Wow so much to write, should have wrote more often oh well here goes !

On last Blog we were just about to go on a wine tour I can confirm it was a really good one. We were picked up by our guide and were the only ones on the tour so this made him not have to rush and gave us some extras (we like to think). He took us to a total of 4 wineries forgive me I doubt I can remember all the names nothing to do with the wine promise ! However here goes Craggy Hill, Trinity Hill, Black Barn and Mission Bay (Yes Lorna has helped my memory). It was great as we actually liked all the wine and enjoyed some nice subtle reds and lots of glorious whites if any of you want to experience these wines we tried you can get them in Waitrose we can recommend a red of Pinot Noir and our Favourite Sauvignon Blanc from Hawkes Bay region. The tour also included a veiwpoint which was above Napier and the views were really amazing as you can see in the photo's.

Next we headed towards Paraparaumu to see Olive and Eric and it was a great as we got to spend a night in a really nice house and meet family that we have never really had alot of contact with over the years, (Thanks Olive and Eric).

After a great nights sleep and an excellent breakfast we headed down the coast to Wellington to see Eileen and family and take in sights of the windy city. As its name suggests it was windy and wet and we were very grateful to not be spendinga night in the Motorhome. We also did some site seeing and went to Te Papa Museam where we did some fun simulators of all things Kiwi ( Flying foxes and Cardboad Box tobogganing).

It was then on to the South Island on the ferry and to say I was scared was a understatement as we were looking at the weather of possible strong winds across the Tasman sea and the waves were massive. However the Ferry was big and with my trusty sickness bands the waves were fine and we got into Picton safe and sound with some amazing views of the Marlbourough Sounds to greet us.

In the morning we realised that landscape was very different surrounded by Mountains we realised that it would be a fun ride in 'Monty' our Campervan along the steep coastal roads.

Our first stop was Abel Tasman which was something Lorna and I had decided to do on a Kayak as it was highly recommended by several people we have met. So we stayed in Kaiteriteri beach and the site had a really nice beach right across the road. The Kayaking was harder work than we thought and involved going around the Marine reserve of Tonga Island where we saw seals playing in the sea and the rocks. Lunch was on a beach called Bark bay in between Mosquito Bay and Sandfly Bay however I think the locals got it wrong as we got bitten alive and it took a while for them to go !

We then made a move to Fanz Josef Glacier Via the Pancake rocks which were great as they had strange shapes in them (See Photo's what can you see ?) and layered like pancakes.

We got to Franz Josef and did our Heli Hike the next day which was a massive highlight for us as we had never been in a helicopter and the landscape of the glacier is like nothing we have ever seen before. We were really lucky as we got to see amazing ice caves and got to walk through them (Not easy). We also saw an Ice fall and lots of holes in the ice with ice melt rushing down them into the unknown as some of the glacier is 200 - 400 metres thick.

After all this excitement we had the activity hub to visit 'Queenstown' which it a quaint town with loads of Backpackers and tons of activities. We had about ten or so to choose from however as we are not crazy enough to jump out of planes or hang by ropes from large drops we decided on Rafting and Jetboating in Shotover canyon. Jetboating was amazing with the 360 degree spins and the driver getting insanely close to rocks with 500 hp engines pushing the speeds close to 50mph to say I screamed like a girl is an understatement.

Rafting was a bit slower however just as exciting firstly because of the 30 minute drive down to the river along one of the worst roads in New Zealand in a Bus with trailer in toe with massive drops down the canyons on each side. We arrived at the river to be greeted by 10 boats, lots of crazy guides and a million sandflies. We were divided into teams of 7 and we had a well spoken English Guide who was not quite as crazy as the others however he was very good at rafting and got us down the many different rapids without falling out, however we were brave enough to have a swim at the 'Swimmers Rapids' even though the water was only 13 degrees.

Last night we went out for some drinks in a backpackers bar but were so tired we were in bed early ready to head to Te Anau for our Milford and Doubtful Sounds experiences. WE CANT WAIT !

Love to you all

Alex, Lorna, Paddington and Monty.