It is a sad morning as we leave in about an hour for the airport for the next installment in our adventure in OZ ! But we could not leave without bringing you all up to speed on what has happened in last few days.

We arrived in Te Anau which is the gateway to Milford sound and we decided to do a Bus trip so we did not have drive ! As I had no idea before I went to Milford sound what it was I will explain quickly (With Lorna's help). It is not actually a sound (where an old river bed is flooded by the sea) but it is a fiord which was carved out by glaciers this means it is very deep (up to 400 m) and the cliffs are very steep.

The day we went was raining very hard and this meant that all along the journey was amazing waterfalls which came down the mountains. Our bus driver was full of information and made sure we understood all the plants and features along the route including Kea Parrot which was busy attacking all the seals on the windscreens of the cars (Very amusing). The second part of the trip was on a boat which went through the fiord to the sea and along the route stopped for picture opportunities under waterfalls. We also saw some seals along the shores which were doing what seals do best ... Nothing !

After a day on Milford we made the descision to do an overnight stay on Doubtful sound as many people said it was completely different scenary to Milford even though a bit harder to get to. The travelling involved an hour boat trip across a lake and then another hour on a bus before we made it to our luxury cruiser. The weather was really great and we were told how lucky we were by everyone onboard as they get 200 days of rain a year. The trip went along the Fiord (Not a sound) to the ocean with the nature guides explaining everything on route. In the mouth of the Fiord there were Yellow eyed penguins and a Seal colony. After this we found a bay for a stop and the nature guides took us out on outboards to show us the flowers and nature along with the dramatic cliffs. There was an option to swim in the fiord at 13 degrees without a wetsuit Lorna and I made sure we went straight to the bar instead. The trip was an overnighter so we enjoyed a massive three course meal buffet and several drinks and then went to the decks to see an amazing star show. We never thought we would enjoy peace and quiet as much as we did but it was breathtaking being stood in the wilderness with nothing for miles in this tranquil setting.

Next morning at 630 am the captain started the engines which was very annoying as we only had two hours sleep thanks to the snorer in our room (Grrr!!!). We then had a massive breakfast (English style what a treat!) and went on deck to see the dolphins performing for us (See Pics) and also to enjoy a part of Doubtful sound where they turn off the boat engines and you drift along to only the sound of birds and waterfalls. The water was so still that everything was reflected.

The next part of the trip was a scenic drive along the catlins on the south coast with more Seals and Penguins to be seen however was very rainy so not the best views and we hotfooted it up to Dunedin. Here Lorna and I had a deal I was allowed to go to the beer factory if she could go to Cadburys. So off we went to Cadburys first as beer never should be drank before Chocolate. We wandered around with Lorna under restraints as she kept trying to eat everything in sight and got given lots of samples so we would not go hungry for the rest of the trip. We got to see a Choc waterfall which has a tonne of chocolate going through it but we werent allowed to swim in or eat it ! (Damn). Next was Speights brewery which is the oldest in the south island and they still use alot of old technology when making the beer so this was all interesting to see. At the end of the trip to my delight they had a 30 minute tasting session where there was all the beer for you to pour and try which went down very well even though Lorna did not like it (I had hers !).

Mt cook was next and the day was great and gave us amazing views of the Mountain with its mirror reflection in the lake. We did a quick 2 hour walk to see it from its base and got some amazing photo's before heading for our site in the wilderness for the night.

We then went to Kaikoura for whalewatching stopping for a luxurious soak in the Hanmer Thermal springs on route. The day we went to see the Whales was very windy and the waves were massive however we did see 15 whales which is very rare as the day before they saw 1! The Whales were amazing and they were swimming close to one another and blowing water out of their airholes.

We are now in Christchurch which is a very pretty english city and we enjoyed a nice day with my Parents who flew down from Wellington for the day (Thanks for the amazing meal !) and last night we went out for some farewell drinks to Nz to some Funky bars in the town to spend our last Nz Dollars.

Off to OZ now so next installment will all be about the Sun/Beach and Sydney !

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE !

Love Alex and Lorna