We took ourselves to The Warehouse, IKEA style shop but of woolworths (UK type) stock, and managed to get ourslves some easter goodies at half price having waited til Monday. The most obscene purchase was perhaps my 500g chocolate bunny, consumed in just over 24hours, and yes, I did feel very sick after! [View Full Entry]

---

---

After a few hours pacing time through town, we took in most of the cultural district. We attended a small part of the Easter Sunday service in the Cathedral, looked through the small shops in the Art Centre, a group of art and craft shops, the most impressive of which in my opinion was obviously the fudge cottage! The buildings here are a lot more like the UK, we haven't seen a great deal of stone buildings for a while, and the general feel of the town is very relaxed and quaint. We ventured out to the beaches of New [View Full Entry]

---

---

We had some time to spare and decided that a detour from the coastal road would best occupy our time as we ventured almost all the way back across the South Island to Mount Cook. We stopped to view the snow-capped glacier peaks from the lakes before thundering down the dead end road onto a gravel track to finish the journey. Having had a fair bit of offroad challenges on this trip, therefore the posted speed limits seemed reasonable until we found the rear end of the car sliding round corners Tokyo-Drift style! An incredibly steep scramble up a path [View Full Entry]

---

---

We drove a 240km round trip with no shops, fuel etc in order to go to Milford Sound. Apparently the drive to the sound is supposed to be one of the best in NZ. We don't know whether that's true. The weather was so bad, and the visibility so poor that we saw the road and thats about it! The sound is actually a fjord, and was named after Milford Haven in Pemrokeshire. We saw it with clouds lower than the tops of the sheer mountain peaks, giving everything rather a mystical feel. We went on the smallest boat we [View Full Entry]

---

---

We got to visit another textbook geographical feature! Only it's way better when you actually get up close to the glaciers. We went on a variety of walks to get close to the glaciers, to be rewarded with great views of ice pinnacles and crevasses, in stripes of blue and dirt. The temperature was surprisingly warm, but with a cool wind blowing off the glacier close to the terminus. We got far closer to Fox and so prefer that one!! Also amazing reflections in Lake Matheson of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman in the evening light- well worth the slight [View Full Entry]

---

---

Abel Tasman is a walkers and kayakers paradise. Remote bushland, beautiful isolated beaches, and crystal clear waters. We joined a day trip from Marahau beach and took a water taxi to Torrent Bay and kitted out the boats with BBQ gear for lunch as well as much needed sustainance on the 2 hour paddle (lots of biscuits!!). The remote park juts out onto the blue ocean isolated from the reached of the mainland. The difficulty of access has led to the stunning preservation of pristine beaches and stunning cliff views as you kayak your way across the headlands accompanied only [View Full Entry]

---

---

We did it! We actually got to skydive. And it was completely amazing! [View Full Entry]

---

---

Wellington exceeded all expectations. It is the first place in New Zealand that we really enjoyed all aspects of. Even the people were friendly! We stayed with Clare and Simon, friends of ours (the Goldsack's) from long ago camping in Pembrokeshire. They were fantastic, giving us the entire downstairs flat, complete with a real bed (bliss!), a shower room and kitchenette. They even met us to show us they way to their house, fed us, and made maps to show us where to go. The city looks green, a strange change for a city (welcome to NZ! A town is [View Full Entry]

---

---

A round trip with Rob from Hamilton totalling just over 400kms left us without a single person skydiving. Unfortunately we lost out to poor weather and ended up bumming around Taupo for a few hours. Stopped in Huka Falls and wandered around Craters of The Moon, a volcanic thermal area with craters and steam rising from the ground. Although we re-booked for today the weather again let us down, so with promises of better luck tomorrow, Anne and I will return on our way to Wellington to give Taupo one last chance. Unfortunately Rob will miss out this time. Instead we [View Full Entry]

---

---

Today we hit Rotorua, a tourist hotspot, and had a fantastic day. We found a bargain deal to visit a maori cultural centre. We took part in a welcoming ceremony, complete with songs, haka and poi (they were much better than me at it!). It was brilliant to watch. It was backed by volcanic mudpools and geysers, with steam rising from every crack in the floor. We smelt like fried eggs when we left! Stopped in a park to write postcards, with our feet in a thermal spa pool (it's great what u can do for free if you look hard [View Full Entry]

---

---