Our time in the South Island is coming to a close and it's hard to believe that we are half way through our total trip. We made a short journey of about 110k today to our final campsite just outside Picton where we will spend two nights before catching the ferry over to the North Island. We had planned to meet up with our friends Gordon and Karen here but unfortunately they have had to return to the UK due to a family emergency and our thoughts are with them to...

Today we visited the Abel Tasman National Park, we took the ferry from Kaiteriteri beach to Totaranui it makes about five stops each way. On the return we got off at Anchorage Bay where we spent an idyllic afternoon swimming in the Tasman Ocean, another superb location. The ferry picked us up four hours later for our return trip to Motueka. We finished off the day in the spa with a cocktail. All in all a great day.

15th January we made our way towards Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph Glacier. On route we made a 96km detour for lunch. We were recommended to try the Craypot fish restaurant at Jackson Bay. The food was superb well worth the detour. We had Rig and Gurnard with chips which we shared. We arrived at Fox a Glacier in full bright sunshine but unfortunately this changed overnight and we were only able to see a small amount of the glacier the next day. We then moved on t...

After totally relaxing yesterday in the sunshine we decided a bit of adventure was needed. We booked ourselves on to the Shot Over Dart jet boat ride. What a great experience skimming across the canyon only feet away from sheer rock in a 700 bhp twin engine boat. The boat can easily complete 360 degree turns and on one occasion completed 540 degree turn. Jan didn't quite realise what she was letting her self in for and came off the boat a little shell shocked. ...

We were very pleasantly surprised this morning to find clear skies and everywhere starting to dry. We made our way to the cruise ship which left at 9am for a one and three quarter hour cruise. Milford Sound is smaller than Doubtful Sound but no less spectacular. At one point the Captain placed the bow of the boat under one of the cascading waterfalls, a free shower for everyone on the top deck. We took photos on the camera so unfortunately can not upload them t...