Hello,

The last blog took us up to the ferry crossing over the Picton on the South Island. Since then we have decided to belatedly name our van Ruphus (notice the spelling). So if you see a reference to Ruphus you'll know it isn't some vagrant we've picked up along the way.

From Picton we drove to Nelson and before checking into our camp had some of the best fish and chips we've ever tasted (and I personally have tasted more than most). It did take 45 minutes to cook (which was unheard of at Clifton Fish Bar!!!) but was worth every minute, plus it was the perfect length of time for a drink over looking a little harbour. We then went on to Tahunanui beach resort where we stayed for the next three nights over New Years. This particular holiday park was a city of its own, absolutely huge and we finally realised where all the 12-18 year old Kiwis go on holiday. For the next couple of days we explored the Abel Tasman national park and the famous Golden Bay. The first day we spent on the beach at Kaiteriteri and booked up a water taxi (the only form of motorised transport allowed in the park) for the next day. The next day the extremely fast water taxi took us a few beaches up the coast, via some fur seals, and we were left to wander back to the pick up point for four hours or so. This was probably the best way to see the park and the various idyllic beaches you come across on the way. We saw New Years in at a bar in Nelson whilst the rest of the cities population wandered about horrendously drunk.

New Years day saw us take a long drive down to the glaciers (Fox and Franz Joseph) on the West coast for a couple of nights. We satyed in a holiday park in Franz Joseph and drove to the Fox glacier on the first day for some stunning views and a walk right up to the terminal face. On the day we checked out we were planning on visiting the Franz Joseph glacier but the weather got too bad so we headed through the mountains to Wanaka for the next two nights.

Wanaka was a lot like Taupo but had a much cooler feel about it. There were less families and more younger people with a great bar and cafe culture. The lake is gigantic and we only walked around a tiny part of it. We basically relaxed for a bit here and Wanaka is probably our favourite place in New Zealand. We were also lucky enough to find an oven at the holiday park and being British cooked one of the best roasts I've ever had, sorry mum but it must be because I been without for so long!

The next leg of our road trip took us through Queenstown onto Te Anau, which is the launch pad for the Milford Sound area. From Te Anau we drove up to Milford Sound (which is actually a fjord not a sound) along one of the best roads yet, in terms of scenery. This only whet our appetite for the spectacle that is the actual fjord. We jumped on a cruise ship and set off to the sea and back having a guided tour of the epic glacial terrain aswell and seeing some more fur seals and dolphins.

From the peacefulness of Te Anau we went onto the bustling city of Queenstown framed by the Remarkables mountain range and another lake. In fact, I think every single settlement in New Zealand is on a lake. Anyway, Queenstown is the home of the bungee and I duly parted with my money to take on the Nevis 134m bungee in the middle of a canyon with Alex looking on from the cable car. Mind numbing fear pretty much sums up my feelings on the matter but I went through with it and hopefully theres a video up showing the event. Alex decided being a spectator was exciting enough, although after we watched another much smaller bungee into a river the next day admitted that she reckoned she could do it, suspiciously just as we were leaving Queenstown!

That day we had a mammoth 8 and a half hour journey across to Akaroa, which is a tiny little French village on the coast South of Christchurch. Whilst I was doing a sterling job of sleeping in the passenger seat Alex spotted a salmon farm just off the road set in the the very opaque blue waters of the lakes in the area, coloured milky because they are fed by melt water from the galciers. We got a couple of huge salmon fillets harvested just that morning (which tasted amazing) and set off again. We passed the mighty Mount Cook and the gorgeous lake Tekapo before we got to Akaroa. Yet again the landscape managed to surprise us and we drove over the surrounding rolling hills into this little bay as the sun was starting to go down feeling very lucky.

The next couple of days we explored the little port and brainstormed about all the travelling we are about to do to Fiji and Indonesia and beyond and came to the conclusion that we have got very used to our creature conforts again. We are now in Christchurch taking a deep breath and stocking up on various supplies before we fly out in a couple of days time.

So this wraps up New Zealand, which we have both thoroughly enjoyed. It's difficult to sum up in a few words because there is so much diversity here but take a look at the photos and hopefully the two blogs relay what we have been lucky enough to experience. Last thing to say is that Ruphus has been a star, although a tad cramped and constantly too cold or too hot and only a radio that picks up precious little and a great thirst for petrol and an ability to pick up mysterious dents and chips he has been the best way to see these two islands!

Thanks for reading, it may be a while before the next blog, but we will try and keep you informed.

Love Alex and Tom xxx