The day we drove to Mount Cook began with news that Prince William and Kate Middleton had got engaged. The news was all over the tv and newspapers. We drove north to Mt Cook expecting bad weather but instead we got hot sunshine! The drive up to the mountain was amazing,with Lake Pukaki alongside the road for part of the journey, and in the distance, Mt Cook, New Zealand's largest mountain. We were staying in a backpacker lodge, which was alright, and had magnifi...

Queenstown was a busy town, with a nice water setting, and lots to see and do, though the majority of it was extreme activities. So that we didn't feel left out we did the Shotover Jet, a jet boat experience down the Shotover River and its canyons, which does 360 degree spins, and goes really close to the edge. Jeff got very wet, which is quite normal, it was great fun! We spent the next day looking around the markets by the lake, which were mainly selling jewel...

Wanaka was the next stop on our south island itinerary, and we drove there via the Haast Pass, which again had fantastic views of the Alps, and roadside waterfalls and lakes (some with massive boulders in, which must have dropped from the mountains). Despite a freaky incident where we stopped for lunch by a lake and the car got infested with sandflies (!) it was a great drive, with lovely Lake Hawea leading us into Wanaka. Wanaka is a pretty town with a gorgeous...

Our next major port of call on the South Island was the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. On the drive down there from Hokitika we stopped off at Lake Mahinapua to do a short walk through the forest to the lakeside, to a place called Swimmer's Beach. Swimmers Beach was actually only about 2 metres across, so tiny, but we stayed there for a few minutes to take in the view, and carried on. We had lunch at another lake, Lake Ianthe, a really pretty little lake with a sw...

Hello everyone!!! Sorry we haven't updated our blog for a while - we have been so busy the past few weeks, and seen so much (and done so much driving!) that we have neglected the blog. It may take a while to get our photos up, as we have taken so many and we are struggling to find a decent internet connection, so you may have to wait a bit longer for those. At the moment we are in Australia, but we will keep you informed on what we got up to on the South Island o...