Not the group - the weather. It has been particularly atrocious for mid-summer I douibt if we've had 3 decent days in a row. Boxing Day started off promisingly enough - the previous night's rain had eventually stopped. We phoned home, where it was still Christmas Day and then packed up a still damp tent and left Wanaka. We travelled South through Roxburgh, Ettrick and other very Scottish sounding names - and the sun came out with ferocious intensity and it suddenly got really hot. The scenery had changed and we were in bare brown stony hills like you get in cowboy movies and car adverts. We noticed the familiar green and gold of a DOC scenic reserve and turned off the main road for a walk around a lake. The lake turned out to be ... read more

Thursday - woke up to find the clouds gone and a beautiful snow-capped mountain outside our door. So we went for a walk to see the Franz Josef glacier - we got pretty close to it, but didn't actually walk on it. Close up, glaciers are not pristine and white, but dirty, covered with soil and rocks, and the meltwater that flows out of them is milky grey with silt. Access to the area immediately in front of the glacier is by ladder and appears to be controlled by the companies running the tours. However we ignored the various warnings and during a break in the procession of guided tours ascended the latter and made our way to within 20 yds or so of the glacier itself. Close up it is indeed massive, row upon row ... read more

Its coming on Christmas and the sun is shining the sky is blue or was yesterday today its more reminiscent of Scotland - a scotch mist but its early still and the one thing you can say about weather in NZ its changeable. But to our tale after a very pleasant walk along 6 mile creek we returned to Murchison and headed out to meet Brian and Bella. They live some 11km west of Murchison itself. Their propoerty consists of a bit of garden, a bit of pasture ( Brian has 2 calves he's raising for the meat) and a bit of mainly native bush with a small burn running along between the pasture and the bush. We were made most welcome and spent a brilliant evening - a few beers, wine etc and roast lamb ... read more

Flew to South Island without much hassle - 45 minute delay. So it was good bye to wild and windy Wellington hello (hopefully) sunny Christchurch. Were met at the airport by Christine our host for the next week while we helped her get her garden sorted as a first step towards becoming organic. Christine is bubbly blond in her early fifties and made us very welcome. We spent the first afternoon chatting and looking round her garden working out what we would be doing (lots!). She lives on the edge of Christchurch with her 5 cats and her garden backs on to the Avon estuary (named by "a Scotsman after a small stream back home"). Lots of typical estuary birds - herons (at least 2 different kinds, white throated shags, black and pied oyster catchers, Siberian ... read more

Set off from our last stop Tairua? with the intention of stopping in another of the Dept of Conservation campsites south of Lake Taupo. Weather was fine if a little windy, drive down was uneventful apart from another pleasant meal stop (more 2nd breakfasts) We stopped at a cafe called Cat's Pyjamas in Katikati (aren't the town names fabulous). I had this ridiculous carrot cake topped with fresh strawberries (photo later). From there we drove down to Lake Taupo, stopped to get some info on local DoC campsites. By this time blue sky was disappearing but optimistic as ever we headed south looking forward to seeing Mt Ruape (excuse spelling) used as Mt Doom in Lord of Rings. Unfortunately by the time we had left Lake Taupo weather had really closed into heavy squally showers and ... read more