Hi guys,

We thought we would do a summary of New Zealand like we did OZ but before that we thought we should finish our NZ adventure.

We are writing this as we wait for first of 2 planes to get us to Kuala Lumpur but as the internet is very pricey it might not be uploaded for a few days. We have got a 6 hour wait here in Auckland then a 4 hour flight to Melbourne before a 7 hour wait then fly to KL eventually getting there at 9am local time on Saturday. So this is a good way to kill time.

When we left you last night we were just going out for our final meal in NZ. We went down to the restaurants in the local area of Mount Eden and found ourselves a restaurant and bar that specialised in Belgium beers and Mussels; a rather strange combination but it also showed highlights of the champions league games so I was pretty sold on the idea. The food was amazing we ordered ourselves a kilo of steamed mussels and calamari + a few additional bits to share. After our dinner which we defiantly over ordered slightly we went downstairs to the bar for some well deserved drinks and celebrated our great time in New Zealand. We hadn't spent all of our fuel budget despite driving nearly 1000km more than we thought we might… so had a little extra beer money J

Anyway a quick summary of our time in NZ…

KM driven (in Diana anyway) = 3615km

Days Travelled = 19

Best day = (M) Swimming with Dolphins in Kaikoura then wine tasting in Blenheim… (K) First day driving over Arthurs pass from Christchurch to Hokitika then chilling on the beach.

Worst day = (M) None, loved it… (K) Day after doing the Tongariro alpine crossing due to serious aching!

Favourite Meal = (M) Birthday dinner in Christchurch… (K) Last night's mussels and wine

Favourite Place = (M) Jackson's bay… (K) Queenstown

Worst place = (M) Wellington… (K) Rotoura, smelt of bad eggs

Boxes of wine = 1 - and as it was only 5%, quickly ditched

Bottles of wine = far too many to count

Favourite Beverage = (M) Speight's Summit Lager… (K) Grove Mill Riesling (by the bottle-load)

Modes of transport = 8

Best Scenery = (M) Milford Sound… (K)Lake Matheson, the mirror lake in our pictures

Favourite activities = (M) bungee jump and balloon ride… (K) Paragliding and dolphin swimming

Things we liked about NZ….. Sunshine; pretty scenery; lots of sheep bizarrely in straight lines; walking ('tramping' as it is known here); lots of adventure stuff; fergburgers; Diana; cheap braeburn apples; really cheap prawns (for dinner); hostels with hot tubs; the wine; basically the whole south island.

Things we didn't like….. Pesto (no idea what they did to it but it tasted of sambuca); choice of crisps; radio stations (inc. DJs, adverts galore, too much Bruno Mars); Auckland's 15min weather cycle; trickery surrounding 5% boxed wine; Wellington.

We're off to the Grand Prix on Sunday…should be good!! Only 20 something hours til we get to KL……….

Love Martin and Katie