On leaving Methven, it was already getting on for five in the afternoon so we knew we wouldn't be making it very far before we needed to lay our heads and nor did we want to in case we missed any great views in the dark. We made a rough plan to make our way to Wanaka, arriving late the following day. The first leg took us to the tiny town of Fairlie where we decided to free camp the night after grabbing a take away fish and chips.

The following morning we headed further inland and as we climbed further into the mountains and out of the sprawling Canterbury Plains the scenery was rapidly changing. The centre of the country is one of small mountains and lakes. The lakes in particular are renowned for their spectacular turquoise colouring, apparently caused by a particular sediment in the water. We got our first breathtaking look at Lake Tekapo and then Lake Pukaki, stopping at the numerous lookout spots to take it in.

In Tekapo we had a look at the local ice rink and found ice hockey training in progress. It was great to watch, so we sat there for a while contemplating whether to take a spa bath in the attached thermal pools. Hard decision I can hear you saying! But actually we chose not to, as it was a little pricey. The afternoons drive through the beautiful scenery took us eventually to Wanaka, which sits on Lake Wanaka, funnily enough. We had heard about Wanaka from a couple of friends Nick and Sandy (who we met in Moorea) who where spending the entire ski season there whist working in a local hotel and snowboarding in the nearby ski fields. We knew there would be plenty to do there without it being a complete party place like legendary Queenstown which is only an hour away. We found a camping ground to stay at then went to see Nick and Sandy at the resort as we knew they were working. Unfortunately it was a busy night at the bar there so we weren't able to have more than a brief chat. We left them to it to go in search of a meal then back to the van for the night.

The following day was Sunday, the 14, my 30th birthday…eeek! I was awoken by Paul who was eager to give me the presents he'd had wrapped and hidden in the van for a week. I received a box of Belgian chocolates - yum! - a bottle of Diamonds perfume - lush! - and a really nice hooded t-shirt. Oh, and a beautifully written card of course! I also got some lovely email messages and a couple of texts. Since it was a gorgeous sunny day we decided to get a picnic together and head off for a walk. The climb around and to the top of Mount Iron (more of a hill really) cleared the cobwebs we enjoyed our lunch with a great view from the top. In the afternoon I decided I wanted to clean the van, which we did before we drove to the lakeside where I took a nap!

I knew we where going for a meal at the best restaurant in Wanaka, the Botswana Butchery then on to the Cinema Paradiso, so I got dressed (and perfumed) up before we walked into the town. We had a lovely meal in the relaxed restaurant, I had duck and Paul had lamb and it was excellent. At the one screen cinema we chose one of the many sofas to sit on, including one in an old Morris Minor. We watched Tropic Thunder which was brilliantly funny. The best thing about the cinema is that they always stop the film for 20 minutes half way through when you can get a pre ordered meal or have a freshly baked warm cookie or icecream. All cinemas should be this way. Even though for the first time since we left the UK I was a little nostalgic for home, I had a really great day, thanks to Paul.

Monday morning and we knew exactly what we were doing. Paul had spotted a place called "Puzzle World" just outside of the town and he just had to go there. We turned up and paid to see both the illusion rooms and the maze. The illusion rooms had three separate areas. The first was full of hologram pictures that looked like they where coming out at you and changed as you moved in front of them. The second was a room walled with famous faces that gave the illusion of moving and following you around the room as you moved, it was quite strange. The third room was on an angle yet everything looked level according to the eye. It had a pool table that when you put the ball on it, it looked like the ball rolled up-hill into the pocket. Very weird and a little unsettling!

After we had re-combobulated our brains from their distinct discombobulating we took to the maze. The challenge was to get to the 4 coloured turrets in the corner. You could either do these randomly or in a specific order. If you took the ordered option you could be in this maze for up to 2 hours so we went for the easier path. The maze was over two levels with connecting bridges and lots of dead ends but eventually we got to all the corners and out of the maze in a respectable 40 minutes. All that was left to do was jump in the van and head south for Queenstown.