Greetings to anyone still reading (mum?) So after our hobbit inspired walk, we pushed on north past Auckland to some more great beach camping and the 'Bay of Islands' where we took to the water on an overnight boat trip. As we left the harbour fishing lines were cast. This is the first time any of us had fished and we were all full of confidence and bravado as we cast off. An hour or so later it was clear that Pete's bait was all wrong and he'd been stood in th...

Leaving the magnificent South Island behind us we headed … well North. Our first stop was Tongarino National Park for a hike across Mount Doom. Now a few years ago not many people had heard of New Zealand, then a round bearded chap rocked up with some hobbits and filmed the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy here. As a result you, like Frodo and Sam, can walk up and round the volcano that actually was and I guess still is the famous Mount Doom. It was a great walk, ...

After the adrenaline of bungee jumping and canyoning we decided to slow things down with a stroll across a glacier and a kayak through a national park. We could go on about these at length using words like amazing, spectacular and incredible but I think there's only so much of that you can take? Instead I'll dwell on some of the more obscure and interesting things about New Zealand. First up the cows. Now, New Zealand is of course famous for its sheep but to be ...

Hello once more, Well the four of us have been clocking up the miles in our trusty campervans and it's been a hectic and fun old time. We think we have found a new hobby: the sport of canyoning. Canyoning involves getting dressed up in wetsuits, harnesses and helmets then navigating your way down a river/canyon by any means possible (abseiling, sliding, jumping and swimming). Our guide for this fun day out was an enthusiastic kiwi - Bronwyn - who would cheer ...

Just a quick entry this one. The main news is that we have now been joined on our travels by Katie (Pete's sister) and Iain. They will be with us for the next three weeks. They also have a campervan (no we're not sharing that would be a little creepy) plus their van has a fridge which is ace. Our first stop with our new companions was Mt. Cook. Named after Middlesbrough's most famous son (no not Pete but Captain James Cook), Mount Cook is the highest mountain i...