To get to Arthurs pass, we had to backtrack back past Christchurch 146 km west over the Canterbury Plains, working our way up into the mountains. This route is some of the most scenic in New Zealand - apparently nowhere else in New Zealand has the perfect climb from sea to mountains. This is where the famous Transalpine train crosses from East to West Coast. It was amazing driving through the snow capped mountains either side of us. We were really lucky as it had...

Akaroa, 82km east of Christchurch, is a popular resort town and charming French Settlement situated on Banks Peninsular. It is set in a beautiful sheltered harbour, overlooked by volcanic craggy hills. The name 'Akaroa' translates from Maori - 'Long Harbour'. It still has a French influence, reflected by many of the street names and architecture. The scenic drive to Akaroa was gorgeous; we knew instantly that NZ was going to be a place that we were going to love,...

We have really enjoyed our time in Christchurch. A great place to wean us into New Zealand life. Our initial reaction whilst arriving was how like England it was, later on finding out that Christchurch was founded by the British 158 years ago and so still remains the tree filled parks, meandering rivers, and many English looking buildings - with historical gothic style architecture. The main means of transport around the CBD was also by old school trams, which ad...