So our last night in NZ was an unconventional one to say the least, spent on the floor of Christchurch Airport. This wasn't due to any delays or anything, it was all part of the plan! Our flight out was leaving so early that, had we stayed in a hotel, we would have been up at 3am anyway so it hardy seemed worth it. Thus, after a quick check of sleepinginairports.com (seriously!), we spent the evening eating nice Japanese food at Mums 24, blogging, then finding ou...

What a relaxing way to spend our last few days in NZ. There are only a few places you can stay, the Hermitage at the high-end (looked lovely), a lodge, some basic camping facilities or the YHA where we were - and it's the nicest YHA we've been to. It's built like a log cabin and our room (no. 14) looked out across the valley floor directly on to Mt Sefton, the "Footstool" etc. Such a lovely view to wake up to. Just make sure you book ahead, whatever the season - ...

...are just three of the things we have not done in Queenstown. Instead, we went all high-class and honeymoony and took a sightseeing plane over the Milford Sound, went on a cruise up and down it, and flew back again. It was 100% fabulous. It was like our experience in Iguassu Falls - nature being massive and powerful again... and again, the scale of it won't show up in photos. Milford Sound is a huge fjord - this means where a glacier has cut through the land, ...

So after a LONG drive from Nelson (approx. 6.5 hrs), including many "Bridge Lane Ones"*, we arrived at the township near the Fox Glacier. Not exactly a 'kicking' township but I suppose most travelers that pass through only spend enough time there to climb the glacier and what not, before heading off to pastures new. After checking into our rather basic hostel (with no communal area and poor kitchen facilities - no doubt the worst place we've stayed in all of NZ)...

Whoa! New Zealand: home of EXTREME sports - let's go kayaking! Okay, so it's not THAT extreme, but we'd all agreed that we were up for anything that didn't involve throwing ourselves off or out of anything. That 'we all' refers to the usual honeymooners plus Helen and Pete, our chums who are currently on a two year holiday in New Zealand. Sorry, a two-year period of VERY hard work. It was great to see them, and jolly good fun was had - belated Christmas cracker...