Dunedin 18th April to 20th April 2006 The following day we get the tyres sorted out ($120 for 2) and drive to Dunedin past the Moeraki boulders. Quite a strange sight to see perfectly rounded boulders sitting right in the middle of the beach, I think they were made of harder mudstone than the surrounding soil which has been eroded by the sea over time. The drive south is very hilly and the whirring noise from somewhere in the back of the van seems t...

Mount Cook Region and National Park We said our good byes and drove to Methven, a very pretty town with Alpine feel. Not surprising really as it's a main base for skiiing in Winter. A few beers and Amy won a bit a pool and once more it's a slightly chilly evening. The next day we walked up a glacial valley for about 5hrs adjacent to a beautifully coloured glacial river (full of rock cloud, which turns the water a milky blue colour). A recent dumping of sn...

Next stop on route was Christchurch, easily the best looking town we have come across (one hesitates to use the word 'city' for anything outside of Auckland). Lovely old colonial buildings which triggered minor pining for home. We were there firstly to meet up with Emma and Regan (who is a very first rate chap by the way, typical Kiwi) over the weekend and then to meet up with Amy's mum and Dad once more (oh no, not the dreaded inlaws I hear you cry!) before they...

What was all the hype about South Island being incredibly beautiful and all that? Ok, they're right. Broadly speaking we drove down the East coast and back up via the west. We started our South Island adventure by visiting Blenheim and hiring bikes to take us around the Marlborough wine region. This area gets pretty much more sun than the rest of NZ all year and the weather was warm but not too hot for tastings at 3 different wineries. The Sauv blanc ...

The next morning we are collected by the rural mailman who was taking us on a trip up the Wanganui valley. We basically accompanied him on his mail run, which in itself was pretty interesting (in particular the array of post boxes people had made - including a milk urn, a canoe and several fridges!!) but also gave us great views of the valley and the river. At Pipiriki he dropped us off to do a jet boat trip up the river to see the Bridge to Nowhere - a c...