01/03/07 - 10/03/07 After our whistle-stop adventure tour of New Zealand, we were looking forward to some serious relaxing in Fiji - most of our time was spent relaxing by the pool, looking out over the beach, or playing table tennis or volleyball. Unfortunately this plan was partly scuppered by it being the rainy season, so occasionally we had to abandon the sun deck and run for cover as the torrential rains hit us. We took a local bus into Nadi Town and another into the village of Sigatoka to see the real Fiji outside of the resort complex. As usual [View Full Entry]

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Part 7 25/02/07 - 28/02/07 Sailing the Bay of islands We headed north all day, stopping only for lunch with a view over some ancient volcanic peaks, one of which, according to our map was used as Mount Doom in the recent Lord of the Rings films. Russell & The Bay of islands was beautiful, and the weather held for our sailing trip right until we disembarked when the black skies finally caught us. We sailed all day on a privately owned boat - Phantom, in a small group. I took the helm for a large chunk of the day as [View Full Entry]

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Part 6 23/02/07 - 24/02/07 Geo-thermic lands. We detoured an hour and a half each way from Rotorua to Whakatane in order to nip across to White island, an active volcanic island 50km of the coast. We flew right over the island crater and then landed amongst the bubbling pools on one of the only small sections of hard stable ground. Our helicopter pilot and guide gave us strict instructions to follow his tracks. Surprisingly we were all given gas masks. I thought at first that this was a tourist gimmick and didn’t expect to use mine but I couldn’t have [View Full Entry]

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Part 5 22/02/07 Make mine a double!! Skydiving Lake Taupo. After the aborted skydive attempts at Wanaka, Jen had time for the tension to really build up for skydiving at Lake Taupo. Just like the Wanaka company, they offered 9, 10 and 15,000 feet jumps. The 15,000 feet is the daddy with 60 seconds of freefall - double the 30 second freefall time of the 9,000 feet jump. The theory behind the experience is quite simple. You’re only gonna do it once so you may as well go for it and pay for the 15,000 feet experience and the additional camera [View Full Entry]

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Part 4 18/02/07 - 20/02/07 Whales tails and goodbye to the South Island Leaving the West coast, we doubled back through Arthur’s Pass, back to Christchurch. The route runs alongside the famous scenic trans-alpine railway and winds round more glorious scenery. After one final night in Christchurch we headed up the east coast for Kaikoura, New Zealand’s whale watching capital. Off the coast of Kaikoura the ocean floor drops away dramatically, opening up a huge underwater canyon, home to resident Giant Sperm whales, which surface regularly between their deep feeding dives. The [View Full Entry]

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Part 3 16/02/07 - 17/02/07 Two Long Walks. Wanaka and Franz Joseph Glacier! We took the shortcut to Wanaka over the Coronet range and dropped down to the town nestled on the banks of Lake Wanaka. Yet another beautiful town where we had no time to spend, stopping only for a chai latte in a café and on to the intriguingly advertised ‘Puzzling World’. The puzzles include a complicated maze where you end up walking on average 3 - 5 kilometers in only 1.5 kilometers of passages. Illusionary rooms include a room where all the faces seem to look at you [View Full Entry]

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Part 2 Queenstown 14/02/07 - 15/02/07 Jet Boats, the ‘Luge’ and The Nevis!!! We’d barely been in town 5 minutes when we were whisked off to the Shotover River for the Shotover Jet Boating experience. The boats displace 800 liters of water a second and can run in about a foot of water, flying next to the river canyon walls at speeds of up to 80kph. The trademark of the jet boat rides is the 360 degree spins, which leave with you with a huge grin on your face. Whilst in Queenstown - the official home of bungy, I was absolutely [View Full Entry]

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Part 1 08/02/07 - 14/02/07 Christchurch to Queenstown. Milford Sound We spent an hour or two at our motor home depot learning about toilet cassettes and pink and blue chemicals, switching the fridge between AC, DC and gas power and various other miscellaneous instructions regarding our home for the next 3 weeks. We zeroed the trip meter, cleaned out the fridge and kitchen utensils, hit the supermarket for supplies and then picked up Jen’s parents from Christchurch airport. Next morning, early doors, we hit the road. Our New Zealand super road trip began!! Heading south from Christc [View Full Entry]

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17/01/07 - 08/02/07 Christchurch We arrived in Christchurch and immediately felt very at home. The town looked and felt much more like England than anywhere else in the world that we’d been. Christchurch has boutique clothes shops and loads of cafes and restaurants with tables spilling out onto the wide pavements. The Avon River, flanked by Oxford and Cambridge terraces has huge weeping willows, planted by the homesick British settlers when they first arrived and botanical gardens on the edge of town. We sipped sparkling wine and indulged in our favourite drink discovery of New Ze [View Full Entry]

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31/01/07 - 02/02/07 Abel Tasman National Park After a long day’s coach journey from Christchurch via the Kaikoura coast and Blenheim, we stayed over in the picturesque town of Nelson and enjoyed a bottle of the local Nelson Sauvignon Blanc. An early start, as usual with these tours!! We were picked up at 06:10 and headed from Nelson over to Marahau where we packed up our tents, sleeping packs, thermarests, clothes, food and cooking equipment. It was amazing to see how all our gear fitted into the waterproofed hatches of our boats. We paddled off in perfect conditions; crystal c [View Full Entry]

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