We are up at 05:30; we make a cup of tea/coffee before going to wait for the bus, which will pick us up at 06:30. It feels really cold today; I do not wear shorts for the first time in two months, but go for the long trousers. We also have on sweaters and take our waterproofs with us. Di does not really warm up until around lunchtime The bus turns up on time and makes some more pick-ups in Queenstown. We then set off, as it is dark and not much to see, we catch up on a bit of sleep. We drive for two hours to get to Te Anau, where we stop for 30 mins for breakfast and pick up another couple of passengers. It will be another two hours to reach Milford ... read more

I heard rain pattering on the campervan last night. That’s the first time I have heard the rain since we have been in the camper We oversleep as the alarm is only set for weekdays. It is still raining quite heavily in the morning. We have a quick breakfast and set off, it is misty and we cannot see the mountaintops. It is good that we got in the helicopter flight across the glaciers yesterday, as it would be impossible today. Possums –Throughout the drive in New Zealand you can’t help but notice the amount of apparently dead Possums at the side of the road. You would think that with this fatality rate they would be an endangered species, but apparently not (there are still around 70 million of them!!). I can only think that the ... read more

We are on the road early again, away by 08:00 We are initially on a secondary road that is a bit winding. As we get through Waiau we pick-up the highway 7 that will take us through the Lewis Pass. We pass mountains shrouded in clouds. Although there are some winding mountain roads, a good deal of the roads is straight, and passes through the forest. It is a lot less daunting than I had imagined. At one point we were held up by hundreds of sheep that were being herded down the main road. The roads a very quiet and we see very little traffic. We stopped for lunch at Springs Junction, which is about halfway across the island. We are both starving as we set off without breakfast. We arrive at the campsite in ... read more

Up early, It is a bit overcast and chilly early in the morning. We have breakfast and go to meet the bus that is picking us up at reception to take us to the boat. We board the boat at Kaiteriteri beach. The boat is essentially a water taxi that drops and picks-up people who are walking different sections of the coastal in the Abel Tasman National Park. The boat has an extending gangplank on the front that allows them walk onto the beach to start their walks. Di and I are not walking but simply riding the boat from Kaiteriteri to Totaruni and back calling at about ha/lf a dozen beaches along the way. The trip takes about 3 hours. We sit on the top to take photos, but it is a bit windy and ... read more

Up at 07:00 again. But we are showered and have breakfast and are away for just after 08:00, which is a record! With it being Sunday the roads are relatively quite so we make good progress as the roads are relatively quiet. We head down highway 2 through Hastings. We pass through Dannevirke that appears to have a strong Scandinavian influence. We have been going for a couple of hours when we come to a small town called Woodvile where we decided to stop. Elevenses! Slice time! Today it is vanilla slice and Latte. Diane is also starting to join the “Elevenses Club” and has a cream cake. We push on and see some Hills/Mountains coming up and I think we will be into the steep winding roads again, But no; there is an impressive gorge ... read more