"What do you fancy for dinner tonight Dan? We've got tinned mackerel, a Heinz Rogan Josh or I could whip you up a corned beef bolognese!!!?"
Dan licks his lips at the prospect of another sumptious campervan feed.

From the Catlins Coast we began the steady climb north into the Fiordland region and towards the massively recommended Milford Sound. The drive into Milford is said to rank as one of the best in the world, and is time is one luxury we can afford, we relished the fact that we could spend 3-4 days doing it, taking advantage of the magnificent camping opportunities along the way. Marvellously located free camps were found at the intrigueing Monkey Island - where we literally parked on the beach and took in prime ocean views, the historic Clifden Suspension Bridge - whose riverside spot offered unlimited fresh running water and one enormous bath if you could stand the freeze aches and Lake Te Anau - at the foothills of the stupendous Fiordland snowcapped mountains where the views alone are priceless. So spoilt we have become that a regualr overnight carpark or motorway rest area simply won't cut it anymore, tinned vegetables and reconstituted potato flakes have never tasted so good.

MILFORD SOUND
Take all of your pre-conceptions of what you consider to be 'scenic' and forget them all, this place rewrites the rule books and is quite simply more beautiful than any other place that we have ever seen. Upto this point New Zealand had been good, but the area in and around Milford Sound blew us away. If you come to New Zealand just once in your life, this place alone would make the trip worthwhile.
As you work your way through the winding roads into the settlement, sheer sided mountains meet you at every turn, innumerable waterfalls cascade all around you and pure turquoise fast flowing rivers plunder every valley. Believe us, if there was a God and he didn't live in Yorkshire, then he would certainly live here.
We arrived awe-struck and excited to see more, although were stopped in our tracks when the heavens opened and the heaviest rain we have ever witnessed soaked us to our skin, forcing us to seek refuge indoors. Only three buildings graced the town, inevitably, we chose the one labelled with the word 'pub'.
As it turned out, the downpour we were sheltering from would not stop until well into the night and made camping something of a challenge. Indeed, waders were required to cook our dinner on our single burner 'outside only' cooker. After almost 5 hours of constant downpour, we began to become concerned. We were in a town totally surrounded by water, the water levels were rising before our eyes, bursting banks at every angle and as far as we we knew, the lovebug wasn't equipped with land to sea amphibious technology. As scary as it seemed, the rain was probably the best thing that could have happened and we felt privileged to witness this majesty of a place during one of its torrential downpours. The already thunderous waterfalls and rivers were multiplied ten fold as water gushed from every possible opening across roads, bridges and anything else that got in its way.
The next morning, considerably drier, it was clear that we would be lucky enough to see the best of both worlds. As the mountain mist vacated the most glorious sunshine filled blue skies appeared - just in time for our frivulously pre-booked boat trip on the sound itself. If there's one thing better than Milford Sound by land, it's Milford Sound on the water. It's difficult to explain the feeling of insignificance you get from sailing along in full view of these enormous chunks of rock, the water reflects every image like a mirror, it's as if you're floating between two worlds. The photographs (to follow) simply do not do this place justice.

QUEENSTOWN
Tearing ourselves away from Milford was always going to be tough and we were filled with a sense of "how do you top that?" Simple - head for the adventure sport capital of the world and the region packed with more Lord of the Rings locations than anywhere else in the country. The search for MiddleEarth was about to begin...
Queenstown has it all - skydiving, white water rafting, bungee jumping, jet boating, paragliding - all set against the fabulous backdrop of 'The Remarkables' mountain range. Of course we weren't equipped financially to partake in any of the above, but much of the time just watching was fun enough. Also, we didn't want to waste our time jumping out of an aeroplane or dangling from a bridge on a piece of elastic, we had much more serious work to do. 'Official' Lord of the Rings tours take great pleasure in relieving you of great wads of cash in return for a lift to film locations in the company of a MiddleEarth geek. Lj saw no point in throwing away good money - she has her very own geekboy sat right beside her. So off we went into the fold, armed with nothing more than Dan's DVD special feature knowledge and a map. Although not totally straight forward, we found most of the locations easily enough. Many are instantly recognisable from the movies, others not so, although we have both said that the entire country could be one huge film set, so it's not that important that you pin point exact spots. Saying that, it's great when you do and of course each location is treated to a full re-enactment of the scene filmed there, complete with dialogue and music, courtesy of Dan.
So the first Lord of the Rings fix went well, but rest assured MiddleEarth has not seen the last of us - we will return.

Just now we are continuing our steady drive north, heading for the country's largest mountain - the 3754metre Mount Cook. Time to re-strap on the action sandals, there's gonna be some climbing.

To be continued...

Hope all is well with you all back home.
Will be in touch again soon.
Lots of love, Danny & Laurajayne xxxxxx