Tufty

Hi guys, as we are so far behind we are going to condense the last few weeks of New Zealand... Starting from where we left, we went to Akaroa which is a small French settlement about 1 1/2 hours from Christchurch. Its a cute place with some really quirky shops and buildings and when we arrived there was a local cricket match on. The drive there and back was through windy hills and it was hard not to feel sick! We spent the rest of the day in Christchurch and the evening with our new friends at the campsite. It was fun and an even later night!! 28/2/09. We left for Kaikoura and after 3 hours we arrived. It was raining heavily and there were storms predicted for the whole weekend -fun fun fun... We wend ... read more

I slept in the tent again last night and i was warm! I have found a new trick, i use my towel as a blanket under my sleeping bag! We could hear all the rabbits running around too! Today’s weather was meant to be showers but it was another nice day. We left at 9.30 am to do a walk through the woods up to the Observatory then down the hill along the Lake. The views of the Lake were really nice, a lovely deep blue colour. They say when the sun shines on it it goes turquoise but the other lake was more impressive! The walk was about 2 hours long so we drove to Christchurch earlier than we had thought. The good thing was we could pop back into the Mitre 10 to sort ... read more

Woke up to a better day, the rain had stopped! Got the tent down, had breakfast and off to the Otago Peninsula. This area is known for it’s blue penguins, albatrosses and fur seals. We drove along the coastal road first up to the tip of the peninsula. We walked down to one of the beaches and there were male fur seals all over the place, sleeping their dinner off! The main area is fenced off to protect them but 4 had come around to our side and were not afraid! We got quite close to get some photo’s. One of them was on his back and snoring - so funny! Sounded like a motorbike ticking over! They were lovely to watch. We walked along the sand and saw a dead penguin  , the sign ... read more

Off to Dunedin today. It was still raining, day 4 - it's like being back home! We got the tent down inbetween showers, said goodbye to Jess an Jen again! We drove through Gore & Balchutta to get to Dunedin, only took 3 hours and it rained the whole way!We popped into the I centre when we got there to pick up a map for tomorrow and also check the weather forecast...more rain! yipee doo dah! Dunedin ( pronounced Doo-neee-dun ) is the Gaelic name for Edinburgh in Scotland and is often said to be the best preserved Victorian and Edwardian Heritage city in the Southern Hemisphere! We had a walk around and got to see the old Law Courts, the railway station, the church, they are all amazing buildings. It is today a Uni City. ... read more

It was raining again today. AFter breakfast and a nice long shower we went for walk into town to find a market we had seen i sign for. It was at the Te Anau Club, there were about 10 stalls there selling food and cakes! we bought a new zealand t-shirt each and then went back to the campsite for lunch. It is very difficult to do anything here when it is raining as the clouds are so low you can't see anything and everything to do is outside! We spent the afternoon doing washing and the Jess and Jen turned up! Funny as they could have chosen between 3 other campsites! They cooked up some muffins and we watched a film, read books, and spent the evening drinking tea, talking!... read more

We drove back into Te Anau and went to the Lakeside Campsite ( $15pp/pn), the cheapest one here. Got the tent upasap as it was raining and walked into town. WE stopped in the I centre to book our Ferry from Picton to Wellington ( not cheap, 2p + car $220 ! ) and our swim with the dolphins in Kaikoura. Then we walked through town, had a nosy around the shops, bought a new tea-towel, yeh, and then came back for lunch. we settled down in front of the TV as it was still raining...what else to do on a day like today! A few films were on, got out sleeping bags out and settled in! Spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching films! ... read more

Up early as got a long drive ahead. We packed up, this tent is so much quicker , and drove up to the showers...as predicted it was raining today...we had been so lucky with the weather yesterday! Had maybe our last breakfast with Jess and Jen unless we bumped into them again! At 11am we left, it was a 5 hour driv to Milford Sound and as it was raining we thought it may take longer. Only 2 hours later we had arrived in Te Anu. We filled up with petrol as this was the last place that sold it and dropped into the i centre. There we were told it wasn't raining in Milford Sound so we though quick lets go! It was another 2 hours to get there. The rain ease off about 30 ... read more

What a good night sleep! I slept in the car as i wanted to be warm and it worked! Wahoo! Got an exciting day ahead today as we were going WHite Water Rafting!!! We were both up early, around 8.30, had breakfast and then the next thing we know it was 11am!!! Mad. We had made sandwiches to take with us and have in town before going. We got into town around 12.15 so had a walk along the river front, a look around the shops and stopped in a small park to have lunch. We went to the office at 1pm to check in. Once everyone had arrived we jumped on the bus and went 10mins up the road to the main centre. There we were given our wetsuits, shoes, jackets and helmets, oh and ... read more