We've been in South Island for about a week now and have covered a lot of ground. The journey across from Wellington to Picton was very scenic, through Marlborough Sounds, and we think we may even have seen a penguin in the water. Picton had a pretty quay so we stopped for lunch on an old sailing boat, before driving off to Cloudy Bay vineyard for a quick tasting or two. We stayed in Pohara, in Golden Bay, just short of the Abel Tasman National Park, where we planned to do some walking. We were a little bit far from the centre where most of the activities are available, but ended up having a great couple of days.

The first day, we drove to Marahau and got a water taxi to Bark Bay, in the National Park. It was the best taxi ride we'd ever had; our skipper drove us around a seal colony, up a river and around some of the local sites that we wouldn't have had a chance to see otherwise. And then the walking began! We did about 23km in 5hrs - lots of beautiful beaches and views - well worth the blisters. The next day, we drove the other way to Farewell Spit, a long stretch of sand (longest in Southern Hemisphere) with lots of seabirds nesting. Had a really good walk there along the beach. On the way there I had a small choking fit as a weasel suddenly appeared on a grassy bank to our left and leapt into the air! Rob nearly had to stop the car but I managed to pull myself together. Celebrated New Year by the beach watching the stars, just the two of us. Pretty different to new years past, but nice all the same.

The next day we had the long drive to Kaikoura. Anyone doing this drive should try and stop at the Ohau Point Seal Colony about 22km north of Kaikoura, as we did by sheer fluke. You get to see a colony of about 100 seals, and we were lucky to see lots of pups as well, all splashing around on the rocks and in the sea. Absolutely loved it! Kaikoura itself is a really nice town. Most people are there to whale watch, but you could do worse for places to rest while you wait for your trip. Our boat trip was unfortunately cancelled, giving us the excuse to upgrade to a helicopter ride for just a few dollars more which was amazing! We'd never been in one before, so there was the novelty of the ride, as well as seeing 6 sperm whales out at sea - really good trip! We stayed in Ducky Lodge hostel, with fantastic mountain and sea views, as well as hot tub and pool - not bad for a hostel!

The next day we travelled to Mount Cook - the last of our long drives, 520km. We had gorgeous weather for most of it, with only a quick stop in the small town of Geraldine, where it was 28 degrees C; time for a quick legstretch and a pie only. Moving onwards towards Mount Cook it got gradually colder and wetter, with lightning, storms and a temp of 10 degrees when we arrived! The YHA we stayed in and the views we had over the next couple of days made it all worth it though. It was beautiful. We met up with an old friend from Uni, Phil, for a few days and did lots of walking and, in the evenings, eating. We ended a 5 hour walking marathon by running 2km back to the hostel, in a desperate attempt to reach it before they closed the kitchen for cleaning. All we had to eat was toast so it was hard to stop cracking up and actually run when I thought about the effort we were putting in for a few slices of bread. They were some of the nicest slices I'd ever had however, after that walk. We treated ourselves to an (all you can eat) buffet in the evening, in the posh hotel at Mount Cook, the Hermitage, which was well worth it. I think the rest of the guests had a slightly more reserved, mature attitude to the buffet; ours was more about how many plates we could come back with and how much we could try! The rather elusive Mount Cook also made a spectacular appearance while we ate, making it a pretty special day all round.

So that's it for now, as we head further south, to Wanaka and Queenstown. Happy New Year everyone and hope you're all Ok.