The windows are down; the music is blearing and were on the open road in our camper named Denise. The Windows then go back up as it is winter and the story of how the camper became Denise is as follows: One night in Queenstown during the Winter Festival a lady called Denise was on stage announcing the guys entering the Top Bloke competition, she started shouting as if she was in a pantomime, "Where are you, where are you?" So there you have it a very short version of how Denise the camper got her name. We have done so much driving and seen so much we can't mention everything but here are some highlights.

Our first night camping was on the road to Milford Sound, we arrived in the dark and set up camp in what we thought was a DOC (Department Of Conservation) camp site, which normally has a horrible toilet, no showers or power but are very cheap. We had dinner and set the beds up. Danielle got the short straw and had to sleep up the top. She got in and found that her legs were hanging off the end, we told her it would be fine and she got into bed. During the night it got really cold and condensation was dripping on Danielle's face she was freezing all night and only at 4.30am did she decide to join us! In the morning we decided from then on we would all sleep together as it is so cold. When we pay for power its fine as we have a little heater. We also realised in the morning that we were not in the proper campsite, we were in a museum car park! We left early enough so no one realised and we didn't have to pay!

After seeing Milford Sound and on the way back we stopped at some look outs. We pulled into a car park and Stephanie said 'look at that huge bird,' I couldn't see it properly so I got out of Denise and went round to have a look, I got really close to see it was a Kea bird. It had a really big claws and a huge beak, I got even closer when it turned on me and started chasing me round Denise. Stephanie and Danielle were still in the camper laughing at me, I then managed to jump back in the camper without being attacked, but it wouldn't leave. It was still standing by my door when we decided that we were going to drive on, however two coach loads of tourists came in and the Kea found some other playmates.

We then headed to the Catlins and started looking for our next chosen DOC campsite, we wanted to get there when it was still light but didn't manage to as it took us ages to try and find it. I was driving and Danielle was navigating she told me to turn right and go up this little road, because NZ is all countryside and you can drive for miles without seeing anyone and that the DOC campsites are always out of the way and down a gravel road, I didn't think much of it. When we drove past a letter box with a name above it we then started to think we had gone down the wrong road, sure enough we came to a house, the only way to go back down the road was to turn round. So there we were doing a 7 point turn in someone's front garden when we looked over and there was a couple staring at us from their kitchen window looking very confused, needless to say we made a quick get away! After more gravel roads and no campsite we decided to go back to the town which consisted of a pub and café and ask for directions. We stopped at the pub, Stephanie and Danielle went in while I waited in Denise. When they walked in it was like a scene from a movie, all the locals stopped what they were doing and stared at them. After explaining our situation the man behind the bar told them he had a powered campsite behind the pub! We drove in but couldn't find the post where we plug the camper in. We drove round the toilet block when we realised we had gone past it, I reversed the camper, started to go forward when Denise wouldn't move, she was stuck! After a few more tries Denise was well and truly stuck, Stephanie and Danielle had to get out and try and push. It was our second night and we couldn't believe we had to already get out and push! Denise still wouldn't move so Stephanie and I swapped, with more muscle behind and a run up Denise was on her way again. When we woke up the next morning and went outside we realised the damaged we had caused to the grass, once again we made a quick get away! That morning we had our breakfast on the beach we were the only ones there and the view was amazing.

The next destination was Dunedin aka Dunners. We went to the Cadburys chocolate factory were we had a heated discussion about NZ chocolate vs. England chocolate. During the tour of the factory our tour guide Jo would ask us questions and then throw out chocolate treats. However she kept giving them out to the children even though we answered the questions right! It was then our mission to be the loudest and get the most chocolate, after Stephanie got one she punched the air and shouted yes, everyone turned and looked at us!

We then headed to Mt Cook we stayed in another DOC campsite so we didn't have power. We went for a walk to see Mt Cook and then we went back to the camper for dinner, the walk was really icy and Danielle slipped over, because it was on a hill she couldn't stop herself and kept sliding! That night it got really cold we couldn't sleep properly so we got up really early to get a good start on the day and to warm up. Stephanie made the silly mistake of going to the toilet to clean her teeth, the water made her so cold she came running back to the camper shaking with tooth paste on her face, she looked possessed, and it looked like she was foaming at the mouth! She could hardly speak and she thought she was going to faint, we had to sit her down, wrap a blanket around her and give her a sick bag!

Our next place was Franz Joseph we didn't do the glacier walk but we did manage to walk right next to the glacier it was really amazing to see and to read about it. While walking back we stopped for a snack, a man came over to us and told us we are not eating yet and that our lunch spot is over there. We all stared back at him with blank faces when he realised we weren't his students on the school trip he was leading!

We then drove along the West Coast which is one of the worlds top ten road trips, it was really beautiful. We then cut across heading to Christchurch, on the way we stopped at Hamner Springs. We were going to go in the hot pools but it was the school holidays and they were really busy so we carried on straight to Christchurch, for Sunday night ready for my three day birthday celebrations. We stayed in the Christchurch campsite for 4 nights and we managed to only pay for two people which was great otherwise it would have been really expensive as we had to pay for showers. Every time we drove in and out I had to always hide and if we were walking, as the city centre was really close I had to pretend I didn't know the girls! For my pre birthday celebrations we did the walking tour around Christchurch, went to Wagamamas for dinner and then had tea and Timtams in Denise.
MY BIRTHDAY: The day started with Denise being decorated with balloons and banners while I was in the shower which was lovely. We then went to Starbucks for coffee and cheesecake for breakfast while I opened my presents and cards. We then went on a tram ride around the city centre while the driver gave us an informative talk about the city. We got off the tram at the Arts centre which we had a tour around and then we made our own necklaces at a bead shop. The next stop was the botanical gardens where we went punting on the river, we had wine while on the boat and I got to have a go at punting. I was not very good and ended up turning the boat around 360 degrees, Tom our guide then took over. After punting we had our picnic in the botanic gardens and then went for a walk. We were walking along when two people jumped out shouted surprise and started running towards us. It was Sally and Lucy our friends from Queenstown, they kept it all quite and planned the surprise behind my back! We then had champagne and went back to the camper to get ready for the big night out. When we got back to the camper all my favourite food was laid out, we had a party in Denise and then headed out, first for cocktails and then to an Irish bar for some dancing. When we got to the Irish bar there was a rock band on stage, Stephanie then thought it was a great idea to request Beyonce! Danielle was at the bar when a guy asked her whose birthday it was; she then replied by shouting across the pub "Kimberly, Kimberly this guy wants to buy you a birthday drink." I shouted back Oh lovely and came running over, that's when the poor guy had to buy me a drink!
I can't reveal all the details of my birthday night however, Jagerbombs were a flowing courtesy of other people, Cathedrals steps were blessed with some sort of holy water, Jagerbombs made a different sort of appearance with chicken cordon bleu and some beds were overcrowded! Enough said!!
The next day was painful for all of us more so for Danielle who had to stay in bed all day. After a spot of shopping we had to say another sad goodbye to Sally and Lucy. I had such a great three day birthday the girls made it really special and we all had so much fun.

The following day we drove to a place called Kaikoura to do a two hour costal walk but instead we wanted to see the fur seals on the rocks. After nearly giving up we then saw 1 and then we saw loads more. We then saw a baby one doing tricks in a rock pool. It was really cute and really great to see them in their natural habitat. The next destination was Nelson where we explored the town. It was from then on that I couldn't handle sleeping squashed up so now im sleeping up the top and my feet don't hang off the end! We next drove to Picton where we got the ferry across to Wellington aka Windy Wellie.

The North Island: We got off the ferry and started searching for our campsite we couldn't find it for a while as we then realised it was just a car park, we wanted to stay there as it was the closest into town. While we were there we explored the city and went to a huge museum called Te Papa, it was all about NZ and mostly about its Maori culture, it was really big and so interesting; we spent all day there. That night we were going to go out but it was far to cold and windy, it was so windy that during the night we thought Denise would topple over.

The next destination was Napier the art deco capital of the world. On the way to Napier a sign caught our eye and we had to stop. The shop was called 'Yummy Mummy's Cheesecake,' obviously we bought some - it would be rude not to! We stayed in Napier three nights as we got one night for free. We had a BBQ one night and everyone thought we were mad as it was so cold. On our last day we were going to go on a bike tour to different wineries but it was raining so we just went in Denise to a winery called Mission, which is the oldest winery in NZ. That day we also went to a museum which explained about the earthquake in 1933 and had a video of some survivor's personal stories.

Next destination was Rotorua where we went to a cultural centre called Te Puia which has geysers and mud pools it also had a kiwi bird house and we got to learn more about the Maori culture. We also went to a Maori performance which was really amazing; it took place in a meeting house. We also watched how Maoris greet each other, which is called the Hongi where you shake hands close your eyes, touch foreheads and then touch noses twice. That night we hit the town, it was all Jagerbombs and dancing like usual! The next morning was all hangovers like usual! We went into town for a quick look around and then drove to Lake Taupo where we met up with our mum's friend Graeme who we haven't seen for 15 years when he moved to NZ. We stayed with Graeme and his two little girls in his house for the weekend. We had a really great time and it was really nice to stay in a proper bed, chill out in a house and have our own personal tour guides! It was really lovely to spend time with Graeme and the girls who were absolutely adorable.

After leaving them we drove up to the Bay of Islands where we went to see where the Waitangi treaty was signed. We also did a day trip to see Ninety Mile Beach and we got to have a go at boogie boarding on the sand dunes which was really good fun. Our next and final destination was Auckland where we stayed in the closest campsite to the city. We spent a day doing the walking tour around the city and then we went to a couple of clubs in the evening, we had a great night. The clubs played amazing music and we danced all night!

We have had so much fun in Denise we have loved NZ, we are so sad to leave. Having Denise has been great we have loved the freedom and not having to carry our bags! However Stephanie still can not park Denise, on our second to last day she had queues behind her while I was outside trying to guide her in to the parking space the first time she was to close to the car on her left, the second try she was still in the same place and the third she was too far to the right the fourth was a success. We couldn't stop laughing and neither could the people in the cars waiting to get past!

While there have been many happy times in Denise there have been the lows too, three to be precise, there are many birds in NZ and some just get in the way. The poor little b*****s just didn't see Denise coming! Stephanie 2, Kimberly 1!

It is now our last night and we are packing up all of our things. It is going to be really hard to say goodbye to Danielle but what's going to be really tough is saying bye to Denise we have created so many memories in her and we will never forget the good times we have shared with our beloved Denise! FIJI HERE WE COME!!!!!