I'm sorry if it seems like I've done nothing but moan in my last few blog entries but I kind of wanted to convey that life on the road isn't all a bed of roses. Thankfully, today things have started to look up again. We left Gillespie's Beach as soon as possible this morning, not even stopping for breakfast due to the persistence of the sandflies and made our way back along the terrible 10km gravel road and on towards the Fox glacier. We pulled into a car park and found a walking trail leading right up to the front of [View Full Entry]

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It's a sad fact to admit but we're starting to hate our South Island road trip. Not because we're having to be couped up together 24/7 though because we've been getting on famously on the road. It's all down to trying to find free or affordable campsites which has been far more difficult than we were led to believe. Grrrr. Our day started badly with a 7.30am wake up by the manager of the Albert Town campsite, demanding our camp fees. I reluctantly paid up the $14 but it left a bad taste in my mouth as all we had done [View Full Entry]

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There's nothing quite like camping when the sun is shining and today was no exception. The skies were bright from the moment we awoke this morning and we loved it by the lakeside so much that we had already decided to spend another day there. Unfortunately, this wasn't how things ended up but at least the reason for moving on was a good one for a change - Lina, our Japanese friend would be in Queenstown, not too far from us, for just one day. We couldn't possibly miss the opportunity to catch up with our excellent chum again, so once [View Full Entry]

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Tempting as it was to go and explore the last minute camping spot we tracked down late yesterday evening, it turned out to be a recreational reserve for fishing in particular which, being a vegetarian, is obviously not my thing. Instead we packed up once again and set off in search of a better location. On the way, we passed through Te Anau which was pretty touristy but not in that tacky unpleasant way. I had left my toothbrush at the campsite in Invercargill so we popped into the little supermarket there to pick up a new one. In a neighbouring [View Full Entry]

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This morning, we just weren't motivated to get moving even though we knew we couldn't afford to pay for another night in the comfortable campsite. When we did muster the energy to leave, we drove just a short distance to nearby Riverton where we found what looked like a free camping area right by the sea with toilets on hand too but both of us had a nagging doubt about the place that made us decide to keep looking. At Colac Bay we drew a blank so we picked up Scenic Route 99 and followed the road up to Clifden, where [View Full Entry]

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There's nothing better than starting your day feeling all refreshed from a good night's sleep and owing to the good facilities and friendly owners at the campsite, we decided to stay another night and spend the day exploring Invercargill. Just before we left, the Geordie lad we spoke to last night came over with a big bag of food that he and his brother no longer need now that they've had to cut their camping holiday short, which was nice of him. Walking into Invercargill centre took no time at all and thanks to the grid layout of the city, it [View Full Entry]

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Ok, sorry if the title seems a bit alarmist but this is just a quick blog entry to let you know that we are, in fact, alive and haven't disappeared off the face of the Earth as some people might be thinking. I'd love to tell you we've been having a terrible time while you're all enjoying the delights of winter in Britain but I cannot tell a lie - South Island rocks! The reason I've not been posting any news blogs is purely down to now being on the road in our funky campervan and internet access has either been [View Full Entry]

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Before we left England on this epic adventure, I remember hearing something on the telly about things people would like to do before they die. Not the most cheerful of topics granted but it was interesting to discover that the number one, top of the list thing to do before you die is swim with dolphins. Well, I hope that doesn't mean that Glynn and I are ready to kick the bucket just yet even if today we got to fulill that very dream - yes, we got to swim with dolphins! Our day began with an enjoyable clambour on the [View Full Entry]

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So here we are, it's day 12 in the campervan and we haven't seen a single waterfall yet despite the fact that they're supposed to be everywhere. Well it seems that waterfalls in NZ are a bit like buses - you wait around for ages to see one and then 4 come along at once! The first of the waterfalls we got to see today wasn't far from our beachside campsite at Purakaunui and no prizes for guessing the name - the Purakaunui Falls, of course! It was just a 10 minute walk from the car park to see the beautiful [View Full Entry]

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The long fruitless drive around yesterday caught up with us this morning and we had a nice lie in and didn't end up leaving the campsite until midday. Today's journey took us in search of a free campsite in Purakaunui that the campsite owner had told us about. On the way there we got stuck in a typical New Zealand traffic jam - behind a big flock of sheep! We watched the flock trotting slowly up the road being herded by a trio of working dogs and a couple of guys in a pick-up truck enjoying a beer as they 'worked'. [View Full Entry]

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