LANCE:

On a personal level I have felt so 'at home' here. Awesome landscape, low-rise architecture, friendly people with an apparently healthy relationship with the Maori people (the British have left less of a negative legacy in NZ than they did in Australia!), a passion for rugby, and great meat! Have even come to love the accent. Unsurprisingly the culture shock wasn't apparent - European settlers came here in the 1840s (voluntarily this time!) many of whom were Scottish, and so culturally (kilts aside) lifestyle and attitudes appeared to be similar.

Firstly the countryside. What can I say? I am almost forced to resort to poetry - it has been constant edge-of-your-seat scenery. Due to the diverse terrain, scenery is never monotonous. It's a geologist's dream - volcanic eruptions flooded by the sea, valleys created by immense glaciers and dramatic mountain ranges. The landscape is broken by trees that are in themselves varied and plentiful. And the hills constantly roll - the only time we saw the novel sight of level terrain was in the Northland. The beauty has been partly enabled by the existence of a VERY small population (75% of which live in the North Island). This has also had the benefit of us never being under pressure to find accommodation and we never once found ourselves in a traffic jam! We have of course come during the winter so the summer visitors may give some locations a more frenetic feel. Winter in NZ was supposed to bring the notoriously bad weather. We were warned that it would be cold, wet and miserable most of the time. It never occurred. We have been so fortunate - stunning winter sunshine whenever we have needed it. If I had to be picky the only elements we couldn't see at this time of year were the snow-melt rivers to compliment the scenery. Having said that there hasn't been a day gone by when I didn't revel in the landscape.

Most towns we encountered showed signs of community and evidence of a cultured lifestyle. And like the landscape were pleasing on the eye. The cities of Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch are cities built to a human scale (financial districts for example didn't overawe and intimidate like most big cities). Auckland is on a much larger scale however, home to a third of the NZ population and increasing at a fast rate of knots so was the only city that felt like a sprawl. Like Australia, history is short which means towns are still "fresh". (NB a House in Russell, one of the first towns established in NZ, proudly displays a plaque inscribed "Built in 1903" - our house in York Road is older than that!)

I thought the fondness I developed for NZ would wane over time but it didn't, it just snowballed!
Some great moments:
- Dolphins swimming and jumping beside our boat in Doubtful Sound. Another reminder that wildlife has to be seen in the wild.
- Skiing in Cardrona. I was absolute pants as usual but views were nice.
- Week in a motorhome. Didn't see that one coming - thought it would be a clumsy nightmare in such an enclosed space but was in fact great fun.
- Geothermal activity around Rotoroa. Seen the images in film and print but it's nothing like standing on or next to such awesome energy.
- Trout fishing. Not a fan of fishing myself but the boys enjoyed the hunt and I am relatively guilt free after having eaten the proceeds.
- 90 Mile Beach on the Northland peninsula. We were very fortunate to find an idyllic place to stay - next to the beach experiencing sunsets, horse riding and quad biking round the cliffs to the sand dunes. (Again, the sort of landscapes I had never appreciated existed).

The excitement of moving on to South America is much less pronounced than I had envisaged, partly because we're near completion of our journey but mainly because of the disappointment of leaving New Zealand.

CLARE
Well - it really is a perfect country! Spectacular scenery around every corner, cultured towns, small settlements with heart and community, a connection and pride in their history and a respect and inclusion of the Maori. It has to be said that we've been incredibly lucky with the weather. The west coast and Fjordland, renowned for about 230 days of rain a year, gave us nothing but beautiful winter sun and clear skies. Every view of glacial river valley, silvery trees with bright orange and red new growth, broadleaved, evergreen forest hugging the slopes, and snowy peaks has been bathed in golden sun and we haven't been interrupted by rain at all.
Once again, people have made a difference ... Lars guiding us over the high road to Akaroa, affording us the first distant views of snow capped mountains and craters. Sadly he had to leave us as we kitted up in layers and vast dry suits for a chilly swim with dolphins - we only caught glimpses as they darted past in the high swell of the ocean. Richard & Jane Higham welcomed us to the Otago Peninsular, taking us to find albatross and seals and suggested that we stay later in Makarora where we had a wonderful 2 days, snugged up in a log cabin, while the boys chopped wood and built snowmen; Bryce at the Hukawai ice centre where the boys scaled an ice wall complete with crampons and ice axes; Greg in Ahipara who took us on quad bikes up to lunar like sand dunes for toboganning; Lorry who took us out on Lake Taupo and introduced the boys to trout fishing … they caught 4 huge ones!; Nicky & Allan and a home away from home in Auckland.
The West Coast was truly stunning. Our hearts sank as we crossed Lake Manapouri in grey drizzle, the mountains obscured by cloud, but as we drove over the pass to Doubtful Sound the sky cleared to beautiful winter sunshine and we had one of the days of the trip - cruising on a classically designed boat through the Sound - dark cliffs with vegetation clinging to the sides falling from snowy peaks into the deep, reflective water - accompanied by huge bottlenose dolphins leaping in the bow waves.
We skied at Cardrona, managing after a lesson to remember how to stay upright and turn corners. The boys both developed so much in strength and confidence from when we went in the Voges, so that they whizzed down a blue slope happily. We trod in the footsteps of my grandfather to walk to the terminal of the Franz Josef Glacier, awesome, creaking and fearsome up close.
Up north we've embraced the motorhome experience and loved it! We aimed immediately for 'restless earth' country - Taupo and Rotorua where we walked amid steam vents and bubbling mud and wallowed in natural streams of over 40®. The boys have crammed in Kiwi experiences - spotting a kiwi in the night enclosure, watching the Maori haka, finding out all about sheep at the Agrodome, and doing the Freefall experience - 90 seconds of hovering above a massive whoosh of air - just as if you've just jumped out of a plane!
It's interesting seeing an indigenous culture which is relatively young, developed and integrated so well. Their presence here in New Zealand predates the first white people by only a few hundred years. They are developed, modern, with culture, heritage and tradition. They integrate into the modern world because they have continued to develop and take an active part in New Zealand. It's refreshing to see that mix of heritage and dynamism.
I think we've cracked the accent! Fish is fush, desk is disk and hand is hend ... the boys are best at it!
Some of the things we've done in New Zealand:
TOM
Fishing: We went on a boat called 'Kiwi' and headed out to Lake Taupo to try and catch some trout. We went round a headland with our rods dangling in the water. It took about half an hour to pull up our first trout and we were amazed at how big it was. Then about every fifteen minutes we caught another one until we had caught four trout. As we were going along, Lorry (our guide) gutted them so we could see all the organs and he cut open the place where the blood is stored. Finally, when we arrived back he cut out the guts and gave them to the ducks. Now I want to get my own fishing rod.
Skiing: In Wanaka we drove up to the ski resort 'Cardrona'. First we had a lesson with a man called Bob where we went down the nursery slope and up on button lifts and the magic carpet. Bob told us how to turn and stop. Afterwards, we decided to go down a green slope called Skyline where there was a 'Family Fun Park' where there were lots of ups and downs. The next day when we were brave enough we went on a green slope called Shawn's Way which went all the way round the mountain. But what we didn't know was that the beginning of Shawn's Way was attached to a blue slope so the first time we went down we went slowly, but the second time I went hurtling down. It was fun, exciting and fast. I wanted to go on and on for a week.
Quad Biking and Sand Tobogganing: We drove up along the 90 mile beach on quad bikes over rocks and sand dunes until we reached where we were going to do sand tobogganing. First we had to climb up a steep sand dune, sit on our toboggans and slide down really fast. Ben and I made up sand boarding and it's the same as snowboarding but on sand. It was very bumpy, stomach lurching and lots of fun.
New Zealand has been the best place so far, with its stunning views, Maori culture and the people are so lovely.
BEN
Fishing: We went out onto Lake Taupo in a small speedboat to go grout fishing. When we found a certain place in the lake, we stopped to put out the lines and then started going slowly along. Tom caught a huge 45 cm trout and I caught a second just as big. All in all we caught 4 trout and cooked them for tea. I loved the feeling of triumph when I caught the fish.
Ice climbing: We went to an ice centre in which there was a massive ice wall which made me feel tiny. We strapped on crampons and ice axes to climb it. At first we only climbed steps but afterwards we went onto a vertical ice wall and then up a thin chimney of ice. It was extremely hard flicking the ice axes into the ice, kicking the crampons in and pulling myself up.
Swimming with dolphins: We went to Akaroa to catch a boat out to sea. It was very wavy and made me feel seasick. When someone spotted dolphins the driver stopped the engine and we watched them. After a few minutes he let us into the water. We were fully clothes and wearing suffocating dry suits. Dolphins leaped through the waves and came right up close when you last expected it. It was so exciting. They were Hector's Dolphins, the smallest dolphins in the world - they only grow to about 1.4 metres, they are very rare and live in murky waters.
I have loved New Zealand because of the space around me and the views from high places.