Nic writes…

After leaving a slightly rainy Queenstown and saying goodbye to my parents for the last time before they headed back to the UK, we drove north to the eastern side of the Southern Alps. When we visited the western side of the Southern Alps (to see the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers) the weather was miserable and we barely saw the mountains, so we had our fingers crossed. Luckily, the weather was beautiful, which made the glacial blue lakes and white mountain peaks even more of a spectacle. This area of New Zealand is also famous for star gazing, but unfortunately we were there during a full moon. Instead we settled for visiting the observatory during the day, enjoying the earthly views and the delicious cake!

We left the Alps and had a very long drive to the north western coast of the South Island. Due to the mountains, the road network isn't as direct as you would like it to be, so we had to drive to the eastern coast before we could make our way back west. After an overnight stop to break up the drive, we reached the famous Abel Tasman national park where we set up camp for a few nights.

Abel Tasman is on the coast and is 'the place to go sea kayaking'. We therefore obliged and had a great day on a guided tour, kayaking amongst seal pups and some awesome scenery. As this was the last item we had on our South Island to do list, it was time to head back to the North Island.

As soon as we reached the North Island, the weather turned and we had a few days of torrential rain. Our original plan was to walk the Tongariro crossing (the most famous one day trek in NZ) as soon as we got to the North Island, but the weather made this impossible. We consulted the guide books and decided to visit Waitomo caves, some of the biggest caves in NZ, known for black water rafting and glow worms, and not weather dependent.

As we have found with most tourist attractions in NZ, there are many, many operators offering you very similar, but ever so slightly different tours. Waitomo was no different. After flicking through leaflets and reading online reviews, we decided to do the cave tour that included an abseil into the cave, zip line in the dark, black water rafting (think lazy river/tubing in the dark rather than white water rafting), and climbing up a couple of waterfalls. I was pretty apprehensive to start with (despite the tour being my idea) as we were warned the water would be really cold, but it was great fun. The best part of the trip was seeing the glow worms. It was pretty special to see such a huge number, although slightly less special when you remember they are fly larvae and the 'glow' is a result of their excretion process!

We kept a very close eye on the weather and as soon as we saw a promising spell, we did the Tongariro crossing. As it turns out, every other tourist seemed to have the same idea and the trail was very busy. Nevertheless, it was a spectacular trek and we got great views of 'Mount Doom' of Lord of the Rings fame (this reference was somewhat lost on me).

We then drove to Rotorua, a region of volcanic activity with many steam vents, bubbling pools of mud and a strong sulphuric smell. The area is also rich in Māori culture, so we spent a few hours learning about the history in the local museum. We found it a little difficult to follow as it wasn't always that clear what was true and what was myth (and we suspect that history and myth is so intertwined that no-one really knows the full story), but it was very interesting.

Our last few days in New Zealand have been spent on the Coromandel peninsula, in the North. The area is very beautiful and we have enjoyed several walks in natural forests, beside open gold mines and along beaches. We also tried to visit Hot Water Beach (where there is a hot spring under the beach so when it is low tide you can dig a hole in the sand and have your own little spa), but there were so many people there we didn't get a chance to go near the hot water so, to us, it was just 'beach'!

We have really enjoyed New Zealand and the scenery has been amazing and so varied, but the weather has had a huge influence on our views of each region and trying to be in the right place at the right time has involved some pretty major drives. We chose to travel in the 'shoulder season' as we thought it would be cheaper and less crowded. Whilst the latter is probably true, as we have camped relatively often and cooked nearly every night, I'm not sure it has been much cheaper. If I came back, I would probably accept the big crowds if the weather was a little more guaranteed. I would also probably give the 'one last go' on the mountain bike a miss too!

Tomorrow we travel back to Auckland and sell our camping kit. On Saturday we fly to Fiji for ten days of relaxation (yes, I know we've not exactly been stressed, but travelling is tiring, honestly). We have all of our accommodation booked and nearly all transfers sorted. This is unheard of, but all down to Rich who has spent a long time researching Fiji (probably to counteract my researching of Florida….)! After five weeks of a cooler climate, we can't wait for some warmth.