After a grueling 3 hour boat journey 'across the ditch' we arrived into Nelson. Immediatley the scenery was so much nicer than the North Island. First stop for the day was a Winery. not the most inviting stop for people who were still feeling ill from the crossing but needless to say they did do the nicest paninis I have ever had! After a little wine, cheese and olive oil tasting it was back on the road and off to our hostel which turns out to be a hotel! It was ...

An all day drive after the extreme sports to Wellington where we checked into the Base Wellington. Another massive hostel trying to cram as many punters in as possible! Not much to say about Wellington as we arrived early evening and left for the South Island early morning!

Off yet again at the crack of dawn to a place called River Valley but on the way we we had a chance to do some swimming and jumping off a waterfall. It was absolutley freezing but awesome for the hangover! When we finally arrrived into River Valley it was pretty surreal! Basically a lodge at the bottom of a ravine with a river running through we could swim through the river and over the rapids! Good fun even if it was freezing! The lodge was a little strange, st...

Off through the central plateau today and arriving into Taupo. There were quite a few activities available to us here but we thought we would save some money for the South Island. It turns out a normal trip to the interent cafe could turn into a money making event! While sending some emails myself and ian are approached by a Chinese man asking for help, cash in hand, to remove some vinyl from the floor of a Noodle Box to be! It was hard back crunching work and i...

Up at eh crack of dawn today and off to Waitomo, the caving capital of New Zealand! First stop for the day was the cultural centre again where we learnt the Haka! It was kinda cool but we didn't learn it properly as we didn't have time! After 15 minutes worth of lessons we had to perform to all the women on the bus whilst they performed for us! The Haka actually depicts a story of a warrior but I can't be bothered to explain it so you will either have to take my ...