Decided to have a chilled day today, had breakfast in the hostel before going on a coffee and wi-fi mission. We decided to see whether the I-site could help us find accommodation in Auckland. They had a few suggestions, but it was better to have a scout around ourselves. We meandered round the outskirts of town where there had been a triathlon that morning. One girl in the hostel was doing it: 2k swimming, 90k on the bike and 21k running. Just beyond the finish...

We started our day with breakfast in the same cafe as yesterday, as the alternative we had fancied didn't have toast - Cerys' preferred choice this morning. We then started out, heading towards Taupō (pron. toe-paw), which was some four hours away on Highway 1. On the whole, there seemed to be a lot more traffic around, compared to the south island, although we were also travelling a lot faster so maybe it felt like we were held up more often - rather than be...

We had breakfast in a little cafe next door to the motel and decided to wander through town in search if a shop that had been recommended to us, in order to see if we could get Cerys' iPhone fixed - as the power button seemed to be stuck down. When we got there, the woman said that the repairs done on it before were pretty shoddy, as some chrome trim hadn't been put back in properly. We tutted and commented on the cowboys that must have done it, stopping short o...

We woke in Kaikoura where the rain kept coming. The main attraction in Kaikoura are water-based activities. Whale watching, swimming with dolphins etc but the rain didn't entice us. We spent some time doing email and the journal over coffee, and decided we should head North in preparation for our ferry ride across to Picton later. In a brief break in the rain, we pulled into see a seal colony just north of Kaikoura where we saw lots of pups and adult seals loun...

After repacking our rucksacks so that we were prepared to make the change from campervan to saloon car, we had a quick wander round Akaroa town and browsed the little shops. We happened to be doing this at the same time as the passengers of a massive cruise ship which had just docked, so were surrounded by other tourists and tour groups. We bought a couple more souvenirs and Cerys bought a new top which had caught her eye, and then decided to head back to Christc...