The REALLY Beautiful South West Wow..... WHAT A COUNTRY!!! For those who received the photo of our campsite this morning with the mirror reflection of the mountains in the water, you will know exactly what I mean. The view this morning was incredible and it has been a beautiful day. This is going to be brief because we have so much to go and do and explore. This evening we are going to head back North to Franz Josef to try our Heli Hike tomorrow morning again a...

Grounded..... Down but not Out!!! Evening..... Bit of a downer to start the day today. Our helicopter trip to the top of the Franz Josef Glacier was deemed unsafe to fly due to the ongoing rain and cloud. We were offered an alternative of a half or full day hike but considering the weather, we decided to cut our losses. We will be passing through that way again before we fly to Fiji and so may try again then.  Until then, the weather forecast says the bad weat...

The misty mountains Kia Ora, We woke up after a looooonnnngggg night battling the rain and the wind. Sarah did not sleep well-hence getting up at 9.15 and leaving the campsite late - 10.03! Opps. we decided to drive down to the famous glaciers - franz josef. Apparently amazing drive as the mountains get closer.......unfortunately, we couldn't see sod all mountains - cloudy and rain! It went on for a good 16 hours and is still going on/off as we sit, post BBQ, ...

Come Rain or Shine The show must go on whatever the weather and this is very much a tale of two weather patterns. We were told to expect that the South Island could offer 4 seasons and to be prepared for it. Well, it's a good job that we did!! Let's start with Spring...... We awoke Saturday morning and used the wifi at the camp to assure family we are still alive before heading off towards the Abel Tasman National Park on the North West of the South Island. The...

The Beautiful South What can I say so far? She's a perfect 10? Enough about Sarah.... Let's get onto telling u what we have been up to.  Busy as always, we awoke yesterday and headed straight for Wellington.  We stopped by a couple of LOTR film sets on the way and then spent a few hours in the city before heading onto the Ferry to cross the Cook Straight to the port of Picton on the South Island. The ferry crossing was awesome and the scenery as you arrived i...