The most beautiful country we have ever seen, from pretty much every angle...

We started in the South Island and headed straight for the snow as we weren't sure how long it would last. We decided to head for the small lakeside town of Wanaka which was between two major slopes. It's different to European resorts as you can't stay up the mountain, so we got as close as we could in a camp site in another campervan that would be our home for another six weeks.

Wanaka provided a gorgeous lake and mountain setting where there are lots of beautiful walks, boat trips, cycling, and it's a really nice small town with good cafes pubs with open fires and breweries all of which we made full use of.

Chris did a days heliboarding and I enjoyed some fast runs (although some were a bit steep for my liking!). There are adventure activities advertised everywhere you go here, but we had a free ski pass with our camper van which would've cost more than the campervan itself, so we wanted to make full use of that. We hired boards then found out my Dad was coming to join us and asked him to bring ours over. Unfortunately Chris ended up on crutches the day before he arrived, with a suspected fracture, so it gave us a good excuse to be somewhere else for a while. We legged it back to Christchurch to pick him up a few days later and I was so excited to see him after nearly 8 months. As he'd done the top of the south island last year, and didn't have too long, we decided to take it fairly easy and see some more of the south island, but still wanted to get to use our snowboards if we could.

I booked us a night in Akaroa, a picturesque seaside bay and a beautiful place worth the hour and a half drive from Christchurch. We stayed at a lovely cheap hostel Halfmoon cottage in Barry's Bay and my Dad loved it. We had fantastic blue cod fish and chips just to make him feel at home and then had an easy day. Chris and I took a drive over the hill to quiet secluded Le Bons Bay where sometimes they have waves, but I think after dipping his feet in the water he was relieved it was flat calm on that day - it was absolutely freezing! We boughtsome amazing steaks from the butchers and cooked barbecues in the garden. The following day we decided to hire kayaks instead of just taking the dolphin watching boat trip, but regretted the decision after a couple of hours hard slog. My Dad and I had a tandem which was good fun, but Chris got the raw deal with his own heavy beast of a vessel, and the tide and current seemed to be working against us. No dolphins spotted, but it was a beautiful day and we made it back before dark feeling ready for more great home cooked food. Dad was happy to take it easy and stay in and we ended up getting well re-acquainted over games of scrabble! Enjoyed a more relaxing day in the sun and had a little cycle to a local dairy farm and bought a few treats for later. I made an executive decision that we had to move on as Chris and my Dad seemed like they'd be happy staying here for a long time! Dad had seemed to get over the jet lag fairly well so we headed across to the West Coast enjoying a nice scenic drive over Arthur's pass.

We wanted to see one of the highlight of the island in the form of the Fox & Franz-Josef Glaciers. You can get as close as you dare and it's worth the effort for at least one of them as seeing them close up is very different from the initial sighting as you drive there. You can hear the cracks and admire the different colours of rocks and ice, and even find a few sparkling treasures to take away if you can get them on the plane home (Dad did!). We had a lot of rain on this side and the vegetation was far more tropical than we expected along the windy Haast pass.

We then drove back down to Wanaka where Chris had to get his leg checked out again. The doctors weren't sure whether it was a fracture or not, but it seemed to be healing quite well with no need for crutches anymore, so we tried out the snowboarding again the next day. Dad and I were nervous of the drive up the gravel road, but enjoyed the outdoor open fire by the cafe at the top of Treble Cone mountain, admiring the fantastic views and watching the kea (tropical parrot) birds flying around searching for snacks.

When Chris admitted he really needed more time to let his leg heal, we headed for Queenstown, the only sizeable town we liked. Stayed at a rather odd man's hostel who didn't really seem to want our business but in the end was quite pleasant. There's a lovely wharf area, and jet boat rides are the thing to do from there so we all got macs on and set off at high speed, skimming over inches of water and narrowly missing rocks and trees. There's Lord of the rings scenery to explore if you're into that but Dad and I settled for the comfort of the chocolate shop which had treats to die for. Chris was more keen on the cosy pubs and we all enjoyed a first drinking out of ice glasses at the very cool Minus 5 ice bar. There are loads of activities on offer and when Chris heard that there was a hire canyon swing than the one he'd done before (the highest in the world in fact), he decided he couldn't not do it. Having been assured his bad leg would be well supported, he set off nervously excited and came back smiling with pictures as proof he'd made the big leap.

We all decided we'd like to go to the famous Milford Sounds, the beautiful fiordland area to take a boat trip. We drove ourselves the 5 hours to Milford but sadly the road was shut due to an avalanche which only happens about once a year - typical. We had lots of rain but tried to make the most of it taking in a few lovely short walks on the way. It had been a very long day so we took it easy after that, but time was running a little short.

We drove back up to Christchurch via Lake Tekapo, a stunning big blue glacial lake and one of my favourite scenes there. You can buy fresh salmon from one of the farms nearby and it tastes delicious. We stayed with Dad in Sumner, a Christchurch suburb for his last two nights, and the weather wasn't on our side, but we still enjoyed some lovely meals and more cosy chats around the fire in our hotel. I was so upset to see Dad go it had been really lovely to see him and I made him agree the next time he would try to come out just after Christmas so I won't have so long to wait!

Chris and I headed back to Wanaka where we did a little easy snowboarding before heading to the East Coast. We enjoyed watching loads of spring lambs prancing and playing in the fields and stopped many a time to watch them. Stayed in Dunedin for two days and again the weather was wet even though this coast is far more dry than the West. We visited the Cadbury World here and Chris got splashed by the 100 metre fall! Got lots of freebies to keep us going for a week or so too!

Then drove up to Moeraki, a quiet fishing village with a fantastic mainly seafood restaurant Fleur's I'd highly recommend, and it seems I'm in good company as there's a picture of a smiling Rick Stein who seemed to be in agreement! This is one of those towns you don't think exists any more but a beautiful place to stay reminiscent of Cornwall decades ago. Shag point nearby has seal and penguin colonies close to shore and some interesting looking houses - the whole area is like going back in time.

We kept heading north and stopped at Kaikoura where whale watching is the in thing. Unfortunately we didn't see any but we did get most of our money back and I think it's a very rare occurence so we were just unlucky. There's a seal colony at the end of the bay you can get really close to which made up for it and there was even a small pup sleeping in the bushes which was really cute. Nearby is the Point - a small farm where you can get intimate with some lambs and see a shearing! There was one tiny week old white one and two month old black ones that looked more like poodles than sheep! They sucked our fingers really hard before the bottles came out and the milk was gone in seconds! Just over the road from there is a great mobile seafood stall (Sun - Fri) and the crayfish is fantastic. Chris bought a bottle of sparkling wine and we sat out under a parasol as the sun went down.

We travelled up to Picton which is the port town to access the North Island. Not much going on here but some lovely walks to secluded beaches and the Queen Charlotte sounds is well worth seeing on the very bendy coastal drive to Havelock (the green-lipped mussels capital of the world - they're good but huge!).

North Island

We came up from South Island so you arrive in Wellington and faced with a big city and motorways we thought run as fast as you can!!! Luckily it doesn't last long and we were soon driving through beautiful countryside again with lambs prancing alongside. Spent a night camping in a middle of nowhere spot and cooked a nice meal before settling in for a quiet night, inside and out. The following day we made it to Ohakune, a resort town that's
busier in winter as it's near to three ski resorts. We've heard since leaving that the big Ruapehu volcano has started to smoke, but we were glad it didn't as the ski lifts have to shut when that happens! The nearby mountains are beautiful and the range is surprisingly big. We stayed at a campsite in Ohakune, the nearest main town, as there's a little life there and I needed to hire some boots. We spent one day in Turoa and one in Whakapapa which were bumpy but enjoyable and sunny. I did my first bit of off pisting at the end of the second day when we were both tired but there was some untouched powder and no-one around. We trekked up to the top of a small hill, then waited for some cloud to clear, admired the view, and sped down through the gulley and back to the piste - short and very sweet!

From there we drove up to Waitomo which was listed as must-see in the North Island, one of the main attractions being the glow worms you can only see in Oz and here. You can do a cave walk and boat trip to see them which is cool. Chris opted for the more extreme Black Abyss adventure I just didn't have the energy for after lots of snowboarding, but basically you abseil, rock climb and tube down an underground river for 4 hours after a little instruction in all of the above, and he loved it. He did however, appreciate the hot shower and soup they provided after along with the video playback of his activities! I enjoyed the walk and boat trip through the surprisingly low caves. The highest part is known as the organ as there are some pipe-like stalactites hanging down, and this spot is famous for it's non-echoing acoustics. We were treated to a group behind ours singing an Italian song to test them out, and it sounded very clear indeed! I had a bit of time to kill before Chris made it back, so went to see some huge fluffy albino angora rabbits at the Shearing Shed nearby - and yes you can see them shaved bald too!

From Waitomo we took the scenic route through to Kawhia on the coast, then up to Raglan. Every drive is beautiful here but after a month we were still awestruck. We stopped on the spur of the moment just as the sun was coming down and we had the sea to our left, the green rolling hills to our right, and decided to start a fire and stay the night which will be very memorable for being so peaceful and quiet. Chris' main objective in Raglan was to see the world class surf break, but it's a lovely coastline and quaint town to visit too so I was happy there and we even looked at some property adverts! Chris enjoyed the great long lefts and some good rides, and if he timed it right it was pretty quiet. He would quite happily have stayed but I dragged him across to see Rotorua and some out-of-this-world scenery again. There are lots of advetures to do here, but the main event is the natural thermal springs. You can see them at a park in town but it's worth the drive to Hell's Gate where you can have a mud bath and spa. Be warned though - the place stinks (of sluphur!). We treated ourselves to a night at Victoria lodge which was great with outdoor hot pools with each room.

Finally it was time to leave, and we'd had a great time exploring the country, feeling like there was more to come back and see, but that we'd made pretty good use of our time here. We were anxious about the prospect of new continent again and some very different cultures, losing the campervan that had become our little home, and not assuming English as the spoken language, but excited at the prospect of many new sights and experiences to come...