We drove from Kaiteriteri in the Abel Tasman National Park to the glacier region, stopping en route to enjoy the ravishing Hokitika Gorge where milky blue water flows through a steep-sided ravine. The colour of the water derives from glacial flour and is truly spectacular.

The glacier region is also awe inspiring. We stayed at Fox Village and in the evening went for a walk called the Minnehaha track through rain forest. In day time it is lovely but at night it becomes magical because many of the tree trunks are covered with glow worms (like the ones we saw at the Waitomo caves) and create a beautiful 3D effect very like a Christmas tree.

The next day we went for our glacier walk, properly equipped with crampons and climbing boots. It was surprisingly easy to walk on the ice and although Roger had a few slides ,nothing sufficiently serious to necessiate a Roger roll (for which the family will be grateful)!. We did almost have a domestic when he slipped while we were posing for a couple photo and caught hold of me for support - I was not very understanding I am afraid to admit! We really enjoyed exploring the glacier with lovely views and some interesting crevasses and holes. Given a choice of guides Roger insisted on joining a group led by an American girl known as Dora, so that he could tell Evie that we had been on an adventure with Dora the Explorer.

After lunch we set off for a 5 hour drive from Fox to Queenstown because we were keen to meet up with Julie and Nigel. Being unable to locate any radio signal at all we started to play "I know who I am" in order to keep Roger awake. We had got quite into the game until we realised that it was totally unnecessary because we started to drive through some of the most breath-taking scenery I have ever seen. NZ must really be the most beautiful country in the world. We drove for miles through the Haass pass and across the Southern Alps with no sign of human influence. The lakes were totally pristine with never a boat or B&B to be seen, the mountains were towering and the valleys steep and we hardly saw another vehicle. The roads were a nightmare of S bends and steep drops (particularly the last bit over the Crowne range which is the highest road in NZ) and Roger had no trouble staying awake!

It was lovely catching up with Nigel and Julie, swapping travellers' tales and exploring Queenstown together. Having Julie along meant that I got to look at some shops without Roger getting fidgety!

We took the gondola up to Bob's Peak for lunch and walked round the tracks enjoying the views over Queenstown.

Today we took a leisurely cruise around Lake Wakatipu. The captain must been a frustrated estate agent because he regaled us with information on the house prices and the various suburbs and architectural designs in evidence around the lake. Apparently both David Bowie and Shania Twain have properties on millionaire's row. "The Remarkables" form a dramatic backdrop to the lake and are famous as the mountains of Mordor.

The rest of the morning was spent checking out every bar in town in an attempt to find somewhere which was showing the England v Wales rugby match - all in vain - so Roger insisted on phoning ahead to the next port of call in order to assure himself that we would be able to see the recorded match there. We will thus have to spend tomorrow in total news blackout and woe betide anybody who lets the result slip!

This afternoon we took a fantastic jet boat tour. The drive to the canyon for the jet boating was nail-biting - the Kiwi driver threw the minibus around an unmade road with sheer drops on either side of many hundreds of feet and entertained us with poor jokes and repartee such as "Why was Cinderella no good at football? Because her coach was a pumpkin!

The jetboat ride was great. Once Roger had managed to get his life jacket on the right way round and worked out which strap went with which buckle (which took a while!). The boat flew through a steep canyon missing the rocky sides by millimetres and scraping the bottom of the boat on the bed of the river. I must admit that I screamed loader than anyone else (including a 7 year old German girl and two twenty something Aussie Sheialas). It was indeed exhilarating. Part of the canyon we jetted through featured in Lord of the Rings in the scene when Arwen summons up the river to wash away the Nazgul.

Tomorrow we head for Te Anau and Fiordland and hopefully enjoy watching England secure the Grand Slam!