We were up earlier as we needed to return the hire car and be at the airport by 7am. We woke to the news that the volcanic ash from South America had caused the cancellation of Air New Zealand flight from Hobart to Christchurch. Great we thought, we're going to be stuck in NZ. A quick call to Air NZ though confirmed our flight was still going ahead. Turned out our flight was slightly delayed as the route had to be changed to fly further north and at a lower altit...

No snow overnight :( but still a cold start to the morning. We had to scrape ice off the car before we could get going. First stop was to the lookout overlooking Lake Tekapo and the surrounding mountains. Gorgeous views but boy was it cold up there. The puddles of water in the gravel car park were iced over. The first part of our drive today the landscape was brown and looked rather barren but that soon gave way to the green rolling hills of patchwork green dotte...

A cold morning in Queenstown but still no snow. After a final walk beside the lake we loaded up the Toyota six seated and set off for Lake Tekapo, about a three hour drive. The landscape along the way was pretty brown. The first few kilometers out of Queenstown we drove past grape vines but that changed to sheep fields. You really notice the change of seasons over here in the trees with many of them changing colours or having lost there leaves. As we neared Lake ...

Another beautiful day in Queenstown. Much colder today. The locals aren't happy as there is no snow and therefore a lot less tourists. The guy who drove us to the airport for our Milford flight yesterday said it snowed in town on 7 June last year, whereas it's the same time of year now and no snow on the ski fields. What a great morning though for paragliding from the top of the gondola. Which is what Laurie, Deb and I did this morning while Bob, Col and Beth wen...

What a magical day. We took a light plane flight from Queenstown to Milford Sound. Amazing scenery flying through the Southern Alps, the mountains were so close. Not a real lot of snow about but the higher mountains have a nice sprinkling. Arriving at Milford we were met by Rosco from Milford Kayaking and got kitted out ready to hit the water. I must say we looked an attractive bunch in our striped leg thermals and kayak skirts. What a great way to experience Mil...