This early start took us up to Paihia, a town included in my Stray pass which you usually have to pay extra for as it's right up the north tip of the N island. Rebecca and Annas pass also allowed them to go further up again for a day trip to Cape Rainga where you get a 4x4 across '90 Mile Beach' (which apparently is actually closer to 90km) and includes sand dune surfing and kayaking. I was a bit disappointed as I thought my pass also included this but apparently...

Next morning we were picked up by Dippy and were on route to Picton. Here we had to buy a ferry ticket to take us across to the north island and to Wellington. Rebecca was an au pair in Wellington for 1 year and so was looking forward to coming back and showing us around. Once on board we found an area with a tv showing films so made ourselves comfortable there. My plan was to watch the first film and then get up and explore the boat and go up on deck as it would...

We headed up to Kaikoura as we were staying one night here before an early departure to Picton in the morning to catch the ferry over to Wellington. Last time I was in Kaikoura we stayed in The Adelphi which in all honesty was horrible and like something out of Faulty Towers. Anna mentioned the hostel she was at in Kaikoura called Albatross was really nice and so we separated from the rest of the bus to stay there. I think the first time I was here I didn't reall...

After visiting the south we headed back to Queenstown again for one day and then the next stop was Mt Cook. At 3754 metres it is the tallest mountain in New Zealand and named after Captain James Cook. We were lucky that after driving through fog most of the day we finally hit a clearing and were able to see the mountain clearly. The Stray tour prides itself for taking people off the beaten track, and that it did with this stop as our accommodation was at the foot...

6th July = HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM! So Anna and I didn't get in until 3.30 am which was the worst idea we'd had so far as the bus to Milford Sound was at 6.30 urghh. We were all pretty ratty in the morning and to top it off Rebecca had borrowed a hairdryer and straighteners from reception and left her passport as deposit... but reception didn't open until 7!! Luckily there was a number we could call for a small callout charge which was a pain, but at least we got h...