This morning we were due to go on a 2hour trip to see some dolphins. When we went to pick up our tickets we were told they had cancelled the trip due to the strong wind. It was incredibly windy. Instead we had a look around Akaroa itself, a very pretty place with a big French influence. The gardens of the houses are beautiful. It being a Saturday, there was a small craft market and a farmers market on. We had been told that a road trip round the rim of an old ex...

Ready to leave Blenheim wondering what this inland road would be like. Stories of wing mirrors being pinged off,potholes, and loads of trucks. Well it wasn't that bad, Certainly not UK style. It was pouring with rain when we left, but as the first 40 miles or so were just grape vines, scenery wasn't being missed. By lunchtime we had climbed into the hills and as the scenery improved so did the weather. We were travelling to Akaroa which is on a peninsular east of...

This morning we were picked up and taken a few miles down the road where we were kitted out with bikes and helmets. Our guide was called Rachel and we were off to visit 3 wineries. The cycling was of no consequence as the distances were short and the ground flat. Our first stop after a ride of about 1.5k was at Framingham where they had a beautiful rose garden. We sampled 5 of their wines starting with Sauvignon Blanc, which is the wine this area is famous for. I...

Goodbye North Island we have throughly enjoyed our stay. Hello South Island. Today we were up early as we had to be checked in at the ferry terminal by 7.45am. The car had to be topped up with petrol and returned to the Rental folk at the dock. It was a bit crazy there as there were no parking spaces left and no instructions as to what to do with the keys. Eventually sorted it out and boarded the Interislander Ferry. This is as big as the cross channel ferries ...

Wellington - capital city of New Zealand. Great place, it is compact and built around a large harbour where all kinds of boats are anchored. As usual we have walked our legs off. First around the town, then we took the cable car up to the topside of the towns botanical gardens. At the top we learned that there are around 400 private cable cars in the area. People building houses on high ground put in a private cable car then they can get all the building supplie...