Day 328 (Thu 31 May) - Whakappa Village

We had planned to get up really early but for some reason emerged at about 10.30am!

Our plan today is to walk to the lower Toma Lake.

Set off and headed past the falls walking in the opposite direction from the previous day. Looking back we could see Mount Ruapehu behind us.

Walked on a path that cut it's way up and down through grassland. Really felt like we had the place to our own as we passed about 2 other walkers on the way.
After about 3/4 hours we finally reached the lake.

The lake was quite beautiful, Mount Ngauruhoe forming an imposing backdrop. Apparently it had been formed from a previous volcanic eruption millenia ago.

We briefly thought of walking down to it but having looked at the sides of the crater and the floor of the crater itself it looked like it was formed of powder. Did not want to risk doing anything silly so settled down for a spot of lunch instead!

There was another lake a few hours away from us that we could have gone to but by this time Sarb had noticed that clouds had begun to form on the distant horizon. He decided that we should turn back.

By the time we had made it back to the waterfall the clouds had completely covered the base of the volcano and the places where we had been walking. Lucky call!

Got back to camp truly tired and had a filling pasta supper.

Day 327 (Wed 30 May) - Whakappa Village

Up fairly early to pack our gear up on a day with blue skies and a few puffy white clouds.

Headed South towards Tongariro NP. As we climed up into the hills we had some great views of Lake Taupo.

Soon the landscape began to change into brushland surrounded by imposing mountains and lakes.

Soon got to Whakappa village. Tiny place dominated by a huge hotel called the Chateau that would not have looked out of place in Austria! It is dominated by a huge volcano immediately behind the village, Ruapehu, and off to one side a massive, cone shaped volcano, Ngauruhoe. This is the mountain used as Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings films.

Parked up in a small shady campsite and went for a walk towards the volcanoes.

The scenery was simply stupendous. Walked for a couple of hours, passing Taranaki falls, and several burbling streams, and as the light was fading headed back to the campsite.

We plan to do a much longer walk t'row.

Day 326 (Tue 29 May) - Lake Taupo

Sarb was still keen on fishing today so set off at an ungodly hour.

There was a deep mist over the entire town as he slowly threaded his way down to the river. Jo, very wisely, decided to stay in bed for a few more hours!

Once Sarb arrived at the river bank he took quite a while to sort out the rod as the line had got tangled up in the spinny thing. Soon enough he was off.

After about an hour and a half the sound of a van engine signalled Jo's arrival. She had driven down and soon had the kettle on!

We both had a cup of tea and some breakfast after which Sarb carried on fishing, interspersed with throwing bread for the ducks.

He didn't have much luck, and as the mist was beginning to burn off, we decided to drive down to Lake Taupo.

As soon as we reached the southern reaches of the lake the weather lifted and it was absolutely blue skies!!

Jo wrote her journal as Sarb fished on the edge of the clear lake. He didn't have a nibble but did witness some massive fish jumping out of the water and, most depressingly, just after he'd pulled his line in, a huge dark shape swam just where the bait had been!

After a couple of hours we drove off to the northern part of the lake. Stopped at a beautiful jetty where we had a great soup lunch.

At this time it was late afternoon so we returned to Cherry Island for a final attempt of getting a whopper. No luck but we seemed to enjoy spending the day relaxing.

Wandered back into town where Sarb regretfully dropped his rod back to the shop.

We both updated the internet then headed off back to our campsite.

Day 325 (Mon 28 May) - Lake Taupo

After a simple breakfast we drove onto Lake Taupo along the desert road.

Beautiful barren landscape with vast mountains that seemed to be way, way ahead of us. Soon arrived at the beautiful Lake Taupo with its crystal clear waters.

Found a Top 10 campsite situated about 2km from the lake. Parked up and decided to wander into the small town.

Our walk took us on a path where a river ran at the bottom of a deep gorge. Quite beautiful. We managed to find a path down to the river bank and were amazed to see trout swimming along in the clear water.

Walked on into the pleasant town, via a well kept cemetary where two cats popped out to say hello.

Had a bite to eat at a cafe sitting outside in the bright sunshine. Wandered round until we found a rod hire shop. Sarb, no doubt fired up at seeing the trout, decided he'd hire a rod for the day.

Leaving Jo to continue wandering round town Sarb headed back up to the river. He was soon casting off Cherry island and fished for the afternoon. Not a nibble but he didn't seem to mind! After a few hours he decided to try a different spot so headed off to the natural warm springs that feed into the river. Not much luck here either!

Sarb returned about 6ish back at the campsite where he found Jo preparing supper.

Day 324 (Sun 27 May) - Taihope

Got up and after feeding the ducks drove into Hutt town to stock up on food.

Sarb also bought some swimming shorts as the ones that he'd got in Vietnam were practically falling apart.

Drove on up through a town called Levin where we stopped for a whacking great big McD's. Ate this veritable feast parked in a little layby just on the edge of the town.

After lunch drove onto Taihope where we found a campsite complete with all amenities including a grumpy old woman owner.

We were the only ones in the site. Quite a pretty set up. From where we were camped, fields ran onto the edge of a broad stream.

Had a quiet night in.

Day 323 (Sat 26 May) - Wellington

Got up bright eyed and bushy tailed and after breakfast fed the ducks that were hanging round our van. Friendly little buggers although not everyone was keen on them. A girl returning from the showers was forced to stand some distance from her campervan and shout for help as the ducks had the area completely covered. Her partner bravely beat a path through the unruly beasts enabling her to reach safety.

Headed back into Wellington today to finish up on the blog.

Early afternoon we knocked off and went to a pub where we had a seriously large amount of nachos and a couple of beers.

As we wandered over to the bus stop we remarked that it was a little odd seeing half the locals wearing summer wear and the other wearing about 3 coats. To us the temperature definitely warranted a few extra layers.

Headed back to camp where we cooked up a fab sausage and mash supper.

Sarb was really pleased he was able to phone his brother as they had not spoken in ages. Jo also managed to get hold of her dad.

Day 322 (Fri 25 May) - Wellington

Not much to report today.

Felt that we needed to sort out the blog so caught a bus into Wellington to try and find an internet cafe.

Walked round for ages before finally finding an internet cafe.

Blogged and then in the afternoon went for a walk round the uninspiring shops.

Felt a little peckish so picked up a burger before heading back to our campsite.

Day 321 (Thu 24 May) - Wellington

Got up at a fairly leisurely hour and drove up on the coast road to Picton.

On the way we stopped at a viewing point to see some seals that were just hanging out. We got fairly close to one particularly large fat specimen (about 10 yards) who just looked at us with faint curiosity.

Arrived at Picton at about 12 ish and checked what time the next ferry was to depart. Luckily we could get the 1.15pm and with our newly acquired Top 10 discount card we even got some money off. Sarb was most pleased.

Checked in and drove the wheels round to the loading area. Soon we were driving onto the ferry and having secured the van wandered upstairs to the decks.

The weather was being kind today as it was quite sunny. Beautiful looking back over Picton harbour.

Soon we were off passing glorious inlets and small towns nestling at the bottom of the hills. The journey was quite beautiful. When we passed the last land of the South Island we both felt a little sad. To cheer ourselves up we had a great fish and chip lunch on the boat and relaxed.

Got to Wellington about 4.30pm and decided that we would stay in Upper Hutt. A town a few miles North of Wellington.

After quite a few unanticipated detours we finally found the campsite. Found some shops nearby that sold wine and settled in for the night.

Day 320 (Wed 23 May) - Kaikoura

It rained pretty heavily in the night which was disappointing as the reason we had come to Kiakoura was to go whale watching.

Fortunately the rain eased off and we made our way to the Whale Watching centre. After being warned that there was a serious risk of sea sickness we booked on the next tour which was at 11am. Jo overheard a tour guide tell her group that it was really rough today so popped to the shop and bought a couple of sea sickness (roughly the size of eggs; clearly it stopped you being sick by just plugging you up).

Jumped on a bus which took us swiftly off to the harbour and onto the boat. We were advised to sit at the back of the boat if we suffered from sea sickness. Feeling brave, we sat near the front.

Settled in comfy chairs we set off. As soon as we left the harbour the captain seemed to put the throttle to the max and we speed off. We were flying through the air and came down on the waves with a massive bump. It was like being at Alton Towers. The journey continued like this for the next 20 minutes as we made our way out to sea. By this point most of the passengers looked slightly green and many were grasping for sea bags. Fortunately we were ok for the time being.

As we bumped along the guide told us how Kiakoura had an unusual coastline. It is relatively shallow at about 60/80 odd metres deep until you reach a couple of km's offshore where the depth suddenly drops to about 1600m. For sperm whales this is an ideal feeding area.

Soon we were bobbing up and down on the rough sea watching the captain lower a microphone into water in the hope of listening in to the whales. Whilst this was going on a fair number of the other passengers were being sick.

A moment later the captain whizzed back up to his post and we hurtled off to an area that seemed most likely to have a sperm whale. As we approached the area we were invited to stand outside on deck. We struggled out and stood on the narrow walkway pitching every which way. Soon enough we saw the back of a whale. Amazing to watch it breathe!

Thereafter we hurtled around the water and saw a couple of other whales. The guides were excellent as they let you know when the whale was about to dive down flicking its tail as it went ( [1], [2], [3] ).

Absolutely brilliant to watch them.

Headed back to shore and as we neared it the boat slowed. Standing outside we thought we were about to view another whale but suddenly we spotted a pod of dusky dolphins streaming towards the boat. And when we mean pod we mean a pod, some 100 plus dolphins.

Mesmerising watching them jumping and cavorting through the air ( [1], [2], [3]).

Headed back to terra firma where we caught the bus back to town and bought some fish and chips for a late lunch.

Spent the rest of the evening chilling.

Day 319 (Tue 22 May) - Kaikoura

The wind had died down considerably overnight. Sarb was keen to have a round of golf. Jo agreed to this as long as they spent a few hours in the springs afterwards.

Headed off to Hamner Springs golf course where Sarb hired some gear and set off around the stunning course. The first shot was a bit rusty and we spent a few mintues in the trees searching for the ball.

Soon Sarb got the hang of it and was teeing off like a professional. Fortunately he had enlisted the help of a professional caddy who took her job very seriously. Although when she agreed to accept the position she didn't know she would spend a lot of her time in the bushes and water searching for missing balls.

Anyway, it was a beautiful morning and Sarb managed to master a few
tricky shots.

After 17 holes it was getting tense but Sarb calmly took his last shot.

True to his word, after lunch, Sarb escorted Jo to the nearby springs. Stripped to our cossies in freezing temperatures we dived into the steaming outside springs. Fabulous way to spend the afternoon. We lazed around in the thermal pools chatting and people watching.

After a few hours we dressed and left the relaxing town. We followed the river as we made our way towards Kaikoura.

On our way we stumbled across a herd of naughty cows in the road who weren't too keen on moving.

Kiakoura was further than we thought so we ended up driving through the hairaising roads in the dark, which was fun. To make matters more interesting we also experienced some dense fog.

Eventually arrived in Kiakoura and headed for the Top Ten Holiday Park. Parked up and headed into the town for a well earned drink.

Later stopped off at the Black Rabbit Pizzeria and had a couple of pizza's before heading back.

Day 318 (Mon 21 May) - Hamner Springs

Decided to go for a walk this morning.

Walked up the steep main road to the path that leads up to Conical Hill. We were a trifle puffed out by the time we got to the top but the views were worth it.

Walked back on the path where we took a fork that led us out into a grass filled area. Wind was really beginning to pick up now so we were glad when we plunged into a dense forested area.

Unfortunately the wind was so fierce that we could hear ominous deep cracking sounds as trunks of trees knocked against each other. Looking up we could see the tall trees swaying alarmingly so picked up our pace and headed back to town.

Got back into town where we did some shopping and chilled.

Day 317 (Sun 20 May) - Hamner Springs

We were going to go over to the blowholes to see if they were doing anything but seeing as it was raining and cold we gave it a miss.

Drove onto Greymouth where we went East alongside a massive valley with a huge river running along the bottom.

Got to Hamner Springs and settled into the cosy campsite.

Went for a walk round the quite beautiful town ringed by mountains. Sarb reckoned that this is what he would imagine a New England town looking like in Autumn.

Pottered round the town for a while then headed back for dinner.

Day 316 (Sat 19 May) - Punakaiki

Had a bit of lie in then drove into Fox to use the internet for a while.

Drove onto Punakaiki; the drive every bit as scenic as before.

Parked up at the camp site at about 3.30pm. Went to the tavern where we had loads of beers and ciders and had an excellent meal.

After dinner we went in search of the fat cat we'd seen before. With the help of the friendly barman who whistled for it out in the beer garden said fat cat duly appeared.

Turns out the barman had found a small kitten huddling under some driftwood out on the beach. Taking pity on it he brought it to the pub and named it Errol. From there Errol has basically taken the place over. He even has his own drinking bowl of water on the bar.

Day 315 (Fri 18 May) - Fox Glacier

Had a light breakfast and headed to the outdoor centre.

Waited around for a bit and soon we and another couple and an elderly lady were ushered into a waiting car. The elderly lady had a bit of difficulty entering the car but the driver with a hefty shove soon had her on board.

Drove the short distance to the heli pad where the driver gave us some basic info about the heli ride ie. don't walk round the back of the chopper to have a closer look at the tail rotor, don't open the doors when in flight etc.

Soon enough we heard an insect like buzz and a ridiculously small chopper appeared. The old lady got in the front with the pilot whilst the four of us got in the back. Surprisgly we had a good view.

Soon the chopper gracefully lifted off and we glided across the plains and up into the sky over the Franz Joseph glacier. Suffice to saw it was breathtaking ( [1], [2], [3] ).

After flying over Franz we headed over to Fox. Amazing to see down the valley, to the plains and out further to the sea.

The pilot put us down at the top of the glacier where we all disembarked and ran around for a bit on the rock hard ice ( [1], [2] ). The surroundings were amazing ([1], [2], [3] ).We had a photo taken by the pilot as a little memento.

The pilot soon called us back to board the chopper and it was at this precise moment that the old lady, standing next to Sarb, took a tumble and ended up flat on her back. We tried to help her up but she waved Jo off saying that she would be too heavy, to be fair she probably needed to stop having a cow for breakfast. Leaving Sarb with the perplexing problem of lifting 200 kilos of Aussie dead weight the pilot came to the rescue. After asking jovially what the woman thought she was doing having a lie down, Sarb and he managed to get her onto her feet. The pilot decided to put her in the back of the chopper as it was easier to get into so Jo and I sat at the front.

Set off and flew across Fox Glacier. At one point the pilot decided to view a waterfall a little closer so as he approached it basically pointed the nose of the craft downwards. Exhilirating!

Soon it was all over and we were flying down the glacier back over the fields to our heli pad. Got off and walked back to our nearby campsite gibbering with delight. Immediately went through our photos and videos.

After a bit of lunch we decided to drive over to Gillespies Beach about 15kms distant. Soon after turning off the sealed main road the road became unsealed and very twisty. Motored on this for about 40 mins before reaching a small car park. Dumped the car and went for a walk. The views of the distant mountains framed by gorse bushes, laden with yellow flowers was spectacular.

The beach was littered with dead wood and the waves were really pounding in. Decided to walk on and soon reached some shallow pools of water stained a deep red. A walk was signposted, two hours each way, to the seal colony so decided to go for it.

Walked on a small path through a dense forest. Soon the path turned very muddy and we were forced to hop from stone to stone to make it over deep mud pools. We crossed a small stream by the same method and finally made it to the end. Unfortunately Sarb had a look at the very last bit of the path that led us to the beach and said that we should turn back. The path basically became a foot or so wide with a sheer drop on one side. Since we did not have mobile phones or any other safety equipment it seemed foolish to risk it so we turned back.

The way back seemed even muddier; Sarb more than once ended up in mud up to the top of his boots.

Finally made it back to the beach and to the van.

Met a friendly American lone traveller who just seemed desperate for company. We all had some squash dished out by Jo and chatted for a while before heading off back to the campsite.

Had a well deserved dinner and remarked that we seem to have been very, very lucky with the weather.

Day 314 (Thu 17 May) - Fox Glacier

Got up at a leisurely hour to wander into Hokitika.

Sarb burnt some CD's whilst Jo went and done a little shopping. Quite a pleasant little town really.

Saddled up and headed on off to Fox Glacier.

Stayed at the same campsite as before and wandered into town. Went to the outdoor centre where we booked a heli trip for the next day.

Wandered round for a bit then headed back to the campsite to chill.

Had great lamb steaks for tea.

Day 313 (Wed 16 May) - Hokitika

First job was to head back to Britz as the sink would not drain and we could not empty the grey water.

Our van was taken away by a friendly mechanic to be checked whilst we observed an incredibly rude employee practically bullying a new looking colleague.

The van's pipes had been steam cleaned and so reassured we set off. Set off driving West through Arthur's Pass.

Amazing barren hills with massive rocks seemingly randomly littering the landscape.

Stopped off at a small lake for lunch. Really beautiful but the wind kept us safely in the van.

Drove onto Hokitika where we stopped at a very small campsite. The weather has turned and become quite windy and drizzly. We walked the few metres to the beach, were blown around for a bit then decided to head back to the van.

Sarb cooked a whacking great big pie for dinner that we'd bought earlier.

Day 312 (Tue 15 May) - Christchurch

After brekky we whizzed into town by bus and done a bit of blogging and other jobs.

For lunch we stopped off at the Twisted Hop, just by the restaurant we were at a few nights ago and had a slap up meal.

Wandered round some bookshops and then headed back to base.

Spent the evening planning our route for the next few days. Sarb cooked up some saussies for dinner.

Day 311 (Mon 14 May) - Christchurch

Sad day today as Ruth and Keith were leaving us to head off to Oz.

Had to drop them off at the airport by 3pm at the latest so decided to drive to the nearby New Brighton for a bit of sea air. Sarb took a little convincing to get up.

Whilst Jo and Sarb went wandering round the town Ruth and Keith had the run of the van to pack their gear up. We returned and then having turfed them out packed our gear up as were going to swap vans today.

Had a great lunch at the pier complex. The pier ( [1], [2] ) is simply a concrete structure with a load of fisherman at the end (we saw a couple of guys catching crabs literally by the bucketful).

Drove Keith and Ruth to the airport and before we knew it we'd said goodbye and were off again. We both felt strange waving them off.

Headed off to the Britz campervan place and swapped our van for a two berth. Jo was not happy with the vehicle they gave us. We wanted a small Toyota (a la Rodney in Oz) for a number of reasons but they gave us a Merc scarcely smaller than the vehicle we'd swapped. Jo kicked off in true Jo style and managed to get them to waive the diesel tax that we would have had to pay on the Merc. Nice one our kid!

With our new Merc we headed on back to the Amber caravan park. We both felt it very odd and empty that Keith and Ruth were not with us.

Day 310 (Sun 13 May) - Christchurch

This morning Sarb decided he wanted to stretch his legs and do some internet stuff so walked the 40 mins into town. Lovely walk taking in the scenic park. Unfortunately when he got to the internet cafe we'd previously used it was closed. He remembered another one by Cathedral Square so headed there.

Jo and the others meanwhile pottered round the campsite doing jobs such as washing.

They wandered into town about lunchtime and Jo headed off to find Sarb at the internet cafe. Seeing it was closed she headed back to the Square to email him from the tourist info office. Coincidentally Sarb had finished where he was and having spotted Ruth sitting in a patch of sunshine wandered over.

Back as a gang again we headed off onto the tram ride. A trifle disappointing as the journey lasted all of 20 mins. Christchurch is not that big!

Decided to have lunch. Walked for absolutely ages whilst Ruth examined each and every menu carefully weighing up the pros and cons of each. Sarb usually loses patience with Jo after 3 places when she tries this particular trick but feeling pretty chilled went along with it.

After the 50th place had had its menu checked and cross referenced we finally found a pub by a busy little market ( a bit like a French market). Sat outside and had a bite to eat then wandered round the market. Sarb was particularly taken with a chaps technique of making crepes; really quite elegant.

Got a bus back to our campsite stopping off to go to the Mad Butcher for loads of meat. BBQ night tonight.

Back at base Keith and Sarb were soon at the outdoor BBQ. Had an excellent (and big) meal!

Day 309 (Sat 12 May) - Christchurch

Drove onto Christchurch passing Mount Hutt and stopping off for lunch at Rakaia Gorge for lunch.

A lovely sunny day as we had lunch on a bench watching the fast moving blue water of the river.

Drove onto Christchurch and parked by the Gondola. Whizzed up and had excellent views of Christchurch, the plains surrounding it, the mountains in the distance, the numerous bays and the sea.

As it was such a fine day we decided to walk back down to the van as opposed to taking the gondola. The path was quite steep in places and its surface, almost scree like, slipped from under your feet. Managed to get down in one piece and headed off to the Amber caravan park some 40mins walk from the centre.

A comfortable place where we got ourselves organised then caught the bus into town. Pottered round for a bit then settled into the Red Jacks restaurant for beers and fine food. Busy little place complete. Had a great time.

Wandered back to the bus station where we caught the bus back to our campsite.

Day 308 (Fri 11 May) - Lake Tekapo

During the night the wind had really picked up. It was so bad that Jo hadn't slept a wink. The van was being buffeted quite violently.

Got ourselves sorted and then headed off slowly to Lake Tekapo. The wind was so bad that Sarb had to drive with the steering some 10 degrees off the straight just to keep us on the road.

Got to Lake Tekapo a very small town and parked up by the lake. The weather was awful, windy, cold and full of rain. Decided to go and see the little church at the far end of town so drove up there. A quite serene setting for a church.

The weather was threatening to break by now so parked up the van on the edge of the lake. As we sat the weather got brighter and brighter and the wind dropped. Soon we were sitting in bright sunshine.

For this evenings entertainment we decided to go to the Mount John observatory.

Had a few drinks at a small bar then settled into our camp site. The views of the lake were excellent.

Had dinner then wrapped up warm and were soon picked up by the Observatory people. There about 20 of us in a big bus that slowly wound its way up Mount John. The last third of the journey the driver cheerfully informed us had to be done with no lights, so as not to disturb any observations currently being made. Luckily this guy had done this trip hundreds of times which was reassuring as it was pitch dark and the road was narrow and winding with a severe drop on one side.

Arrived at the top and looked down at the lights of the little town below us. The sky was incredibly black with only a few wisps of cloud.

Our guide, using his laser pen that stabbed a green pencil thin light up into the stars, guided us through the night sky. At one point the guide asked us if we could name two dusty looking clouds in the night sky. All stayed silent until Keith opined that it may be the Larger and Smaller Magellenic clouds. They were indeed as Sarb had informed him earlier on. Teachers pet!

At various points during the evening he would position a large telescope (a 14inch reflector if anyone is interested) at significant entities. This included Saturn and Jupiter, some open clusters such as the Jewel Box and Alpha and Proxima Centauri. Quite beautfiul.

We all had a good time especially as the guide was so informative.

Freezing cold we were glad to get back to the van to turn the heater on and have a glass of wine.

Day 307 (Thu 10 May) - Mount Cook

We thought we might stay an extra night in Queenstown but the weather reports were not looking good for golf or any other outdoor activity so decided to push on.

Drove onto Mount Cook passing the almost too beautiful Lake Dunstan. The colours were amazing. Mooched round for a bit then pressed on.

Approaching Mount Cook we were gobsmacked at the colour of the surrounding lakes. They were of an almost pale blue (Keith found out that it is because of the minerals contained in the rocks).

Got to the small Mount Cook village where we walked for an hour towards the mountains. We had to maintain a quick pace as the clouds were beginning to come in putting at risk our view of the mountains.

The views of the mountains and glaciers were spectacular.

By now the clouds were obscuring our view so decided to drive out to a nearby campsite a few miles from Mount Cook, passing the Tasman glacier en route. At one point in our journey we had to stop as a farmer was herding his massive flock of sheep across the road. In true farmer style he had a sick or injured sheep across his shoulders!

Watched a great sunset on the mountains at the campsite.

The campsite is very basic and dark. The good bit was that the night sky was absolutely incredible. Bad bit was walking round in the pitch dark with only your torch throwing out a pitiful beam of light. Luckily we were not in Canada hence the risk of being mauled by a bear was nil although a gang of possums may have caused us some bother.



Had a fab spanish omelette for tea.

Day 306 (Wed 9 May) - Queenstown

Up early and walked into town. Jo and Ruth were going to spend the day pottering round Queenstown whilst Sarb and Keith were going to either play a round of golf, go clay pigeon shooting or do a bungy jump.

Walked round to the tourist info office and found a list of golf clubs. Millside club seemed really expensive and quite far away so settled for the smaller Queenstown golf course. Leaving Ruth and Jo to savage the cards Keith and Sarb caught a bus to the golf club.

The bus driver unfortunately forgot to tell us where we were to get off so ended up tooling round Queenstown for a bit longer than intended until he finally got us to the right stop.

Hired some clubs and spent the next few hours searching for little golf balls. Beautiful setting with the huge Remarkables mountains as a backdrop.

Meanwhile Jo and Ruth decided to amuse themselves pottering around Queenstown. First they walked around the Lake. The lake was getting choppy. Made our way back through the garden and admired the beautiful a trees. Final stop was Cafe 19 to soak up the view and have a light lunch of squid salad washed down with a few glasses of vino.

Keith and Sarb also had a fab time in the sunshine. Notable shots were from Keith. One a 20 foot putt and the other a chip in from about 40 yards away. Sarb still beat him though.

Settled for a quick jar at the bar opposite then caught the bus back to town. Walking back to the campsite we spotted Jo and Ruth walking slightly unsteadily ahead of us. Turns out that they went shopping had a rest at a bar and didn't leave.

Back at the campsite Keith and Sarb went to get some grub from the local supermarket. The weather was drizzly as they walked there but as soon as they finished and started back it really started to rain. Like heavy, heavy rain. They got back and had to change clothing as they were soaked.

For supper tonight we were treated to lamb chops.

Day 305 (Tue 8 May) - Queenstown

Drove to Manapouri - a very small quiet town.

Parked up and went for a walk through a forested area by an inlet. Boats from here go onto Doubtful Sound so although the waters looked very much like a lake you could get out to sea.

As we walked through the forest we head a very strange bird call. Very difficult to describe.

Stepped past incredibly colourful wild mushrooms and eventually got to the pebbly banks of the inlet.

Absolutely beautiful. Crystal clear waters, blue skies and mountains in the distance. The moon also made a pale appearance ( [1], [2], [3] ). Ruth and Sarb even had time to do, as Jo calls it, a catalogue pose.

Walked round for a bit and then jumped back into the van heading off to Queenstown past the huge blue Lake Wakatipu.

Checked into the massive Lake View campsite affording views of the lake (well a bit) and the paragliders gliding down from up above.

Ruth and Jo went shopping whilst Sarb and Keith chilled.

For tea we had some pies that we had bought in Te Anau.

Day 304 (Mon 7 May) - Te Anau (Milford Sound)

Big day today as we were set to drive to Milford Sound.

Set off and were soon passing through a landscape of gorges, lined with waterfalls, Lake Mirror and Gunn and by snow and ice capped mountains.

Passed through the half finished looking Milford Tunnel. The sides of the tunnel are bare jagged rock and the water cascading down in various places gives you an uncomfortable feeling.

Passed through and onto a very steep windy road taking us down to Milford.

At the tiny settlement of MS (basically a couple of shops and a jetty) we booked onto a Red Cruise to take us round.

Soon set off on our boat, past gushing waterfalls and the seemingly vertical rocks of MS. At a couple of the more accessible waterfalls the boat skipper positioned the boat so that the front of it would actually enter the torrent. The force of the spray was quite astounding and we got a fairly good soaking. The crew even set out some glasses that were filled by the cascading water for everyone to have a taste. Mountain spring water straight from the tap, so to speak.

As we travelled round we saw some seals lazing round.

We cruised round MS and out to open water for a couple of hours thouroughly spell bound ( [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6] ).

Headed back and had a cup of tea at the cafe before heading back. Stopped at a place called the Chasm. A natural feature where fast flowing water has carved the surrounding rocks into quite beautiful shapes.

Drove on and were soon waiting for the green light that would allow us to go through the Milford Tunnel. Sarb suddenly spotted a large parrot walking round the road. Despite the cars passing him closeby he seemed to have a quite unconcerned and indeed even a menacing look about him. Without a doubt this was a kea. The very intelligent ruffian of the avian world. The light soon turned green and Sarb set off neglecting to check that all occupants were properly seated. A flash of something in the rearview mirror alerted that all was not well and indeed it wasn't.

Whizzed through the tunnel and stopped off at a place where we could take in a good view of a valley. We piled out of the van had a look round and only then noticed a kea watching us. It started to strut over to us in a purposeful way and induced us all into a panic. We all raced back into the van the bird chasing us. Ruth said that she'd never seen a bird with a more menacing look about them.

Headed back to Te Anau where we chatted about the incredible day.

Day 303 (Sun 6 May) - Te Anau

Left the campsite and drove into the town to drop off the fishing gear. The clouds had lifted so we took a few pictures of us by the lake before we left.

Drove towards Queenstown passing passing beautiful vineyards on our way. Stopped briefly at Lake Dunstan where Ruth decided to test the temperature of the water before diving in. Bit cold so we headed off.

Drove past Queenstown but we'll stop off here on the way back. Past the ski slopes, the Remarkables, which in a few weeks will be covered in snow, and drove alongside Lake Wakatipu towards the east coast. The scenery was spectacular.

Arived in Te Anau and checked into the Te Anau Top Ten Holiday park which was reportedly one of the best in the country. It didn't seem that impressive when we drove in but we pottered off to explore the town.

It started raining so we popped into the pub for a drink. Later we went back to the campsite to discover that we were in a car park. Our neighbours vans were on top of us we could only just about get into the van. Jo, a little tiddled, went to complain which made her feel better.

In the evening we went back into the town and had a lovely meal at a friendly little restaurant called Keplers. It was a great evening and the food was excellent.

Day 302 (Sat 5 May) - Lake Wanaka

Sarb had decided that he was dragging Keith along with him fishing today. After breakfast we all drove into Wanaka where Sarb and Keith headed off to hire their gear.

When they returned they were armed with rods and a map of the best fishing spots in the area. First stop was the river by Albert Town a few kms from Wanaka. Jo and Ruth dropped them by the river before returning to Lake Wanaka to participate in some serious retail therapy and relaxing by the lake.

As promised Jo and Ruth returned at lunchtime to see how the fishermen were getting on. No fish and most of the lures were missing in action but Sarb and Keith weren't put off. We all headed back to Lake Wanaka where they decided to try their luck on the lake. After a hour they referred to their "fishing map" and decided the plan was to try another prime spot on the other side of the lake where they were sure to catch something!

Jo drove the keen fishermen around to another part of the lake. It was quite a drive and even involved some "off roading". Finally arrived at Paddocks Bay - as far as our van could go. The intrepid fishermen continued on foot only to return minutes later because the ground was too soggy.

Headed back to the campsite, stopping to take a photo of the lake on our way.

Sarb cooked up some scrumy sausages for dinner and we headed off to bed.

Day 301 (Fri 4 May) - Lake Wanaka

Set our alarms really early and by 7am we were driving out of the campsite towards Lake Matheson. We wanted to get to the lake before the sun rose.

It was only a short journey to the lake and when we arrived the sun started to lighten up the sky with a reddy glow. It was pretty cold and misty so we wrapped up warm and headed towards the lake. As we walked around we could see the sun on mountains. Stunning view.

We virtually sprinted round the lake to the magical place where the mountains are reflected in the lake. When we had been at the same place a few days before we hadn't been able to see the snow capped mountains as it had been too cloudy but today it was clear. It was breathtaking. We stood and soaked in the fabulous view for ages and only left when we realised how cold we were getting.

Tried to take a photo of the four of us by mountains before heading back to the car park and feasting on a fry up in the cafe - delicious.

Then set off down highway 6 towards Haast. Haast was a major disappointment - there was nothing there! Continued through Haast Pass, through the Southern Alps. The scenery was spectacular.

As we were coming near to Wanaka we drove past Lake Hawea and then onto Lake Wanaka. The colours especially along by the lakes were amazing. The sky and lakes were of such vivid blues and the trees were rustic browns and reds.

Drove into Lake Wanaka and checked into the Aspiring Campervan Park. Although not on the lake, as we had wanted, it at least had good views of the lake and surrounding mountains.

Walked into Lake Wanaka and stopped at a pub where we had the best ever ploughmans lunch. It was enourmous and had every sort of meat, cheese, bread and pickle you could want.

Afterwards Keith and Sarb went off to burn photos onto CD whilst Jo and Ruth braved the local supermarket. Laidened down with shopping we all made our way back to the campsite.

Were too stuffed to have dinner after our ploughmans so settled for a few glasses of wine instead.

Day 300 (Thu 3 May) - Fox Glacier

Up early to get ready for our walk on the glacier!

Arranged to meet up with Keith and Ruth later on in the afternoon as they were going on their heli flight this morning. As we wandered off down the road we heard a noise behind us. Turning we saw Ruth belting down the driveway holding a camera. We stopped, and a slightly out of breath Ruth explained that she hadn't taken a photo of us. All photo requirements met we hurried on.

Got to the centre where our boots were checked to see if they would be able to take the crampons that they supply. Luckily they did otherwise we would have been forced to wear the massively uncomfortable boots that they supply.

As we waited we saw Ruth and Keith appear. They were very early for their flight (apparently Ruth was getting a little excited to the extent she forgot to put on her walking boots) which was just as well as their flight time had been brought forward. Turns out that they would have been sharing the flight with a salad dodging chap. He was so big that they had to reorganise the flights so that only he was in the chopper. This gave the helicopter a chance to get off the ground. Sarb thought that they should really have slung the fat git on a winch and airlifted him round the glacier.

Soon after Keith and Ruth left by car to go to the helipad. We got some odd looking crampons and stuffed them in our heavy rucksack (Jo thought we should take enough emergency food for a week incase we got stranded).

Set off on the bus that took us to the terminal face of Fox Glacier.

Started walking up a steep path alongside the glacier. Apparently in years gone by the glacier would have been so big that it would have covered our heads by a good hundred metres or so!

We were quite surprised to see quite a number of people wheezing and spluttering as they made their way up the path. It was steep but not that steep!

Got to the side of the glacier where we grabbed a wooden walking stick each and put our crampons off. Set off onto the ice; it was literally rock hard.

Wandered round the glacier marvelling at the fascinating shapes of the ice. Saw loads of ice holes and wind blown carvings as we walked carefully by ( [1], [2], [3] ).

It was quite incredible looking down the valley to the terminal face and back up to the top.

Stayed on the ice for a bit then walked back down. Got the bus back to the centre where we met a beaming Keith and Ruth. Went over the road for a drink and then headed back to the campsite.

Sat outside in the glorious sunshine chatting and drinking vino. A brilliant day had by all. Spent the evening looking through all our photos. Keith and Ruths photo at the top of the glacier was excellent.

Ruth made an excellent tuna and jacket spud dinner.

Day 299 (Wed 2 May) - Fox Glacier

Still chucking it down this morning. We were all pretty reluctant to get out of our snug beds, especially Ruth and Keith.

Popped to the tourist information centre to get some information on the glacier. Jo and Ruth phoned Rachel again to say happy birthday (it was still her birthday in the UK) and then phoned Backpackers to find out what the orange light on the dashboard meant. Apparently it had something to do with the brakes, which sounded a bit dodgy so we arranged to take it into a garage in Fox glacier later in the day.

Drove up to Franz Josef car park and braving the rain headed off on the Sentinel Rock walk. Fortunately it was only a 20 mins walk to the lookout over the glacier. The glacier looked impressive and as we stood admiring it the clouds began to lift.

We were getting a bit wet so we left Franz Josef and drove the short distance to Fox Glacier. Fox Glacier township was a much smaller town and a lot less commercial than Franz Josef so we felt much more at home. Drove straight to the garage to get the van checked out. The mechanic was just going on his lunch so suggested we return after lunch. Agreed this was a good idea and popped into Cook Saddle Saloon for lunch.

Later Sarb took the van back to the mechanic and Ruth, Keith and Jo went to find out what trips we could do on (and over) the glacier. Ruth and Keith decided to try out a helicopter ride over the glacier whilst Jo booked her and Sarb on a half day hike on the glacier. We hoped that Keith and Ruth would be able to see us as they fly over the glacier.

Picked up the van - apparently the brakes are fine!! The orange light didn't come on again, who knows what was wrong with it.

Later we drove out of town to Lake Matheson. Beautiful walk around the lake. It was so peaceful and colourful. Jo and Ruth were leisurely walking around the lake admiring the snow capped mountains in the distance.

Before it got dark we found a view point so we could catch a glimpse of fox glacier before heading off to the Fox Glacier holiday park.

From the Campsite we had a great view of the surrounding mountains and glacier. Sarb and Keith enjoyed a beer whilst they watched the sunset.

Day 298 (Tue 1 May) - Franz Joseph Glacier

It was a much brighter morning. After having breakfast and showering we set off in the campervan to see the Pancake rocks and blow holes.

Apparently the tide needed to be in and the wind blowing in the right direction to see the blow holes in action. We knew the tide was in but we weren't too sure about the wind!

Walked around and admired the blowholes which were not as spectacular as the photos we'd seen but pretty impressive nevertheless. The formation of the pancake rocks were stunning too.

As we stood admiring the rock we saw some dolphins jumping in the sea by the rocks. There was also a large colony of fern birds on rocks.

Before it started to rain again we had a good opportunity to enjoy looking at the various rock formations.

Left Punakaiki just in time before there was a heavy downpour. Drove towards Greymouth. On the way we fuelled up. As we'd been driving an orange light had lit up on the dashboard, none of us knew what it meant so we asked a man at the garage. He didn't really have a clue either but we thought it couldn't be too serious as it was an orange light(?!)

Stopped in Greymonth to stock up on food and allow Jo and Ruth time to do a bit of retail therapy and set off again down the coast.

Had lunch beside a beautiful lake called Lanthe Lake. It was still raining but this didn't discourage Sarb from trying out his fishing line. Unfortunately he didn't catch anything.

Continued driving and arrived in Franz Joseph where we stopped to take a picture of the glacier. Checked into the Rainforest Motel and Holiday Park. Jo wasn't very impressed with the park as you couldn't see the mountains.

Wandered into town in the rain and stopped for a drink and Keith and Sarb had a game of pool.

Later Keith and Sarb ventured out in the rain to bbq some steak on the outside gas bbq for dinner.

After dinner Keith and Sarb treated themselves to a couple of drinks in the bar whilst Jo and Ruth hunted for a telephone to phone Jo's sister, Rachel, to wish her a happy birthday.