Hi all! Having collected our campervan, we have commenced a sort of clockwise tour around South Island. You can camp anywhere here, unless it says otherwise. So we have paid to camp at a proper campsite (showers, plug in electricity, waste dump, clean water, laundry, etc) about one in every three nights. The others we have 'freecamped' out in the middle of nowhere or used NZ Dept of Conservation campsites for a nominal cost (toilet, and rubbish bin if you are lucky). Our van is diesel, which costs about NZ$1 per litre, thats about 40p!

We are getting into a routine, putting everything away, before setting off, and putting liquids in carrier bags (unfortunate incident with balsamic vinegar all over the upholstery), making and dismantling the bed everyday, etc.

There is immense freedom with the campervan, as we can go where we like within reason. Waking up next to a misty lake, or stopping for lunch by the beach is wonderful until..........the sandflies spot you, they are tiny flies that will eat you quicker that you can eat your sandwich!

The wildlife has been very obliging and has come out to play on cue on several occasions. We watched albatrosses glide over our heads at Otago peninsula, a sea lion walked out in the road in front of our camper and posed for a picture, then chased Eric around the camper (they can move surprisingly fast when thet want to!). But the best sight was at a beach with a fossilised forest in its rocks, (this is very rare); but rarer still was the yellow eyed penguins that return at sunset to their nests along the shore after fishing during the day. We waited one hour and only saw one briefly walk up the beach from a distance, we had decided to leave with many other disgruntled tourists when another one waddled out of the bushes right in front of us to drink from a pool! Abby felt that there were hundreds hiding in the bushes and that they had voted for this one to come out and put on a show so that we would all leave their beach allowing them to have a party and play volleyball.

If you have seen the film 'The worlds fastest Indian' starring Anthony Hopkins, you will have heard of Burt Munro who still holds the motorbike land speed record that he set in the 60's at the age of 68. In a hardware shop in Invercargill on the very south coast we saw the original bike and replica's made for the film displayed amoungst tools, lawnmowers, chainsaws etc.

Not wishing to bore you with all the places that we have been we need to mention Fox Glacier, where we took an all day guided hike onto the glacier. It was quite a memorable experience. With crampons (spikes) on your feet stamping into the ice you can climb or descend the surprisingly uneven terrain; such as deep crevasses, beautiful turquoise moulins (holes carved by water flow) and avoiding rocks that are imbedded within the ice. The views of the surrounding mountains were pretty impressive too.

We were sorely tempted with a house and 843 acres for NZ$235,000, thats about 100,000 pounds, but it had already been sold.

One of the most interesting tourist sites to visit within Nelson is the World of Wearable Art and classic car museum (WOW for short). A multiple appeal venue; those with a feminine bent can look at the clothes whilst those with a more macho point of view can admire the cars.

Easter weekend was spent on the very north of the south island at a place called golden bay. So called because the sand is a very golden yellow, a bit like builders sand. We camped at a Dept of Conservation campsite, that you have to enter a ballot to camp at during the peak season. We can see why, it was right on the beach and down a 10km rough gravel winding road to get to. We also walked around Waikoropupu springs known locally as the 'pupu springs', reportedly producing the clearest water in the southern hemisphere. Eric wondered why the water has not been bottled and sold around the world, but we both agreed the limited marketability of 'pu pu spring water'.