From Queenstown we went to Dunedin (Edinburgh of the south). The city is based on Scotland's Edinburgh and even all the streets names are the same. To add to this the weather was a perfect UK summer, and we enjoyed some lovely Blue Cod fish and chips.

Leaving Dunedin we traveled to Lake Tekapo. This is one of the stops I was most looking forward to. It is a very small town situated next to a beautiful glacial lake and has some good walking trails. On top of Mt John is a world renowned observatory. It is situated here because the area has the most clear sky on average in all of NZ, this was really why I was looking forward to this stop. I wanted to see the stars of the southern hemisphere with no light pollution. Unfortunately for the two nights we stayed it clouded over both nights. Absolutely gutted!!! (look up pictures on Google and you'll understand why). On the positive side during the day was gorgeous. We went on a 3h hike which wound along the side of the lake and up the back of the mountain to the observatory for some fantastic views. We also joined a day tour of the complex and were able to look through 3 of the telescopes. One we were able to look at the sun and the other from inside one of the buildings we saw the moon and even Alpha Centuri, which by the way is actually two stars in close proximity to each other.

Back to Christchurch for my birthday. We actually enjoyed the city more this time round. We walked through the square, found a $10 steak and chips for dinner and delighted in some cake.

The next day we continued north up the coast to Kaikoura. Just on the edge of this seaside town is a seal colony that visitors can walk through. They are amazing animals up close, now we both have a desire to go scuba diving with them. At night we went to the cinema for the first time since England. It was a funny old theatre. No tiered seating, only one film showing each night, and even had an intermission to change the reel. A throwback for both of us.

Now we have taken the ferry to Wellington leaving the South Island with hopes of returning some July to go snowboarding on what looks to be fantastic runs. But in the mean time we start our North Island adventures...