J: Left a cloudy top of Waiheke Island and arrived 1.5 hrs later down over the mountains of southern central South Island to blue skies and hot sun! About 1,000 miles. How can we be so far south and it get hotter?! Donned shorts and sandals and SPF 30 for stroll around. Snack lunch at 4.30 - then sought out Starbucks for coffee. Shops geared up for tourists so bought our first Christmas presents! They'll be getting smaller as we run out of room in Wedg's case....mine arrived full!!

Simply stunning view from the airport tarmac - mountains nearly all around, snow on the tops. Lovely chauffeur told us all sorts about the area and took us up above the town where he snapped us for the blog picture. Took a panoramic series of the lake but it's sideways in the album, makes it better tho.

Tomorrow (Sunday) we're off fairly early on coach to Doubtful Sound fijord boat trip lasting overnight then back here Monday afternoon. Meant to be unmissable.

Missing the Boatshed and Rupert the dog already - will add more pics taken there before we left.