Our last driving day in the van was going to take us from Wanaka over the Lindis and Burkes Pass, over mountains, and past the turquoise lakes of Tekapo and Pukaki to Christchurch our final stop in New Zealand.Packing up after our last night in the van was emotional, such a wonderful six weeks travelling round an amazing country. Trying to fit the contents of the van back into our two backpacks was no mean feat and an extra suitcase was needed to take the heated ...

As we awoke ready to make our way further south we were greeted by the one and only road to Wanaka being closed due to snow. With assurances from the locals that the road would be open by lunchtime, we set off on what would be one of the most picturesque drives of the trip. As the snow bounced down off the trees and a freezing river thundered below, the scenery got better at every turn. As we reached Wanaka, the fear of the road being closed long forgotten, we...

We had heard that the fiord land of Milford Sound was not to be missed, so we took our only coach trip of New Zealand leaving our camper van behind for the long drive west of Queenstown.On a map it didn't look that far but there was a huge mountain range in the way that had to be driven around first.We felt a little bit like sheep as we were shepherded on and off the coach at the "photo-opportunities" along the way, though setting off through snow covered pasture...

Any trip to the South Island wouldn't be complete without a visit to Queenstown, the adventure capital of New Zealand. Surrounded by the snowy mountains of the Remarkables, Cecil Peak and Walter Peak around lake Wakatipu, our arrival as the sun set in Queenstown was stunning. We followed this with dinner of a 'Ferg Burger' which is a local food institution, even getting a gluten free bun for Bee. The first morning started early with a jet boat ride on the freez...

As we made our way down the west coast the weather became ever more changeable. It turned out this was due to the weather coming into from the west, hitting the surrounding moutains and turning into rain. We knew that NZ was famous for it's changable climate but hadn't expected as much rain as we get back home. Apparently 5m of rain falls every year here. A night in Haast with gale force winds bashing the van in in all directions was a night to remember. It ...