Lake Taupo is huge and was created by a volcanic eruption millions of years ago....anyway, enough of the history lesson. We stayed in Rainbow Lodge backpackers, slightly worried about hippies but it was OK and we had a TV in the room so I could watch Ugly Betty. Lots of flies in the kitchen though. Backpackers can be a dirty bunch. Now we are in real Maori country, the places are becoming harder to pronounce, try Orakei Korako, a thermal area where we saw bubbl...

The ferry crossing from the South Island was great, the Cook Straits were like the preverbial 'mill pond'. We stayed in the center of the city in order to get good access to the sights. We had more of a cultural experience visiting a couple of museums (Te Papa & the cable car museum), the observatory (taking a leisurely stroll back to town through the botanical gardens), a preview night at the theatre (it was the cheapest night to watch 'Doubt'...

The first disapointment of our trip !!! We really wanted to go whale watching so we booked our trip only for it to be cancelled because of the weather - too windy. Unfortunately we did not have any more time as we had to be back in Picton to catch the ferry. Oh well I'm sure ther will be other times !!!!

The drive from Nelson to Picton was the most picturesque so far in New Zealand, cruising by the Marlborough Sounds with the CD on and the sun shining was brilliant. We were catching the ferry from here in 4 days time to the north island but wanted to see the sounds by boat first, so the first thing we did on arrival was look into a trip. The choice was overwhelming but we decided on a walk and cruise option. Next day armed with enough sandwiches to feed an army w...

Nelson is New Zealands most liveable city unlike its English namesake. We only visited 1 tourist attraction which was the WOW Museum (World of Wearable Art). I thought it was really cool, especially the 'Bizarre Bras' collection. My favourites included the dashboard of a mini, 2 spitfire propellers and a pair of giant swedes, you can't buy that in M&S. There was also a small collection of cars from through the years which also caught the eye. The ...