Waking up in a carpark in Wellington was a bit odd. Turns out the carpark was next to a busy office block, so we felt pretty daft as we sat on our camping chairs to tuck into a bowl of cereal with workers in suits rushing by. Such is the life of a backpacker. The Wellington weather did what it does best: rain. So we next took shelter in a McDonalds for a cheapo coffee until the Wellington Cable Car opened. Seemed a bit silly riding it in this weather, but we wer...

Wow, this blog is getting cobwebs. We're just not giving it the love it craves. But we're determined to fill you all in our amazing travels so we'll keep ploughing through - albeit rather slowly. Please bear with us! We left you on the edge of your seats in Nelson... One thing you'll know by now is that we love campervan living, but that doesn't mean it doesn't - literally - drive us a little bit mental from time to time (not really mental, just a tad unhinged...

For some, Peter Jackson put New Zealand on the map. Lots of dedicated film fans are lured here to witness the epic landscape that provided a backdrop to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but since we've been in the country we've not felt the overwhelming hobbit craze you'd expect a la Harry Potter at Universal Studios. Sure, the guidebook might throw in a line about the different streams, lakes and mountains where various scenes were filmed, and many visitors wil...

After tugging back the mustard curtains in the back of the van, we wiped a patch of condensation from the windows to see what beauty would greet us bright and early this morning. The clear blue skies of yesterday were today hidden behind a low laying blanket of cloud which gently hovered at what felt like touching distance above us, and tucked in along the small hills surrounding the town. That would be a definite no to the helicopter to the glacier then. Aft...

Lovely Lake Wanaka kept us company as we made the pleasant drive north out of town this morning, after breakfast by the lake. The road hugged the lake's Eastern shores the entire way before leading us through another National Park towards the Tasman Sea. The road and surrounding landscape was blissfully quiet. In fact, we can go so long without seeing another vehicle on many NZ roads like this one, we actually get excited whenever we see other people - especiall...