Geo: -43.5316, 172.637September 29With 2 free days in Christchurch we decide to head to the International Antarctic Centre which touts an insight into the frozen continent of Antarctica and NZ 's involvement in the research missions. We donned a warm jacket and entered a simulated blizzard which dropped the temp to -14 degrees with a wind-speed of 34 km per hour, and if that didn't wake us up nothing would. We then visited the rescue penguins which was a little lame before viewing a 4D movie about an ice breaker. I'm sorry but this was also somewhat lame with the predictable squirts of water hitting you face and the chair rocking as the boat struck the ice on screen. We had some tickets for a ride on the impressive Haaglund tracked vehicle which took us over ... read more

Geo: -41.5116, 173.957Day 18, Blenheim to Westport After a day of showers we wake to a bright sunny day as we say good bye to NZ's sunniest region (Marlborough) and drive the Queen Charlotte route to Havelock. This road is winding and very narrow and Debi is not impressed, it does however offer some spectacular views of the many sounds along the way. On arriving in Havelock the Green Shell Mussel capital of the world, we drive down to the wharf where there are plenty of restaurants offering this local delicacy and also a mail run cruise that will take you along many of the sounds we just viewed, however we keep driving as Debi is queasy from the drive we have just completed.Soon we pass Canvastown a gold mining area where thousands tried to get ... read more

Geo: -42.5223, 172.83A cloudy day as we check out of the Heritage Hotel and head over to Mumbles Café for some breakfast. We notice a big difference in the crowds. The place is almost deserted with only 2 cars parked in front of the thermal springs as compared to 100 yesterday and approximately 250 on Saturday.We head to Kaikoura (Maori for Crayfish) via the Alpine Scenic Triangle. We were advised to take a shortcut to the coast via the Leader Road as this will bring us 50km south of our destination and we will pick up some spectacular scenery as the coast road carves it way between the mountains and the sea, passing through many tunnels. I'm glad we did as the drive was very special.Debi was hanging out for a crayfish and she said she ... read more

Geo: -45.0311, 168.663Day 11 - Queenstown to WanakaGiven the fact that the Haast Pass was still not open and bad weather was expected on the West Coast for the weekend we decided to blow Queenstown and spend the day in Wanaka at the junction of State Highway 6 and 8. One highway will take us to the West Coast the other to Lake Tekapo and up the centre of the Canterbury Region to our destination of Hanmer Springs.There were to ways we could reach Wanaka, a windy trek over the infamous Crown Ranges and a flatter route through Cromwell and the Gibson Valley. With Debi very nervous about high windy roads we took the route through the Gibson Valley home to many fine wineries. Temped to stop for a tipple we kept driving as we would ... read more

Geo: -44.6684, 167.92Another brilliant day in Fiordland as we head down to the Sandfly Cafe to grab some breakfast before driving to Manapouri to check in for our Doubtful Sound overnight cruise aboard the Fiordland Navigator.We are a little early so we catch some rays to warm up in the cold but sunny conditions. As we wait to board the ferry that will take us across Lake Manapouri to the Wilmont Power Station we notice some large brown trout swimming in the crystal clear waters under the jetty. Not long after our fellow shipmates start arriving so we size them up. There are about 10 tourists, 10 Real Journeys staff on a training run and no Japanese tourists....... given the boat sleeps seventy passengers, this should be a very pleasant journey.On arriving at the power station ... read more