Mark and Marias Great Adventure

After leaving New Zealand, we decided to stop in Sydney once more (seeing that it was "on the way home"), and pay a visit to our friends Nick and Les ,who had finally emigrated in April after an almost 2-year long wait for their paperwork to go through. Nick, who happens to be an ex-colleague of Mark's, had been trying rather hard to convince us to follow in his footsteps for a few months. Pushing it that little bit harder, he got Mark an interview with the company he was working for in Sydney, even before we set foot in the country. Mark went along to the interview with mixed emotions: on one hand, it felt a bit sudden to think of finishing the world trip and going straight back to a job, and he also ... read more

As soon as we crossed into the North Island, it started to rain. And then it rained some more. We spent two boring days in Wellington, the capital, waiting for the weather to pick up, as we wanted to visit the nearby Kapiti Island, a nature reserve and an important bird sanctuary, home to birds that are nearly extinct in the mainland, including kiwis. The problem with the birds in New Zealand is that they are not used to predators, as there were none before the Europeans arrived. This makes them too trusting for their own good, so when predators such as stoats from England and possums from Australia were introduced, the local bird life’s would often find that their last words were "Oh hello, you look interesting, what are you?". Possums in particular must have ... read more

From the South Coast we started to make our way north along the West Coast. We stopped in Invercargill for a night, but we had dreadful weather and the city didn’t hold enough fascination to warrant a second night stay, so we moved on the next morning. The main memory we will have of the place was the terrible haircut Maria was given after asking to have her split ends sorted out - she ended up with something just short of a mullet which she would spend weeks trying to hide or camouflage in some way! We stopped in Te Anau next, a lovely little town in the heart of Fiordland. Most people stop here before heading out to Milford Sound, but as we had already flown there from Wanaka, we took a boat trip to ... read more

Have a look at the map and read the comment to see the helicopter route and the wedding location ********** The main reason why we chose to get married in a private ceremony - and by private we mean just the two of us - was so it could truly be our day. With our families living in different countries and speaking different languages, a traditional wedding would’ve been even more stressful than it normally is. As nice as it can be to share such a special moment in your life with the ones you love, it would’ve been difficult for us to really relax and enjoy, what was supposed to be, after all, our big day. There's no denying this option also had an added advantage - it would be much easier and quicker to ... read more

We arrived in Christchurch gone midnight (cheap flights, eh? tsk!) on a Monday night, and must have jumped into the friendliest taxi in town, because apart from chatting non-stop and bombarding us with questions during the journey, once outside the hostel the driver then proceeded to spend 20 minutes giving us better advice than we've ever got form any dedicated tourist information office. He got out maps, brochures, business cards and discount vouchers, and sent us to our room with pretty much our trip round the South Island fully planned. What a nice guy! We mentioned in our previous blog that we had planned to rent a flat for a few weeks over the Christmas and New Year period, to recharge batteries and sample a bit of "normal life" for a little while. We didn't fancy ... read more