We stated the day with a morning run along the banks of the Shotover River. We met a couple of men who were about to explore a tunnel that had been built to divert the river to gain access to the gold on the river bed. The tunnel however didn't work so now it is used by thrill seekers as a water ride.We returned to check on the weather for our trip to Milford Sound. We had been debating for a long time whether it was worth driving there, staying nearer the lo...

We survived the night and apart from two tent people who arrived in the dark and were gone early in the morning, there were no other strange happenings. Low mist and cloud spoilt our views when we started our journey but soon dispelled with the heat of the sun. We are finding that we are having more stops on our journey as there always seems to be a viewpoint or something interesting to see. One of the best stops today was to watch the bungy jumping, no we didn&...

We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning, so Lake Tekapo looked stunning. We decided to walk up the nearby Mount John where the observatory is situated . The views from the top were pretty spectacular. A runner had passed on the way up but walking was enough for me. We departed for Mount Cook passing some pretty amazing viewpoints on the way, the long drive was well worth it, being so close to the snow capped mountains. The largest glacier in NZ the Tasman Glacier w...

We survived the first night sleeping in a campervan so that's OK. Awoke to a grey morning in Christchurch. Decided to quickly see the city centre although we were warned that it was still a site of devastation after the earthquakes 3 years ago. It was very sad to see the cathedral half standing and it is now a building site but a temporary shopping centre in shipping containers had some lovely shops. We headed out of the city and quickly were travelling throu...

An early start saw the sunrise over Melbourne . The flight to Christchuch arrived late afternoon having lost a couple of hours . After picking up the campervan (which is very cosy), food shopping and sorting ourselves out on a campsite, there was not much time for any exploring . The weather here is not quite summer although the grounds are covered in flowering roses which suggests that summer should be here. Anyway, the nice man at the van rental has given us ...