This is New Zealand.

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After 6 weeks in Australia and 3 1/2 months on the road we took a little skip and a hop across the pond and found ourselves in the earthquake stricken Christchurch, New Zealand. A food-filled 3 hour flight is all it took, seeming more like the mere 10 minute drive to Holmfirth after the day long australian drives we had become accustomed to. Good riddance! Although, the NZ customs did have the audacity to steel away our much loved, although apparently bee disease ridden, honey (what to have now with our porridge, just sugar?)! Well, we stole the aircraft cutlery and salt sachets so who's laughing now.

We soon found that the main tourist attraction to the surprisingly windy Christchurch is the Red Zone; the post earthquakes rubbly remnants of the town centre. However, being not so enthralled by that option, we spent our first day formulating a plan. A plan of what, when and where for our tour of (nowhere-to-be-seen, possibly fictional) kiwi land. So after day of head scratching and tantrums, day 2 came swiftly and with it the collection of our campervan. Barely containing our excitement, we giggled our way to the depot, begrudgingly parted with another £500 for full insurance (Laura would be driving of course) and set our sights upon the glistening white Toyota, aka Ivy. From first glance, it did look very car like standing by the more macho campers, and the interior did nothing to dissuade us, but it did have a double bed of sorts, a hidden sink and gas stove and would be our humble home for the next 5 weeks. We knew we were going to love it! So after a stock up on food for us and Ivy, we were ready to roll.

And roll we did. Our first destination was to be Lake Tekapo, a 200km drive away. However, after being distracted by green and grassy landscapes backed by snow capped mountains and quaint villages offering many a free sample of jams, chutneys and cheeses, we didn't quite achieve our target mileage. But it was no loss. We pulled up into one of the DOC campsites (Department of Conservation, pretty basic but provide all that is necessary: water and toilet) and set about making tea. And of course, a fire, as no camping is complete without trying to boil eggs on a campfire! We think the major fail was when sticks holding the pan in place, to our utter dismay, burnt. Anyhow, we were soon to learn that the DOC sites were situated in some of the most scenic and genuinely stunning places, be it by a river or a lake or some grassy pasture and only asked for a mere $10. Perfect.

We eventually arrived at the lake the morning after and like all true Yorkshire bred folk, we ignored the droves of people driving up to the look out and set off at a two-legged trot up t'hill! The views were spectacular of the topaz coloured lake as we munched on tuna and avocado sandwiches (cos avo really does take the place of mayo!). On the way back down we came to the realisation we were in dire need of a wash and what else to wash in than the lake. This outdoor, back to nature way of scrubbing up was soon to become a regular occurrence; it seems showers are hard to come by in rural NZ. Well, some brain freeze and shampoo later, we were looking somewhat more groomed and headed off to the Mt Cook region.

The walk we tackled the next day was no ordinary walk. Named the Mueller Hut track, we were promised glacier views with Mt Cook as the back drop and it did little to disappoint. In fact, it surpassed our imaginations as we were met with panoramic views of snow drenched mountains, waterfalls and the rumbling and tumbling of avalanches. What we did not expect was the 1800 steep steps leading us up to only half way! And the second half was a formidable looking scramble up rocky shale to the hut. Needless to say it took us a while, it was honestly one of the hardest walks we've ever done accompanied by many I'm-going-back-down-my-legs-will-not-go-on moments. But it was well worth it, with the views and the prospect of coming back with thighs and bums of steel that could rival a cyclists!

From there we moved further south to Cromwell, a small town renowned for its homemade pies and ice cream, and we had a jolly good time testing the culinary delights on offer. They may make some mouth wateringly good chocolate cake and have the creamiest of ice creams, but after much deliberation and discussion we concluded that no one can do a pie like the English. For starters, two kinds of pastry in one pie is not the way to go. The rest of the afternoon we, or one of us, supped our way through the regions wineries most famous for their Pinot Noirs (the driver definitely did not benefit here). In the end we were lured, or guilt tripped, into buying a bottle. But it was our 5 year anniversary so it may have deserved a splurge! It was later chilled in the lake, and went down splendidly with some burritos! YUM.

It was over towards Queenstown: adventure and adrenaline capital of the world (for those with a not so small fortune). We stopped off at the quiant Arrowtown on the way, a old gold mining town brimming with chinese tourists and golden nuggets. We strolled down the cobbled pavements and then, as per, went for a walk with legs still not quite recovered from the Mueller Hut experience. If we would have thought to bring a pan with us we might have been able to pay for the rest of our trip, but sadly it wasn't to be. We may not have found gold but we did happen to come across the river that played a part in the sweeping away of black riders in LOTR after Arwen mutters a few elvish words to save young Frodo.

So with our dreams of finding riches crushed, it was swiftly out of Arrowtown and onto Queenstown, where we met up with two of the guys we spent time with in India. And a town meant the luxury of a proper campsite so no missed opportunities here; we charged every single electrical item we owned and in a hot showers we stood until well and truly pruned. We met up with the girls later, had a cracking night out (our first in a while) and finished it off with a legendary Fergburger. Prime New Zealand beef pattie with alioli, bacon and tomato relish smacked in the middle of gloriously fresh bread? It was as big as your face and so ended up being a pretty messy encounter.

It was a shameful late start the next day (no longer able to hack a 2am bedtime) and after having a good wonder around the town, farmers market and being almost tempted by frisky golf, we decided we were not ready for civilisation. So we jumped back in the van and drove the 60km up the lakeside and past Glenorchy to the middle of foresty and grassy nowhere. The campsite had enough space for hundreds of vans and enough room between us and the next to play an 11 a side game of football. Right next to the campsite was the forest where they filmed the Lothlorien so we had to have a scout around there prancing around like Legolas. James even tried to fashion a bow and arrow out of a stick... It was an amazing place; the entire forest was carpeted in spongy silver green moss with huge fallen trees spread along the floor. Then out of nowhere you come to a hidden lake looking out towards the mountains.

However, at this campsites we got taught us about the one flaw and ultimate pesky pest of New Zealand: sand flies! With no insect repellent for defence, every inch of exposed skin was attacked by these evil creatures. And whereas a midge or mosquito doesn't hurt when it bites, sand flies nip. Although, being the scientists we are... we conducted a behavioural study. The findings? These buggers are slow movers and are very swatable! So an hour or so after getting in and sealing the van, there was a graveyard of flies in the footbed of the door. What a sorry sight. It was a learning curve; as soon as the sun goes down, trousers, jumpers, socks and buffs are on. And luckily, they don't seem to bite the face.

The morning after, insect bites everywhere and itchy legged, we trudged on up the valley alongside the river, scrambling through brambles til we could get no further. At this point we found a deep crystal clear pool surrounded by boulders screaming to be jumped off. It was icy cold but worth every bit of the pain swimming in it. And of course, we had a free wash there too, although it took Laura good half hour to pluck up the courage to take the plunge whilst waiting for the sun to come out. But after that it was back down to Queenstown where we had another Ferg burger with Karen and Rach, watched the sunset and even bumped into a friend from back home who I had no idea was out here!

We had had enough of each other by the following day and decided to split up.....not for good though and only because we wanted to do different things. Laura went shopping and I rented out a bike and set off into the mountains, riding up some steep scraggy stuff but what goes up must come down, and hurtling it at that optimising the full suspension. I only had the bike for 5 hours so I had to make the most of it, no time for long lunches, sandwich out and sandwich in and off we go again. By the end id covered around 60km, including in a bit of downhilling and swimming in the main lake. We did manage to find each other again and from Queenstown headed south to Te Anau another 150km away and camped up in a more luxurious spot with TV, hot showers and even Wifi! Shame we can afford this every night.

The next step of our southern plan was to go up to Milford Sound over the course of a day or so, take an early boat ride and then drive back the day later. It didn't happen like that. The drive all the way there from Te Anau only takes 2 1/2 hours, so we booked onto a trip later that day, drove up, took a big walk up a hill to the Miriam Lake which is very worthy of the 2 hour uphill struggle that it took and eventually made it just in time to catch the boat. The boat trip itself takes you right through the sound, stopping off at waterfalls, seal infested rocks and continues on until the sea before turning about and heading back on the opposite side of the sound. But the actual place itself it Avatar like, tree clad rock faces going up hundreds of meters at an almost vertical rate and plummeting below the ground over 600m. With the clouds that were there that day it looked magical and I believe more so than it would do on a sunny day, it added a bit of a mystical element.

Still in ore of the sound, we took it upon ourselves to drive 300km and get as near as we could to Wanaka (got to be careful how you pronounce that), a area just north if Queenstown. We wimped out of doing the full journey in one go and made it to a car park just south of Queenstown, which we were reluctant to stay in with the constant reminder of a $200 fine for freedom camping. We risked it (because we are bad ass, law breaking English hooligans), and woke up to a clear fine free windscreen. Back on the road to Wanaka. It took us a long while to get there due to some windy steep hills along the way and more newly tarmac-ed, pebble dashed roads than you would believe possible. The weather was terrible that day, raining constantly and cloud everywhere which didn't lighten the mood. It showed no signs of stopping and we had few options of things to do other than go to Puzzleworld (which I really wish that we did now). So we spent our money elsewhere, opting out of spending an afternoon in the back of a 6X4 van and paid full whack for a campsite. Worth.....every......penny. We had heating, a free sauna and spa, massive kitchen, free wifi and it was the day of the Super Bowl. It kept me at least entertained for a few hours whilst Laura made some plans for South America.

We woke up to the sound of sun rays beating down on the roof, how hard life is I know, and what was a very glum looking Wanaka the previous day now looked stunning. Roy's Peak was to be our activity for a couple "cough" of hours, a long 8km slog up a big ol' hill which gives a bloody good view of the town and surrounding lakes. I've never seen a track as tentative as this one, it was as if it was almost scared to go up and rather than going up it actually meanders its way very, very, very slowly up and then suddenly at the end the track makers must have got bored because it shoots up to the extent you are on all fours, sweating like Laura in a sweet shop. What was 8km could have been done in 4 anywhere else in the world. 8km or 4 though, the view was stunning, looking out over the whole of lake Wanaka, surrounding lakes and mountain ranges further afield. When we made it to the top we did our famous Yorkshire thing and said hello to everyone and befriended an Aussie and an Israeli who didn't fancy walking back down the same way either. Instead of walking the proper track back we took a hairy ridge route to what looked like a massive portaloo and turned out to be a solar panel and sat there for a good half an hour deciding how on earth we were going to get down. We were sat in the heart of private land and at one point one of the farmers came flying up in his chopper, landed on another peak a few hundred meters away and at that point, all at once got up and made a move down the hillside, not fancying the free ride to the police station. The path we chose looked like a good choice once we got past the tricky bit, however looks can be deceiving, as this was and we landed ourselves in chest high, thistle dense, seed rich grass. It was slow going indeed and by the time we got to the bottom I was riddled with hay fever and we were all covered in thistle and seed (there are still seeds in my socks today, 3 weeks later). Not a good look. And the walk that should have taken us only 3 hours took us 6, I wasn't happy, I wanted to go to Puzzleworld that afternoon!

We gave them a lift back into town to save them hitch hiking a ride back, parted ways and moved on further around the lake to a spot called Kidds Bush camp situated on Lake Hawea. It was gorgeous, loads of room, nice people and right on the banks of the lake. It was that nice that the next day we lazed around all day and stayed there again that evening. Doing nothing more in the day other than playing bat and ball, reading, running, cow watching and cooking.

Can't have more than one day doing nothing though, oh no, so we jumped back in Ivy and rolled into the Glacier district, home of the Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers. We passed through Fox first and quickly stopped off to have a look at it, walking a little way up a track overlooking the glacier face. It was impressive but not nearly as impressive as what was to come the following day. We had booked a Helicopter flight to take us into the heart of the Franz Joseph glacier, to then most around it and finally fly back down. Before then however we had to park up and camp somewhere.

We found our DOC campsite as usual, paid our fees, made some incredible burgers and then I went on a stroll just before dark up the river. Laura didn't fancy it so I went on my own, intending to be only 15minutes. Things didn't go to plan. I set off up the river and past a couple of old fellows, did the Yorkshire thing and said 'hello', then continued up for a few hundred meters, turned around and headed back. I got to their caravan though and heard an 'Oi', so I replied to him 'yeah?' and he came back with 'have you ever had a Whitebait Pattie?' (these are a delicacy on the west coast, eggs and whitebait in an omelette). After a quick judgement of them and almost 100% confident I would come out alive and well, I entered their abode and spent the next 2 hours drinking beer, rum, talking about all things Countryside related and eating Whitebait patties. I had said to them a good hour before leaving that I need to go but that meant a goodbye beer (can't say no to that) and by the time I left it was pitch black and around 11pm. The car was only 200m away so I had no worries getting back, but what I should have worried about was the state of Laura when I got back. She had been out searching for me on her own, with a torch and started to get the neighbours involved! I got back to the car, saw a neighbour and asked if I was in trouble, not realising Laura wasn't there. All I got was a 'yes', and next news I had a torch thrown a me from 5 yards and a Laura not to be meddled with. I spent the next hour apologising/grovelling and its safe to say that next time an old fellow asks me if I want a Whitebait Pattie I'll say no!

The Franz Joseph glacier though made all the worries/hangover of the night before go away. Starting off with a flight in a helicopter up the side of a mountain before descending into what looked like a very small landing spot in a small looking glacier. But as it always happens, the small looking things never turn out to be that small. The glacier was huge and we only had time to see a small portion of it. But what we did see in that time we will never forget. We were in a group of 8, and the youngest by a few years but we couldn't have been amongst a better group of people and it makes you realise that age doesn't matter. We spent the following 3 hours, kitted out in crampons and the works, climbing through tunnels of ice all naturally formed, walking through crevasses 20m deep and trying to light a Chinese lantern in windy conditions, the latter of which was unsuccessful. I don't think my words will do it justice, nor the photos but to be inside something as massive as this was extraordinary. We topped of the day with a complimentary dip in some natural glacier hot pools and a few drinks. Although the rest of the group stayed on at the bar, we couldn't afford it and had to get on up the coast that night. With the highs of the day over we finished up sleeping in a car park with only the sound of haulage trucks to send us off to sleep. You can't have it all!

We still had more driving to do the next day as we wanted to be up to the Abel Tasman National Park. After a quick look at a natural mystery, the pancake rocks, layer upon layer of rock coming up from the sea resembling a stack of pancakes that an American would be ecstatic about, we drove the remaining 200km to our next destination.

After what seemed like a lifetime of driving and an empty wallet later, the car and ourselves made it to Marahau, Abel Tasman. It's a place where national park meets ocean, and one hell of an ocean at that. We couldn't believe the difference between the sea we saw on the West coast only hours and what we saw now. It had transformed from a Bridlington Grey to a Mediterranean Blue in only a few hundred kilometres. New Zealand really does have, landscape wise, everything. We ran out of time that day though to explore our surroundings but did book a boat taxi for the next day that was going to drive us up the coastline 25km, drop us off and then leave us to walk it back. Sounds like fun!?!

The taxi itself was more like that of what you would expect of an Indian tuck tuck, not only taking us to where we wanted to go but stopping off and detouring to various photographic opportunities such as more Seal infested rocks and beautiful bays. In the end we made it to the drop off point and we were on our own from then on. The walk took us along the coastline on what is known as one of the 'Great Walks', usually involving 3/4 days walking and camping. We were only doing a fraction of the Great Walk but it was enough. The scenery along the way was, well, limited. 85% of the day we spent walking on a flat track with nothing to see but trees. And all the time we were right next to this amazing coastline but we just couldn't see much of it. During the other 15% of the walk we looked out onto picture perfect beaches, turquoise sea and blue skies. The beaches you could say were better than the ones of Thailand, with only a handful of people on each of them and the odd yacht here and there, one day is not enough but that's all we had. Unlike Thailand and the Mediterranean is the sea, its as cold as you would find in Cornwall!

We tootled along the coastline further to a place beginning with K, and that's all I can remember, for a day of Mountain Biking. We had our bikes at the ready but what we weren't ready for was the hills to come. The tracks were all in one place and made up a big bike park filled with downhill runs tailored to all capabilities. However we weren't going down, we were going up. It took some doing, blood, a lot of sweat and tears but we did make it to the top. From there it was a long downhill track back to the bike shop which we thought was made only for bikes. It turned out we took a wrong turn and came hurtling down a footpath, fitted out with mud steps and roots. We didn't realise and Laura paid the price, riding down the mud steps and roots sat on the frame with feet everywhere but on the peddles. Ouch! That's enough bike riding, at least for Laura, for a while.

From the place beginning with K, it was up the coast to Takaka and Golden Bay. The Lonely Planet recommended visiting a Salmon Farm on the way up where you can go onto the lake, kitted out with a rod and net, and try to fish for Salmon. Now, from what my Dad says catching a Salmon is hard work; he has spent 5 years going up to Scotland in search of them and been 'unsuccessful' every time. Perhaps his technique is a little off, as 5 minutes in we had hooked a salmon! Unfortunately (for us and the salmon), the slippery thing snapped the line and skulked off into the blue. Attempt two did not take long; less than a minute later we had our still wriggling dinner in the net! Yet there was to be a catch to this free fishing malarkey - if you caught the fish, you had to buy the fish, at a staggering rate of $20/kg. Being the expert fishers that we are, we had bagged a 0.75kg one, small enough for us to eat in the one sitting (we feared it would not last in the back of the camper for long) and not too costly. Perfect! I have made this sound like we did a lot to catch the fish but really a guy hurled a load of fish food into the water, I dropped in the line with a bait that looked like the fish food and hey presto you have a Salmon. Try it next time Dad!!

We dined well that night in another car park next to the roadside, along with our other freedom camping friends! Just up the road from the car park was an amazing spot for anyone interested in water. But not just any water, no. It's called the Pupu springs, and home to the worlds 2nd clearest water, the 1st being in Antartica. What looked like a foot of water was in fact 2 1/2m of it. The only thing they don't let you do is swim in it, shame!

Onwards and upwards the next morning, destined for the Farewell Spit, the northern most point of the South Island. If anyone likes black swans this is the place to come to. Thousands of them are sat there in the middle of the day, enjoying the last of the South Island before presumably making a short flight over onto the North island. At first we didn't think they were swans because you very rarely see them anywhere at home but this would keep the monarchy well fed for generations to come. We walked along the bay, getting a better look at the mass of swans before doubling back along the western side of the cape in search of seals. The swans must have scared them away because there were none in sight! That afternoon we drove further down the west coast to a promising looking beach. And there were seals, not many but they were there, all lined up on the rocks just out at sea a little. We came a the wrong time of day though, the tide was high and if it were low we would would have seen some cool looking rocks.

That was our Abel Tasman area time over, for now. One good thing seems to lead to another in NZ and so far it has continued that way since the start. Our next stop was Marlborough, and one that Laura was very excited about. Laura had recovered from the bike riding fiasco and we now found ourselves sat upon a tandem about to ride around countless vineyards, taking advantage of the free wine sampling. We had 5 hours to get through as many as we could, loving every minute of the drinking and riding as fast as Lance between them, working up a thirst for the next batch. It's a great way and cost effective way to spend an afternoon getting as sloshed as you want! One of us had to drive and I had the pleasure of a very giddy companion on the drive backup to Picton, our last stop before crossing the Cooke Straight to Wellington.

We had made it to our last day on the South island, which has come around at a crazy quick pace and its hard to think we have been away nearly 5 months! Our final day however we didn't waste. It started out as a walk along the Queen Charlotte track, another of the Great walks, weaving its way through the Marlborough sounds to where we met Chris and Eli, friends we spent our time in Kratie, Cambodia with and along with them Eli's sister, Lucy. We had planned to meet up with them later that day and knew they were doing the walk but we didn't think we would bump into them on it. It wasn't long before we were sat on the harbour front eating fish and chips, having a drink in a local dive and camping up in a car park out the back of it! Morning came around and it was a stop off at the bakery, to get an array of patisseries fit for a king and have a good old cup of Tetley's before the ferry hop across the water. Awesome way to finish off the South Island.

We had heard a lot of mixed reviews about the North Island, which more often than not consisted of people saying to have more time in the South Island, which we did! However as time in the South Island went by, our list of places to go and things to do in the North Island got longer and longer and the 2 weeks we have to do it all in seemed now not long enough. But that's all the time we had so we best get a move on.

It was a good day to dock into Wellington, timed perfectly for the Twenty20 Final of England vs. New Zealand. Before the ferry ride was over we booked our tickets and a couple of hours later we were sat watching Stuart Broad and his boys give NZ a lesson in how to play cricket. The atmosphere in the stadium, to say that cricket is an up and coming sport in the country, was electric. We were right behind the NZ version of the Barmy Army and by the end if the night we had both lost our voices, all the shouting must have paid off because we past their score in less than 15 overs with no wickets lost! They best stick to the Rugby, although once this is finished we will have probably been trounced in the 1 day'ers.

With the cricket over and the taste of victory running sweet through our veins it was off to camp up for the night. We took the van for a lap of Wellington before heading north east towards Napier. For hours we drove and couldn't find one of our picnic signs, indicating a non official free camping spot and therefore we went in search of a DOC sight. As per, it was in the middle of nowhere down a horrendous unsealed road. Be that as it may, we got our beauty sleep and the next morning we were on the road to Napier.

We were informed by one of our new made friends, a pensioner from the Wanaka campsite, that there was a massive Art Deco festival in Napier that weekend drawing in over 40 000 people, and Saturday, our day of arrival, was the big day. Neither Laura or I had a clue what Art Deco is but it sounded good and a little different. Different it was! We quickly learned what Art Deco was, with swarms of frilly dresses and ribbon trim straw hats on show in every street and alleyway. It didn't stop there, the whole town was packed with classic cars, street entertainers and a mass of food and drink vendors. We loved it and couldn't have picked a better time to see the often quaint town, now dressed up in all its glory. We only stayed the afternoon, wallowing the rest of it away sat on the pebble beach watching the world go by and it was then up towards Taupo for the next couple of days.

Taupo, better known for its massive lake and controversy around this years triathlon, was now our new temporary home. It wasn't a long stint behind the wheel but after the distance we had covered over the last few days we had had enough once we got there. We took a toe dip in the geothermal lake but couldn't manage a proper swim and then set up base camp for the night, in an official freedom camp, jackpot! The next morning we were up and off to see the hydroelectric dam open its gates at 10am sharp. It doesn't sound all that thrilling but believe me, watching thousands of gallons of water come thrashing down through a narrow gorge causing the water line to rise over 5 meters in less than 5 minutes is worth the effort of getting there for. It continued to be a complete water filled day. From the rapids, we bypassed the Huka Falls, a humongous horizontal waterfall throwing out enough water to fill 200 Olympic sized swimming pools a minute (it might have been 40, but I think it was 200!) and then we finished off the day at the hot water beach on the outskirts of Lake Taupo. Even though it was cold outside and the water was far from 'hot', it was warmer inside the water than out.

Although Taupo is a major tourist attraction it didn't keep us there for long. We moved out the next morning at the crack of dawn (8am!!) to go and make the journey across the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. According to the lonely planet it takes around 7 hours which means 4 or 5 real hours so we had loads of time to do it. The catch though was that you have to get a shuttle bus to and from the start point of the walk, which we knew about but assumed they would run all day. They didn't! We had missed the last shuttle scheduled for 9am by a good hour and we were forced to rearrange the days plans from being action packed to lethargic. Instead of walking the crossing we moseyed round a little lake, stopped off by some big kauri trees and finished on a wee feast.

We may have missed the bus once but we learn quickly. 8am and we were fuelled up ready for the now long anticipated walk and on the bus. 8.10 and the bus was off. 8.15 and disaster! We had a blow out on one of the back tires, it looked like we were never going to make the start point. But like any decent student they had a backup (we can't save this and I will have jinxed myself and loose it all just watch!) and by 9am we had made it to the start.

We could see the crossing in front of us. 20km of up and down through some 'more active than you want them' volcanos. One of which was Mount Doom from The Lord of the Rings. We couldn't come all this way and not go up the 800m of hell to the top of it! Throughout the entire walk into the active zone Mount Doom was looming, gradually turning into a massive mound unlike than the molehill it first appeared. Laura didn't look keen but with a bit of the Nobles charm (Laura wouldn't call it that), ha, we began to make our way up the steep, shale like mountainside. Underfoot the going got worse the closer to the top we got, what started out as mere mud transformed into fist sized lumps of volcanic remnants making it almost impossible to go 20m without a minor asthma attack. An hour and a half later and some LOTR orientated photos taken we made it to the top ready to drop the ring into the not so boiling lava! The views were stunning, looking out at the two volcanos on either side and the lakes in the valley bottom. And getting back down was simple. Put your feet together, adopt the ski stance and shale skate your way back down. What took an hour and a half to get up took 10 minutes and some grazes to get down. We finished off the walk which was awesome, getting up close and personal with some sulphur pools, and then turned around to walk it all back. It may have been a day late but the weather was incredible giving us blue skies all day. And what better way to clean off all the blood, sweat and tears than jumping in a freezing cold river!? I'd have taken a long hot shower any day!

Mount Doom one day to the depths of the Waitamo caves the next. We had barely gotten out of the river and dried off before we had to drive off. And what was an awesome day finished off an awesome day, we found our beloved picnic campsite again. A lorry disturbed sleep after it was caving day. We'd been waiting a long time to go black water rafting (caving with an inflatable tube) after it being hyped up back at home. The time had come to don our black inch thick rubber wetsuits and head down into a deep black cavern. We were briefed on what to expect down in the caves, the grasshopper like insects, the eels and the glow worms. Each of us had our head torches and off we went. One minute we were creeping through a tight squeeze and the next we were jumping off an underground waterfall. Once the adrenaline had settled down we hopped aboard our rubber rings, made a snake like formation and looked up at the hundreds of thousand glow worms doing all they could to catch their food. And then the light came and it was over. They topped it all off with a complimentary free hot shower followed by sou and a bagel. Not bad for just over £50! And like always it was back in the car, foot down and on to the next place.

Only a hop, skip and a jump later we were in Rotorua, a town famous for its volcanic activity and subsequently the constant smell of a cows back end. We were here for one purpose, to encounter some volcanic activity up close and it didn't disappoint. The next day we visited Te Puia, which houses one of NZ's biggest geysers firing boiling water 30m into the air. It gave us an opportunity for some not so original photos, pretending to shoot steam from our mouths or have it teaming out of the top of your head. Alongside the geyser, the area was filled with boiling mud pools that could amuse even the most mature grown up for hours and not only that but a Mouri performance inside one of their meeting buildings that included a Haka! For us this was the best bit. It might have been a bit commercial but for the 45 minutes it went on, no one said a word and all sat watching open mouthed at the enthusiasm and skill the actors possessed.

Besides boiling mud and geysers, Rotarua, for us didn't have too much else to offer besides luging (flying down a mountainside on a makeshift go kart), which we regrettably missed out on. And so the whirlwind tour of the north island, which is what if felt like, continued to the Coromandel for a bit of R & R.

The Coromandel is filled with white sand beaches, some incredible scenery and hellish windy roads. What we presumed to be a 2 hour journey to the campsite took 4, but we couldn't do anyone about it and Laura loved getting a bit more driving experience in there. I took a while to find the campsite, expected as it was a DOC one, and settle in for the night. We camp was in the middle of an old gold mining area so before heading to bed we took a quick stroll to one of the mining batteries. It was in the middle of the forest, and lacking daylight looked spooky. What was worse, the path finishes at a tunnel entrance that goes into the hillside 20m and then takes a left. It looked like an old school jail and we never made it to the left hand turn, instead turning round and walking back, with a little more run in our stride, to the campsite.

We had come to the Coromandel to chill out for a day or 2 and also check out what it had to offer. That came in the means of the Hot Water Beach in Whitianga and the Cathedral Cove a bit further up the coast. The first of which was one of the biggest disappointments of the whole trip to date. A hot water beach sounds like the best thing since sliced bread but in reality it was 200 or more people within 40 square meters digging holes hopping that they would fill up with hot water that comes in from an underground river. And for some it did work but the majority, including us, are left disappointed. Cathedral cove on the other hand made up for the earlier disappointment. A 40minute walk leads down onto a big white sand cove, divided in 2 by a huge cliff face with a perfect archway in the middle. The water wasn't too cold and we could have spent the entire day there if we brought lunch with us. A big rookie mistake.

We moved round the coast that night to Coromandel town to a small backpackers with every homely feature you could want. It even came with a grandma like owner from Lancashire who offered to give us loads of pots and pans for the van after saying we were I'll equipped. The night before in Whitianga we booked onto a fishing trip for the following morning at 6am. The morning quickly came and next news we were onboard a boat filled with fishermen and women about to spend 6 hours snapper fishing. We thought initially it would be people like us, fishing virgins pretty much, but no, they all brought their gear in boxes and a couple of rods a piece. The boat pulled into numerous mussel farms where fishing was easy but after 6 hours England came away victorious with 28 fish between us and a near but not caught Kingfish too. Of the 28 we could only keep 8 and of 8 we only kept 5, giving the rest away to the other boatmen. By the time it was finished it was only 1pm and left is the rest of the day to chill out, have a coffee or two, go on the Internet and eat a load of snapper. We had a snapper lunch and a snapper tea and could have done it again the next 2 days of we didn't freeze it.

That was the 3 days in the Coromandel over. Time was going by at too fast a rate and didn't look like it was going to slow down. We had less than a week left in this awesome country. Just south of Auckland was Pukekohe, our next stop and an important one too. We were going to visit Laura's Aunty Jane with a surprise visit as well from her cousin Bex. Laura saw her Aunty just over a year ago but hadn't seen her cousin in over 10 years so when they reunited it was nothing but smiles and more smiles. It was an great few days filled with family, food and home comforts. And we couldn't leave without doing a bit of work. What started out as cleaning windows ended in running a kitchen between us all due to a staff sickie. We loved it and even managed to get a visit in to Auckland.

We had promised to come back on the Saturday before we left, leaving us with 3 days to go into the Northlands of New Zealand. We made way for Russell, right in the heart of the Bay of Islands however not managing to get the whole 250km in the one go because of a morning spent of backing up photos and sending parcels home. We were just 50km short when we stopped for the night at a beachside campsite. We were in the Bay of Islands watching the sun set over the horizon casting out shadows from the little islands dotted in front of us out from the harbour. It was up there in the top 5 sunsets we'd seen.

The weather until now had been perfect. Blue skies almost every day, however when coming up north to places famous for beaches the weather decided to change a little and allowed the clouds to take up the majority of the sky. It did stop us from basking in the sun and from cooking outside the van but it didn't stop us doing what we wanted to do. Bright and early the next morning we left quickly to get to Russell as I'd promised Mum that we would get on Skype to say happy birthday to Dad. We got their in time to sing happy birthday down the lens of a camera in the middle of an Internet cafe inhabited by extremely grumpy OAPs of which a particular one wanted to go out of his way to let us know that we were making to much noise. He didn't dampen the mood too much.

Russell itself was a beautiful town and an old one for New Zealand. It had one main road running through the middle with cafes sprouting out from each side and restaurants everywhere else. It would have been perfect to spend a week their if you had the time but we didn't. We made for a town further up called Kerikeri. We used it as a stop to break up the journey between Russell and the campsite, stopping to go on a walk to a 20m high waterfall. It did the job well and an hour later we were at the campsite surrounded by mob of high schoolers. We found a quiet little corner of the campsite (like the pensioners we must be), had a few beers (to knock away the years) and rustled up a culinary treat, a home made Pad Thai.

We were now on the way back down the West coast of the Northlands to mix up the scenery but to also stop and see some gigantic kauri trees. It wasn't hard to find the forest as almost everyone driving on that coast was doing so only to see the trees. When you think of a big tree you might think tall but these are different, they are girthy instead. Some of the trunks were 16m around and they made the model Laura look minuscule. They are thought to be over 2000 years old! And that was really all that there was on the west coast. Laura added some more miles to her driving experience taking us from the one coast to the other to find the unknown to us 'clothing optional' campsite! Thankfully the weather was on our side that night being a bit cloudy but I spotted a couple in their birthday suit on the beach whilst I was running, and all the quicker after seeing them.

The penultimate day. We were up before the nudists and long gone by the time they got undressed. We drove straight through Waipu and into Mangawai Heads, a place we wish we found earlier. It was market day and all the locals were out underneath their gazebos selling all their produce by the side of the Sunday school. If we had a few more days left we would have stocked up on all the fresh veggies and decent meat that the cool box could handle. Unfortunately time was against us and we left with only a deep fried courgette. The last thing we did before returning to Pukekohe was taking a walk on the black sand beach filled with surfers and ice cream lovers. We grabbed a quick ice cream and got in the car for one of the last times.

Safely back in Pukekohe and back at Jane's we gave Ivy Rose her long lost shine back and got ready to go out. We couldn't escape that easily and got called into the kitchen one last time before leaving. 5 of us rather frantically put together 8 or 9 dinners and then it was out of the door and back to the Thai where we went the last time in Pukekohe, it was that good! The amazing food wasn't the only thing occupying everyone's minds as we dug into the Red Thai Curry or Sweet and Sour Pork, we were going to a place called Spookers after, where over 16's only go to get scarred shitless! And it did just that. It was an adults version of a maize mazes and a haunted house with characters all dressed up waiting behind every corner and grabbing the back of your legs when you aren't looking. It was crazy to see how 5 people when suddenly spooked disregard everyone else and push their way to the front in order not to get attacked by a chainsaw wielding man. Needless to say the actors did their job and gave us plenty to talk about for the next week or more.

We now have to force ourselves to leave this country, but its safe to say.......we will be back again!

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