We've had a fantastic second week in New Zealand. We spent most of the week in the Malborough District in the north of South Island. Abel Tasman National Park was our first stop - a beautiful national park on the northern coast. We took a boat trip along the coast and visited a seal colony, then for a hike and the final few hours spent sea kayaking in and out of lovely little beaches and coves. From there we made our way to the wineries, stopping for mussels ...

What a week... we've hiked a glacier, been in a helicopter and I've jumped out of a plane at 12000 feet. Not bad for a few days work?! First stop was Christchurch, for a night out with a friend we met in Thailand. Next day we picked up our campervan - which is actually really a 7 seater car with the back seats taken out... our home for the next 2 weeks. We headed south to Mount Cook and some beautiful blue lakes (more blue than normal lakes - something to do ...