Making our way north we reached Auckland, where we were shocked to see so much traffic and even the first proper service stations since arriving in New Zealand. We spent that first day in Auckland distributing adverts to sell Barry; that sad time would soon be upon us! Four hours after leaving Auckland in search for accommodation, we finally settled on parking up illegally in a car park on the sea front, due to some stupid council initiative in the area which mea...

Booked in to do the 'Black Abyss' 5 hour caving trip with the 'Legendary Black Water Rafting Company', we awoke on the 29th to torrential rain, and made our way to the company in the hope that the trip would still be going ahead! On arrival, with the trip going ahead as planned, we were introduced to our guides 'Boss' from the Netherlands and 'Rachel' from England, squeezed ourselves into tight, cold wetsuits, boots, helmets, and abseiling ropes, got a safety bri...

We were fortunate enough to be invited by Russell and Judi from the Milford Track walk, to stay with them in their home in Rotorua by Lake Okareka whilst there. We were treated to a bedroom and our own bathroom on the top floor of their house, along with wine, cheese, and delicious barbecued steak for dinner (from Russell's PA at work who owns cows...Sophie never fulfilled her role quite so well)! After getting some advice on what to do in the area, and swapping ...

After a 3 hour ferry ride, where sophie managed to eat 3 almond slices to prevent starvation, due to this being the only food we had on us before the car deck was closed for the entire journey, we arrived at the port in Wellington. Driving into Wellington, the sudden amount of people and cars hit us, having to relearn to drive in a busy city, with numerous one way roads where you inevitably missed the turning you needed a few times before eventually swerving into...

And so began the mammoth journey back up north! At the start of the trip we stopped in a couple of villages - Clyde and Naseby, which are known for their historic feel they have managed to retain with a real 'gold-rush' appearance. To break up the journey through plain fields we then decided to take the alternative route to a town called Oamaru over 'Danseys Pass'. Described as a way to 'wind your way through spectacular scenery' we headed on up, before realising...