On 8th November we drove from Wanaka to the West coast of the South Island to see the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers. On the way we stayed at a place called Ship Creek (no we didn't have a paddle) where we did a swamp walk and spotted two dolphins surfing the waves! We then took a walk up to the Fox Glacier (yep, the one from the mint wrapper) and took a few pictures, but it was difficult to capture the sheer size and beauty of it. After an exhausting drive (there are a lot of maps to read) we went to some thermal hot pools, which were situated in the middle of a forest just outside Franz Josef. The following day we were picked up for our 'Helihike' - a helicopter takes you into the glacier and you hike out over a few hours. Sadly after getting all the gear on the flight was cancelled due to bad weather so we had to be content with the humour of watching a loud American who looked like a beach ball in a fleece trying to get back out of her water-proofs! Instead we drove to Christchurch.

The next day saw Adam enter the last year of the mid-20s....27 (shut it)! Mair had managed to buy some surprises and cleverly hidden the pressies in a place that Adam would never look...the cleaning cupboard in the camper van. We had a lovely meal and visited the museum as well as the arts centre. If that sounded like a cultured day, the next certainly wasn't....the New Zealand Cup...the Kiwi equivalent to the Grand National.

Mair looked beautiful in a black dress and sandals, Adam looked equally dashing standing by the principle that a smart(ish) T-shirt is a better option than a creased shirt, even if it is accompanied by dirty shorts and smelly flip flops. After arriving, the T-shirt looked to be a mistake as there were dresses and suits everywhere. No need to panic as beautiful dresses and smart suits were matched with white trainers, was this race sponsored by the Jerry Springer show?!

Anyway enough of the other attendees onto the important matter of the races. Adam gave Mair a considerable lesson in how to pick a good horse, she listened intently before announcing that she was going for The Fat Controller at 16/1 as her dad used to read Thomas the Tank to her all the time when she was younger (aged 19). Adam has a little chuckle and studies the form to pick a sure winner. Yep, 10 minutes later we are enjoying champagne in the sun as The Fat Controller has romped home! The afternoon continued in this successful manner and more winning drinks were consumed. We left the races on the bus (apparently) with an excellent free day out, but not the comedy sun burn which most of the other guests were sporting.

The following day we drove to Kaikoura and after taking it easy for the rest of the day, we embarked on a dolphin adventure. We took a boat 25 minutes out to sea and were rewarded with approximately 300 dolphins! Amazing scenes and a couple of brilliant photos to match. To toast our wonderful day we headed to the local pub to win the pub quiz. The team name of St George and the Dragon got the odd chcukle and even attracted the attention of an American couple who asked to join our team. As the rest of the world seemed to be enthused by the recent election it seemed a safe place to start. 3 hours later we figured that they voted Republican and wished we'd just asked about the weather. Incidently we came 5th in the quiz and gained a free round of drinks as our prize!

With slightly sore heads we drove to Picton at the top of the South island and took the ferry trip over to Wellington. The windy city lived up to its name with strong winds all day. The trip on the cable car gave excellent views of the city from the hilltop, especially the cricket pitch half way up! At the top the botanical gardens awaited and made an excellent walk down.

We left Wellington or Wellywood as the locals call it after the success of local director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings/King Kong) and headed to Napier, which was used as a stop off to get to Lake Taupo. Although most of Taupo was a lake due to the incessant rain it was still a beautiful place and early the next morning we had played tennis and been in the hot tub before breakfast! We drove to Rotorua via the Huka Falls; which powers 65% of the local area with the power of the water. We visited the natural thermal pools (picture above) that the area is so famous for and was a magnificant day despite the constant smell of sulphur. The pools were an array of crazy colours including lime green!

Today we drove to Waitomo caves but not before we learnt a valauble travelling lesson. If you come out of the shower in the mens and the floor is very wet DO NOT assume that the towel left on the side is to cover the wet floor. It may actually belong to the bloke who used the shower minutes before you and therefore conclude with an uncomfortable exchange of a very wet towel and a very angry man. This situation can only be made worse if said angry man has the camper van next to you. If in doubt, leave the floor wet and your camper van neighbours happy.

Waitomo caves were stunning. We took a trip through the caves with the darkness illuminated by the glowworms above. It looked like a starry night and not the maggot poo which we were actually looking at!

Hope you are all well. Thanks again for all your messages, they keep up smiling.

Lots of love

Mair and Adam xxx