really lovely and was obviously benefiting from a boom in the tourist industry. There's some stunning properties by the lakeside and lots of developing going on. We really liked it there although we didn't get up to much (too achey from the glacier hike). It does seem as though everything ...

We're in Wanaka now. Had a very long drive from Franz Josef but we stopped off at Lake matheson and were lucky enough to see the amazing mountain views in perfect weather. Thank you God! Not doing much except spending a few days recouping from the craziness of the last 10 days. x

Very reluctantly and not without a fight, we left the farm and drove down the coast to Franz Josef. We were very excited about climbing the glacier and Dan had even hoped to go up in a helicopter to see it and land on it from the air. After much deliberation and soul-searching (and bank balance searching) we decided that going up in a helicopter was the 'f*****'s way' and we'd muster up the courage to climb the b*stard from the bottom up! HOO-HAH! Hardcore! ...

We drove through Lewis Pass and more murky weather to the wild frontier of the West Coast (Gold Country!), unsure of what to do or where to stay. We had arranged some WWOOFing but hadn't planned to go there for a few more days. WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) is a scheme whereby travellers can help out on farms in return for bed and board. There are literally hundreds of farms throughout the country and it's pretty much pot luck whether you'll find some...

The cloud had descended as we woke in Kaikoura and prepared to hit the road again. We drove into the Southern Alps but were only treated to sporadic views of the mountains through the white mist and gloom. Hanmer Springs was lovely and very alpine and we stayed at a great little hostel called Le Gite. It was very cosy and felt like someone's house. Our room was nice but the stay was marred by their bread machine waking us up at three in the morning knead some f*...