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Well thanks are due to the Ross family for assorted lifts. We travelled for the best part of 40 hours with over 30 hours flying.

We're cream crackered.

But, now we're back we can reflect and consider what we've done:

- km driven - 3,500
- tyres replaced - 1
- take offs and landings - 4 of each
- photos taken - over 2,000
- hot chocolates drunk - 42
- Monteith's consumed - too many
- Monteith's glasses 'borrowed' - 3
- decent pints - 2

Sidney's (and probably Alice's top 5 Highlights - or things we loved so much we'd do again -
1 - Fly over the Southern Alps to Milford Sound
2 - Swimming with Hector's dolphins
3 - Kayaking in Abel Tasman
4 - Seal Nursery at Oahu Falls
5 - Vineyard tour with Vince Picone.

We've loved it.

New Zealand - Queenstown

I'm writing this Friday night - we've had little access to the internet and it's very pricey! Therefore it's going to be brief...honest!

Overall impression of Queenstown is it's a really nice place at times but can be rowdy at night, has too many 'ski bums' and backpackers looking to jump off anything that stands still and a vast array of things to do which will rapidly empty your wallet - it's all very friendly though!

Day 1 - weather was ropey with wind, heavy cloud, rain and some sleet. We had been advised to visit Glenorchy, 45km up Lake Wakatipu, as it's beautiful. Of course, with such poor conditions it wasn't! Therefore headed the other side to Arrowtown to see if we could find the odd bit of gold lying around. It's on the Shotover river, one of the richest gold producing rivers in history apparently, but to no avail. Instead the only gold to be found was the beer and pie crust at the small Arrowtown Brewery. Pie was excellent, beer good. Arrowtown is really quaint with a lot of commercialised bits and some good history. Good for a visit.

We then headed back and dissolved the credit card at the i-site booking trips.

Dinner at the lovely Bella Cucina across from our backpackers.

Day 2 - man it was early. Collection from the information centre at 07:30am. Bussed off back to Glenorchy again by Jenny and Lisa who were our guides for the day. We donned yet more fetching rubber wear in the form of a wet suit, floral fleece for J9 and little rubber booties. Cool it wasn't in either temperature or look. That did change though when we got on the jet boat and were spirited another 3okm up river. Again, as Queenstown is surrounded by mountains, this was an amazing trip with stunning views. Running through very shallow water, twists, turns and 360's was good fun. We passed Paradise (famous for Wolverine, Lord of the Rings, Narnia) and Isengard while on the Dart and were offloaded with some large rubber boats. These weren't inflated but we were told we needed to warm up so proceeded to inflate the large boats and warm up - all the time being eaten by Sand Flies! We were to coast and paddle the bulk of the way back down.

We had the usual steering difficulties - Sidney's fault again - but managed to ride the relatively placid blue clear waters. We stopped off for a lunch (for the sand flies mainly) and then were off again until we met a boat halfway down. The rest was a 4x4 bus through more 'movie scenery' - apparently K2 is also here for Vertical Limit.

We we back in time for a local institution - Fergburger - before heading to the memorial hall to watch John Brown's Body support the Black Seeds. The dub, funk, reggae (thanks geek Phil) was pretty cool though the clientelle were bigger fans, danced more and seemed to have consumed something which we didn't get on our room service menu!

Day 3 - well after a late night you need a lie in. We opened the curtains to a cloudless sky and went to wait for our taxi. We were met by Matt our pilot who escorted us to our Piper Six 300 - apparently it started as a sea plane - we were pleased it was on wheels as take off could have been messy otherwise.

We were heading for Milford sound - it's either a 12-hour day - 5hr coach, 1hr 3omin cruise, 5hr retrun coach or, you can fly! I didn't think Janine would be up for it but to be honest it's one of the best things we've done. The views of the snow covered southern Alps were so breathtaking it's hard to describe. We took hundreds of photos - so we'll not bore you yet!

The sound itself is a great place for me - dolphins, seals, penguins messing around, amazing ecology, fantastic geology and beautiful waterfalls. The only problem is the procession of boats - of which we were obviously on one - that circumnavigate it and the enormous visitor centre to accommodate those selling the tour tickets. It's a little disappointing but still an amazing place.

After a fabulous flight back and grass landing we had time to head back to town, get the gondola to the top of a big hill, get a ski lift up another bit and luge down - good fun.

So the end of a busy couple of days - amazing experience, stunning scenery and a lively town. Can get a bit much. We're not necessarily looking forward to the long journey back!

There'll be a more detailed update and some other musings if time allows.

See you soon!

New Zealand - Christchurch to Queenstown

We set off from Christchurch with the previous nights rain still continuing. Sidney had to circumnavigate the periphery of the car park on the raised borders to avoid the lake that had appeared where previously only a car park had existed. After, the now customery process of getting a little lost and stopping to get air into the back tyre we were on the highway.

It's initially flat agricultural land again but in the distance were snow topped mountains.

After about 100km we were in what I'd call Carling territory. Carling don't do scenic drives but if they did - this may well be the one they'd use. It's amazing scenery once again. The highlights were the lakes such as Lake Tekapo (spelling to check) which, due to glacial run off and the suspended minerals, (yep GOTD time) were an amazing aquamrine/turquoise colour. There we were just gawking at snow covered mountains then over a rise we were met by this jewel glistening before us. It's so cool. Obviously, by now the sun had come out and we were having an amazing drive.

What's also amazing is the constructed canal which drains huge volumes of waters away to provide drinking water, irrigation water and hydroelectric power for large ranges along route 79. It basically meant there were parched upland areas with aturquise snake through the landscape. Awesome.

After another short drive we were at Mt. Cook lookout - with Mrs. Macs pie in hand - possibly the best picnic site in the world (interesting - and no joke - fact is the Mrs Macs pies are made in Sparrow Fart).


We arrived in Queenstown around 5pm - so roughly 7.5 hours on the road - tiring but such a great journey we didn't mind. We ended in Dux De Lux (brew their own) and had a tasty pizza and entered the quiz...we were one spot out of the prizes finishing fourth. Just the two of us though so we did well!

So we retired to the 'flashpackers' accommodation as Tony has dubbed it and prepared for another fun day.

New Zealand - Christchurch

As we're going to have limited time/internet access when we hit Queenstown, I'm doing a very brief one for Christchurch.

Day 1 - amazing drive again, just fantastic scenery everywhere in this country. Weather largely fine and dry. Park car near Pomeroy's (our hotel) and wander to town. Marvel at the old buildings, laugh at the size of the Cathedral, get entertained by a small child doing ridiculous photo poses in the botanic gardens, coo over little ducklings, gasp at the enormous eel in the River Avon and chuckle at the americans 'let's do that' punting decision. We had intended to go to Riccarton Park for a big Sunday fair they normally do. However, it was bank holiday weekend and there was a proper race meeting - it was very busy so we gave it a miss. We loved Christchurch in the sun. The Arts centre has a cracking weekend market with crafts, food and gifts. For the more juvenile I've taken pictures of Fritz's Weiners and Superb Buns! We finished the day at Pomeroys - a popular pub - which had 16 beers and friendly hosts. We had lovely roast dinners...civilisation!

Day 2 - another fabulous scenic drive to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula. We had got up to glorious sunshine and blue sky. Therefore we booked onto a dolphin swim. Akaroa Harbour is a very pretty place with a slight French influence. The harbour is surrounded by steep mountains as its actually a crater of a volcano that was filled in by the sea, it makes for safe waters for the rare Hectors Dolphin (which is only found in New Zealand).

We checked in for our swim and donned rather fetching 'does my bum look big in this' wetsuits and boots and after a brief talk we were off, there were only 5 of us swimming on this trip so we were told we would have some good dolphin time! Within 5 minutes of leaving the wharf we spotted some Dolphins swimming towards us, they played around the boat and leaped out of the water (something this type of dolphin are not renowned for).

We pressed on to find a group to swim with and just as we neared the harbour entrance a large group came to play! we jumped in the water and formed a circle as instructed, Janine in the middle playing a little tune with some stones the skipper gave her seemend to work and the dolphins were soon coming to check us out! It was truely magical. Dolphins spinning around as you spin in the water is a pretty amazing experience. They played for about 20 minutes then got bored with the Take That tunes on the stones, so we hopped back in the boat to find some more...10 minutes later we found another group to play with, this time Steve (originally from Wales now living in Christchurch) enticed them with match of the day on the stones! It was just another brilliant day!!

We headed back to Christchurch just in time to arrive at the hotel with rain just starting. After warming up we headed out - it was lashing down. COnfident in the direction we set off to find the Twisted Hop - it was shut and a longer walk than we thought! So we ended up in the Tap Room - another Monteith's place and had a cracking dinner.

So that's it till Queenstown - unless we make a detour. We've found yet more places we'd love to live and great things to do. Of course as it's a driving day today we're delighted to see grey skies and rainfall!

We opted for luxury in our last few nights so went for the wotif 5-star mystery deal - Sofitel here we come!

Just imagine what it would have been like if we'd have written a long one...

New Zealand - Kaikoura

Oh my - there's ice on the windscreen. Have we got enough clothes?

The good news is there's little breeze and the sun is shining - what we couldn't see yesterday, which we can today - is an amazing set of snow covered peaks which apparently provide good skiing. They also make an amazing backdrop to a whale watch experience.

The first thing we did was pop the sea-sickness tablets - better safe than sorry. After hearty whirr, bing microwave porridge we were equipped for the day. Driving down the road looking through a letterbox clear patch wasn't the greatest idea but, traffic was strangely light.

So we checked in at 7:15 to be told that we needed to convene in the briefing room at 7:45 ready for boarding at 8:00. Strangely, the only things open in Kaikoura at that time are the shop and cafe at the Whale Watch building.

We had been warned sea sickness was an issue so having earlier popped or own pills we looked around and placed bets. The favourite was an elderly American gentleman. After a safety video on how to evacuate in the event of the boat oveturning in 1000m of water we were let on board.

Even though the weather was glorious, and the views back towards Kaikoura itself were amazing, there was a little bit of a swell on the ocean. It meant we did undulate in our passage and crashed through the odd wave. It also meant we were confined to cabin.

They locate the whales through experience (they know roughly where the warm tropical and cold antarctic currents meet and therefore where food is best), reports from other spotters and a sonar type device. It therefore wasn't long before we heard 'Whale-Ho' and manned the harpoon...no, that's not right. Anyway, the boat is manouvered into place, everyone rushes out (though I was faffing so we missed it) and try to take a picture. It's interesting to see the Weeeyuls (as they are pronounced on board) and you do get a perspective of the size based on the little part of them you can see.

It seems they dive for an average of 35 to 45 minutes. When this one dived we scooted off to find another. At this point it's also worth throwing in the hilarious comment of: 'the record dive length for a sperm whale is 2hr 17mins - the approximate length of your tour. Let's hope they don't try breaking that today!' The onboard commentary was a little annoying - with the same jokes repeated and the main focus was clearly about making sure everyone got the ubiquitous dive shot where the tail comes up (we did. And as it was such an amazing clear day you can see the snow covered mountains in the back. Alice is good with the camera). They're awesome animals to see up close.

Another weeeyul was spotted so we were all back to our seats - by this point we'd lost our punt on the old American. It was the Dutch girl in front of us, the old American's wife and another girl who were fighting it out to fill their bags. And to think it said low likelihood of sea sickness. I wouldn't like to be the staff dealing with those bags.

While on board we also saw a fair number of Albatross - there's apparently over 20 species in the area but we were happy just to see one up close. As you can see from the picture, their wingspan is about a third of the height of a mountain.

The second whale needed to get it's breath back a fraction longer so was on the surface longer. It also then dived. By now it was 30 minutes from the first sighted weeeyul so we headed back to where we saw it. Sure enough it popped up again...it's another mad rush to get outside, take pictures, fill sick bags and wait for the dive before all heading back into the cabin s

o we can head back to the other weeeyul. We did eventually find another weeyul so we saw three in the tour and saw five dives. That's apprently good. At other times of year there's a load of other species on their migratory routes. So while we had a great experience (even if it doesn't sound like it from the above) it can get better.

We were also in the presence of a film crew - they didn't want to interview us - but if you ever visit have a look and see if you can see us!!

Having done the tour, we were back on land for 10:30 so were somewhat at a loss as to what to do. As the season's picking up it's not as easy as just signing up to things on the day in Kaikoure - it needs to be the day before!

We therefore walked around the peninsula cliff tops then descended to walk back along the coast past the multitude of fur seals before heading back to base. The evening meal out that evening was probably the worst we'd had in our whole trip.

Kaikoura does now seem to exist for views up to the mountains, whale/dolphin/albatross encounters and the odd walk. This is all very nice but it does mean the small town that may have been quaint once is now just a mass of motels, hotels, bars, backpacker places and liquor stores - the latter being the busier of all the places. Not our favourite place but we loved seeing the weeeyuls so it was worth the trip.

As we were heading to Christchurch the following day we fully expected rain - it was mainly sunny as we set off.

New Zealand - Nelson to Kaikoura

Well we were sorely disappointed to find that the sun was shining on one of our travelling days. We also weren't overly impressed with a further flat tyre antics - we can only assume a slow puncture. So, it was off for more gas and fuel before we set off.

The rough guide describes the journey pretty well - you pass through some cracking mountainous terrain, hit Blenheim with it's lower lying flatter land and expansive vineyards - Montana in particular are doing well - before heading through some more rolling green hills eventually leading onto the coast road.

First stop was Totara Scenic Reserve. A fantastic little gorge with amazing turquoise river flowing through. Bit of a busmans holiday but I do look at the rivers and generally feel impressed!

The road generally hugs the coastline, occasionally dipping through tunnels or criss crossing the trans-scenic railway. The mountains are never far from the coast and the black beaches and rugged coastline makes for some excellent views. By this stage however, we were again experiencing our usual travelling conditions with overcast conditions and rain.

This stretch of coast is reknowned for it's fur seal population - on the road to recovery after mass hunting in the past. There's plenty of stopping points to get a potentially too close and smelly encounter. We stopped off at a couple.

Apart from the amazing scenery, we are continually being astounded by the New Zealand wildlife. On this occasion it was a scenic reserve at Ohau Stream Walk. It's advertised as a walk (10 minutes) to a waterfall. It's literally opposite a big seal colony so most people don't bother. What an experience they miss.

An assumption (by me) is that as the big males are getting aggressive in the mating season, the young and juvenile males need to head somewhere else. Instead of heading down the coast, a number of the enterprising little fellas have headed inland up a rocky stream. It took us 10 minutes to walk it but takes a seal about 20 to climb, drag and slither their way up to a deep pool at the base of a waterfall. When we got there, four of them were messing about while two lounged on the far bank. Another two made the climb from the sea to join them. The constant play fighting, jumping and splashing around was captivating.

That said, it was also raining and cold - when we could bear that no longer we headed back on our journey. The weather picked up but there was still a lot of cloud around. After a brief snack lunch we booked onto a whale watch tour - 07:15 tomorrow - early. We also learnt that for the first time in ages a Southern Right Whale and calf had entered the bay - we couldn't get a really good view but did manage a glimpse. The trip tomorrow should be great. We bought provosions for a night in and retired early for tomorrows trip.

The main thoughts in our heads were those from the dutch couple we met kayaking - not only had they told us about the waterfall, but after 5-minutes on the whale watch tour, the lady was very sea sick. We should check the warnings in the morning before paying! Hmmm...not much beer tonight then!

New Zealand - Nelson

Well, after yesterdays experiences and exertions we decided to make the most of the laid back Kiwi lifestyle and relax a little in our luxury pad in Nelson. It's another small town with access to a cracking beach, decent mountains and Abel Tasman just up the road.

Our first port of call, after a delicious breakfast prepared by Wayne and Val (our hosts) was the World of Wearable Art complex. It's a complex of two very distinct genres - the classic car and some bizarre clothes. The presumption was it's for the women to go one way and men the other - we thought it would be excellent for Kevin and Violet in particular.

There's no photos from in the World of Wearable Art (WoW) as they're not permitted. However, I'd have to say it was actually quite interesting if not a little bizarre. The premise is clothing that is also art - therefore you get things which look like fish costumes or stuff made from rubbish - there's also some 'comedy' sections such as the bizarre bra section - one fine example is effectively a pair of stuffed kiwi's on a bra - very patriotic but not greatly practical. The shoulder mounted cranes for uplift did seem better.

The entrance gallery has a number of manequins dressed up in past and present winning outfits. The WoW event is now a several week spectacle held in Wellington but started in Nelson. Anyone can enter so if you have some random and eccentric relatives who make cracking fancy dress outfits it might be worth a go. There's a 'catwalk of manequins' as well, with simple but clever engineering to make them spin through 360 so you can see the whole outfits. A couple of the outfits were in the car museum so I've posted a picture here so you can see the sort of stuff on view. There was also a UV room with costumes which require special lighting to work and a continuous loop video presentation showing the best of recent competitions. We were particularly amused by the parents leaving two young kids in the front row just in time to see an assortment of bizarre bra's coming on show - classic.

There is a selection of classic and unusual cars in the other exhibition. Now to us, a reliant, rover princess and mini cooper aren't that exciting but there were the odd ferrari, porsche and classic cars from the early 1900's which were great. There was even a sporty number you could sit in. I'd say the finish inside was poor, the windscreen was too low and legroom was crap. I also don't know where the golf clubs would go. Apart from that it seemed like a decent enough car to sit in.

After the trip to the WoW complex, we went to the local beach. It was somewhat windy and cool so we didn't stick around for long.

Instead, we went back into town to watch some doting parents applaud their kids as schools presented assorted forms of entertainment as part of the arts festival - some with more success than others. Then to satisfy my geeky needs, I took Alice (or she took me) to the workshop of the bloke who did the rings for Lord of the Rings. Managed to not buy anything so another succesful trip!

We also caught up on some much needed laundry and Sidney purchased the single most expensive T-short of his life. Is it worth it? Probably not! A quick wander through town and down by the river and we felt very relaxed, though in need of refreshment.

Now one or two - or one in particular - commentator has suggested that there is too much beer talk in this blog. Never mind. We found New Zealand Beer Nirvana in the form of the Free House in Nelson. It actually has three beers on hand pumps - proper beers served only slightly below room temperature. They only opened in April but I do hope they are successful - best pint in the country to date! They also had seven other decent beers on.

Sprig and Fern had a ginger lager which was like Canada Dry - we couldn't help but think of Ian - and a selection of other beers but the singer was a little too much. We headed back to the Monteith's Plan B to have an enlightening overheard history of Britain from some numpty Mancunian who'd effectively come to the conclusion Queenstown is the centre of the universe. If he read this blog he'd know different...

Tomorow we leave our luxury pad (we got it at $130 rather than $350) and head down the East coast to Kaikoura.