So i'm now in Nelson, our first stop in the South Island. The ferry took 3 hrs. The south island is even more beautiful than the north and a lot less commercial. The journey to Nelson took us through lots of lush green, tree coated, perfectly rounded mounds, through gorges and along rivers. We passed very few cars. The area around Nelson is famous for its Savignon blanc wines and ther are loads of vineyards. Would have been rude not to stop for some tasting. ...

We continued further down the west coast down to Franz Josef, home of the Franz josef glacier. On the way we stopped at a small museum called the bushman centre. There watched a comedy home made video on how people make a living on the coast, including possum trapping and helicopter deer recovery, which consisted of people jumping out of helicopters, trying amd failing miserably to land on deers wrestle them to the ground. All this to the "welcome to the dan...

We left Dunedin this morning to head south into an area called the Catlins - and area of destinctive ridges, native forests, headlands, sandy beaches and home to some amazing rare wildlife. Its also the furthest south you can go in The south island. Curio bay is not a schedualed overnight stop, but having read up on this area Tom and I decided to stay a couple of nights here as it sound like our kind of thing.The bus stopped along the way to see some wildlife and...

Today we travelled to our final stop in the North island and the capital city of New Zealand- Wellington. Wellington is located directly on a major fault line. This whole country is living on the edge. It is inevitable that one day the will expierience a massive earthquake or a volcanic eruption. We had real trouble finding accommodation in Wellington, turned out it was due to the rugby 7's being held here. (quite a major event apparently??!) The boys had tri...

River valley was a 'middle of knowhere' stop. The bus couldnt even get down to the hostel. We all had to walk whilst our luggage was taken on a truck. The hostel was in a gorgeous setting right in a deep valley on the banks of a river. As soon as we arrived we went for a swim in the cold river. It was crystal clear as all the rivers are here. There was a hillarious pully swing across the river - basically a box on two wires you could us to procariously tr...