Today we are moving onto Rotorua along the thermal highway. There is a geyser which spouts water at 10.15am (with a little help from a guide and some Organic soap) its bound to be a tourist trap, but well you kinda have to! We got packed up and everything dried out and got on the road in plenty of time - which was novel! Arrived at the Waiotapu Thermal wonderland with plenty of time to spare so grabbed a coffee, checked out a bubbling mud pool, as you do, before heading to the Lady Knox Geyser. With the aid of some [View Full Entry]

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Had an OK nights sleep but both feeling a little tired after yesterdays walk. We drove down to Acacia Bay a beautiful little suburb full of expensive houses and swish boats. Spent a little while watching a cute black swan feeding in the lake, upside down with its bum in the air - real amusing! Wandered down to town to check out the information centre, grabbed a coffee and then went to 'the craters of the moon'. Its a geothermally active area which came into being when a local power station was built; water levels and pressures changed and this steaming [View Full Entry]

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Up at 6am which was a bit of a struggle after a heavy nights sleep - inside! Managed to get going eventually as we are booked onto the 7am bus to get to the start of the Tongariro crossing. We raced onto the bus at the last minute before it left - Beck was full of glee at the excitement of it all and Paul a bit stressed as he thought we were going to miss it. A lesson in there for the future! Took about 30 minutes to get to the start of the crossing. The weather has been really [View Full Entry]

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Both slept really well, although after too much alchohol it was more of a coma! Got up and got dressed for a run but it was really chucking it down. Its only 1 degree warmer than home but its winter there and summer here - boo! We got packed up and got some supplies from town before another trip to the excellent Freyberg pool, to try and get rid of the shabby feeling. Both felt better after a few lengths and a cheeky sauna. Decided we have had enough of the wind and rain so took off in the car and [View Full Entry]

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Up early to get the ferry to Wellington - a 4am start which was not welcome! Made it for the 'last check in' at 4:45 to then sit in the cold for an hour and a half before we boarded at 6:15 mmmm..... Ferry crossing was great- nice and calm and we had great views leaving Picton; lots of low cloud, small coves and windswept hills. Had to stop taking photos in the end as we had too many pics! Arrived in Wellington about 9:30 and then went to a local campsite (need to camp as the costs in NZ have [View Full Entry]

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It rained fairly heavily during the night and was still raining in the morning so the tent was soaked through. Cleared it out and packed the car up - just hope we can get the tent dried out before too long otherwise everything is going to smell like a wet dog! After a quick breakfast we headed down the coast to Matueka before following the coast road round to Nelson. We found a suitable swimming pool but it was closed for a 'Mums with Bumps' session. Paul reckons after 4 months away he now has the physique to pass detection but [View Full Entry]

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Our final point of call for the day was the tiny village of Marahou. We have booked ourselves onto a seals and lagoons kayaking day trip tomorrow - and the company we are with has a camp site and hostel to stay at. Should hopefully make it a bit easier tomorrow as we need to meet them at 8am! The weather does seem warmer here and we have got out the shorts and T-shirts for the first time since arriving in NZ! Had a wander along the beachfront and watched rush hour as all the water taxis return for the day [View Full Entry]

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Spent the main part of the day driving the 300kms to Westport along the winding, mountainous, costal roads of Highway No 6! The scenery along the way was breathtaking and we stopped along the way to take lots of photos. The hedgrows are full of ferns and flax and looks very tropical, however the weather is anything but. Its grey, overcast and a bit chilly right now. Hopefully it will get warmer as we move up the coast. Reached Greymouth in time for lunch - had our usual cheap and cheerful sarnies before taking a gander around the town - which [View Full Entry]

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Got up at 7am, and afti er some breakfast headed to our next port of call - Wanaka. It's supposed to be similar to Queenstown with lots of adrenalin activities but smaller, less busy and a bit cheaper. Much to Beckies delight the town used to be called Pembroke (her original home town for the un-informed!) until the 20th Century when they decided to call it Wanaka instead - what were they thinking! Its was a really good journey of about an hour with the now obligitary snow capped peaks in the background. Reached Wanaka mid morning, headed straight for the [View Full Entry]

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Slept really well, but awoke too early at 5:30am. We are booked on a kayaking trip at Milford which is a two hire drive down the road. After a quick breakfast, shower and making sarnies (trying hard not to wake the rest of the house) we set off about 6:30am. The cloud was initially high, and the view of the snow capped mountains was captivating. The drive to Milford is on a twisting road which has some amazing views of rivers, lakes and gorges. On the way we passed through "Knobs Flat" which has to be a set up! Made the [View Full Entry]

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