Stayed in Nelson which is over towards the Abel Tasman National Park. I really liked Nelso, it does not get much press but as soon as I arrived a knew I would like it. Its a pretty small town with not a huge amount going on but there is a port and mountains, loads of small shops and everyone appears to be happy and full of life. On arriving I was just planning what to do as an 'independent traveller' when I met up with the group from the Magic bus again. I ...

Took the ferry from Wellington in the North Island to Picton in the South Island. It started off as a beautiful sunny afternoon with great scenery, but during the 3 hour crossing the weather turned so that by the end the waves were crashing over the boat and you could not see more than a few yards in front of you. Arrived in the sleepy village of Picton which really is only there as a port between North and South Islands. Not much to do in the town but I heade...

Finally arrived in Wellington and it is not called the windy city for nothing!! If I had hair it would be a nightmare!! It was blowing a gale the whole time I was there. It is a really nice city with some lovely views and gardens. It is pretty compact so you can get around it really easily. Took the cable car up to the Botanical gardens and there are some great views of the city from up there. Spent best part of a day in the museum (Te Papa) which is fantastic. I...

Last three days were spent travelling down from Auckland to Wellington. Decided to change bus companies and this time travelled with Magic buses. Stopped off at Waitomo where they have black water rafting in caves filled with Glow Worms. It was pretty good, did a bit of crawling through pitch black caves getting through 2 foot holes in the rock...was a bit of a squeeze!! We then settled into inner tubes which kept us afloat as we made our way through the water ...

Just had a great 3 days travelling around the Northland of New Zealand. Travelled on the Stray bus network and immediately met up with a really great group of travellers. A couple from the UK, a Swiss, a couple of Canadians, a German and two New Zealanders. We all hit it off immediately and that carried on for the next 3 days. We headed up to the Bay of Islands which is a beautiful bay with about 140 islands which we had a boat trip around. The idea was to...