Day 9 Drive from Greymouth to Redwood valley (nr Nelson). We arrive at a beautiful house owned by the Toms - not a noise to be heard apart from the Tui, and set in 10 acres of land. We have goldfish, birds, a hedgehog and sheep to feed :) We settle in and top the day off with a BBQ and a couple of local wines - we've come to conclusion that we're not keen on NZ pinot noir - however there are plenty of others to choose from! Day 10 A nice lie in until mi...

Day 6Having been reliably informed the weather would be great on New Years Eve we plumbed for a morning of Kayaking - to Pigeon Island. So at 8am we were collected by a young guy called Sam who escorted us to the island. It was a peaceful and enjoyable way to experience the great lake, and Sam took us on an hour trap of the island, explaining about the flora and forna, mixed with a few Maori stories. Hot orange juice and cake on the beach before we paddled back. ...

Day 4 - Driving from Christchurch to QueenstownWow what a drive - 7 hours in total through some of the most amazing countryside.After leaving the main highway 1 - we branched into the centre of the country towards Lake Taekapo. More and more beautiful vista's and SJ at the wheel - we were having a ball! We arrived at the Lake in time for lunch - sushi on the lakeside (there are a LOT of Japanese/Korean visitors here!). Again a view to die for as we look at the So...

Flight Business class was wonderful - however a 12 and 10 hour set of flights certainly takes its toll when it's coupled with a stonking cold! We both arrive feeling shocking! Day 1 We arrived in Christchurch at 10am on Boxing Day however it was pouring with rain! It felt like we were still in London! Boy were get lagged. The hotel is great - and is Christchurch. Cliff wouldn't let me go to bed until after tea time so we had to venture out into the rai...

Day 3 and we are loving it! We started the grad tour with a drive from Christchurch down to Okains Bay to the Maori Museum - then ontoAkaroa. The countryside is amazing - we're taking routes off the beaten track to enjoy the scenery. Cliff is becoming a dab hand at driving the automatic car - he's also taken a liking to the windy roads! We've managed not to kill each other yet - so that's good - its slowly dawned on us that we have 5 more weeks alone together...