Once we had decided to leave Queenstown we headed for a town called Oamaru on the Otago Peninsula, as we would get there around 7pm and we had heard there is a huge ‘little blue’ penguin colony there that comes out of the sea to go ‘home’ after dusk, so we would arrive in time to see them. We got our tickets at the visitor centre then headed to the grandstand outside which overlooked the ocean where the penguins would come out from. We had to be quiet when the came out of the sea so as not to disturb them or they wouldn’t go to their nests, which were really near us. They would then head up a ramp to their nests to feed their waiting chicks. The visitors centre monitors the penguin numbers and ... read more

On the drive to Milford Sound for our overnight boat cruise, we were both thinking and talking about the skydives we had done that morning in Queenstown and how we were both so happy we had done them, as well as taking in the great scenery around us. About 2 hours after leaving QT we stopped in a town called Te Anau (which is halfway between there and Milford Sound) for some lunch and to see the main attraction of this town - the huge blue lake. Now I know we have seen a lot of lakes here and you may think we are getting bored of them, but these lakes are incredible - huge and so blue, most of the time with a shingle shore line so they look like a beach and they are ... read more

The drive down from Franz Josef was easily our most spectacular yet, with a back drop of snow capped mountains, lush forest winding forests and mirror blue lakes. After driving for around 4 hours we reached a town about 50 minutes from Queenstown called Wanaka. We had origninally planned to just pass through this town to view the large lake, but on arrival I think we both immediately realised that we had to spend the night there as it looked so nice and it was now approaching 7.30 and after our glacier climbed we were both quite tired. We pulled up in a small car park opposite the huge lake and next to a field which had been holding the annual labour weekend fair and planned to have a quick bite to eat and get an ... read more

We woke up and after a fairly cold night’s sleep, were greeted with clear blue skies and the forecast for the day ahead seemed good. After making breakfast (Scott’s just discovered that Vics does a mean scrambled eggs, so that will become a weekend staple when we get home). After breakfast and catching up with online bits again it was around 11am and although the reception staff at the hostel said we had missed the morning boats that take you around the various islands and beaches in Abel Tasman, we still decided to drive there and see what it was like as it was only about 10 minutes from the hostel. The main attractions in AT are its pristine white sand beaches and hidden coves, aswell as the huge national park, which are only accessible by ... read more

As we approached the last hour of our drive to Wellington, the wind picked up considerably and every time we passed a large truck in the opposite direction, the campervan was blown all over the road and at times it was difficult to steer. However, as has been the theme so far in NZ, the scenery was spectacular and we passed along the banks of several huge lakes before hugging the coastline all the way to a town about 15 minutes outside Wellington called Porirua. This had a lovely little harbour and as we had spotted a huge supermarket on the drive into it, we decided to stock up on supply’s and stay at a little campsite called ‘Elson Camp’ for the night. We had decided to cook steak for dinner and after unloading the van ... read more