Today it was time to do something we haven't done for 3 months…pack our rucksacks! So, after breakfast and showers, we started the difficult and annoying task of fitting everything in! We've bought a few souvenirs in NZ and some clothes, so I ended up throwing a few things away. We also had a pile of books we'd collected from campsite libraries, that we hadn't got round to reading yet. Dave had a pile of around 10 books he wanted to take, but there was no way ...

Today, we set off to our final stop in NZ - Spencer Beach Holiday Park, where we also stayed on our first time around the South Island on 13th September. On the way, we stopped for Laura to phone Amanda using our last $2 of credit on our NZ sim card! We then stopped at Countdown for some food supplies and McDonalds for a coffee and a cake and to use their free wifi, although it wasn't working very well - same thing happened last time we tried it in a McDonalds -...

Today it was time for us to relax, after a hectic 3 days of watching videos! After breakfast and internet time, we parked up in town and paid the $18 each (£9) to get into Hanmer Springs Pools, plus $10 each so we could go on the water slides! Inside is a range of relaxing pool - from aquatherapy pools (35°c) to rock mineral pools (35°c+) and the steaming hot sulphur pools (45°c+!). There are also normal pools to relax in, plus a lane pool for swimming in, an...

Today we drove into Christchurch centre, unsure of what we'd find after the earthquake in February. As we got closer to the city centre, we saw lots of building that had either been destroyed in the quake or damaged and demolished since. There was lots of building work going on all around town and traffic was diverted away from Cathedral Square, the centre of town and the epicentre of the quake. The entire area was sealed off with high metal fencing - it looks l...

This morning we woke up to the sound of rain on the roof of the van. We waited until it sounded like it had stopped before running to the showers - it hadn't! We packed up in the rain and ate our breakfast sheltering under the back door of the van which was open. As we were getting ready to go, Laura closed the back door and soaked herself in the water that had collected on top! First stop of the day was the I-Site in Blenheim as we didn't have any South Island...