We have now reached Greymouth where rainfall is measured in metres not millimetres.

We enjoyed our trip down from Auckland with an overnight stay in Rotorua where we met an "old geyser". The golf course has hazards of hot bubbling mud pools and the town has a sulphurous odour. We took a float plane to get a better view of the geology and it was stunning.

After Rotorua we moved on to Napier, where we were taken on a tour of the Art Deco features of the town. This town suffered an earthquake in 1930 and was completely flattened and raised 2m plus above sea level. From this tragedy they gained some extra land which has proven to be a bonus to the growing of grapes in this region. There was a conscious effort made to rebuild the town in the style of the moment "Art Deco ", with very few exceptions this has been preserved to this day.

We moved on to windy Wellington which was not windy and was enjoying a heat wave. The following day we spent the morning in the museum before boarding the ferry to Picton. Picton is very small but we enjoyed our evening there.

Continuing on to Christchurch for an overnight stay and an early start to catch the train to Greymouth.