Hello everyone!

Hope everyone is well. We're due a bit of an update so......

After Wellington we hopped on the ferry to the South Island. Except we very nearly didn't make it because I'm an fool. I left the lights on in the van while we were sat waiting so it wouldn't start when we needed to get on. I had to wave some very annoyed people past us then get a jump start! We made it though and the crossing was actally really nice. It was calm which is a blessing because it can get a really choppy and going through Malbourgh Sound on the way into Picton was beautiful.

We stayed a night in Picton, too tired to drive any more, but there is nothing there! We headed off to Kaikoura the day after. Its best known for dolphin swimming and whale watching, but we decided we didn't fancy any of that so we went out to a seal colony near town. Turns out seals smell quite bad, but it was pretty cool to see them in the wild. They all come onto the rocks to relax in the day so they were all chilling out and didn't really mind people getting close enough for photos. We also wen to Moauri leap caves near town, its not very big but its really pretty and our guide was a funny old Kiwi bloke. He was telling us how he was suprised at how many people live in London when he visited and that was 20 years ago!

Christchurch was next and we managed to find a camp site right in the middle of town which was cool, saved us walking too far. It's a really nice city, loads of cool bars on the river, a massive park to walk round and obviously the cathedral. Not as impressive as Lincolns, but bless them they rather like it. It rained quite a bit while we were there so it kinda stopped us doing much on the second day, but it was still worth the visit.

From Christchurch we wanted to cross the country and head for the west coast. There are only a few ways of drving because of the mountains so we opted for Arthurs Pass. It was an awesome drive, but yet again it was raining so we didn't get the views that you can, but never mind. We headed for Greymouth, but again there wasn't really much there so we only stayed a night before moving on. We took a slight detour north on our way out to go to the Pancake Raocks. They're pretty weird looking rock stacks and blow holes and for a change it was sunny so we had a nice drive and some awesome views. Its really easy to start taking the scenery for granted as you drive around. Pretty much every bend in the road offers a new awesome view. Kati is doing a good job of taking loads of photos, but they never do it justice really.

Mat's cash has ran out so i have taken over now....

Ok so we carried on South on the West Coast after the Pancake rocks down to Hokitika (which is Greenstone central) but we were just using this as a stopover really as there is pretty much bob all there! The next day we drove on down to Franz Joseph village so we coud climb the glacier. Our campsite was a bit posh here as it had a massive spa pool, which we used every night we were there. We had to wait a couple of days to see the glacier as it was booked out by the Kiwi Experience tour bus, but got booked on to do the full day 8 hour hike eventually. It was an AWESOME experience. We both really enjoyed it- the weather was great and we got some amazing pictures from up there. It was pretty hard work but very much worth it. One of the best things we have done while we've been here!

We spent 3 nights in Franz Joseph but moved on then to Wanaka for one night. Its a small version of Queenstown really, but the weather was minging so we didnt see the best of it really. There are fab views of the mountains over the lake though, and i eventually managed to find a bikini for the asia leg of the trip so all is good.

Next is the big one - Queenstown. We have been here 3 days now and we love it!! Its freezing, but the place is BEAUTIFUL!! Absolutely stunning. You can see mountains all around, and its just a really really lovely little town. We're a bit gutted we wont be staying longer and its a shame we cant appreciate it in the snow. Next time eh?!

We have met some really cool people here, some of which we have met previeously in Greymouth and some who were on the glacier hike with us. We've had a few nights out here too, the bars are a lot warmer than our van or the campsite kitchen!! :) Not too expensive either so that helps. Mat has already done his skydive and by all accounts it was pretty amazing (i wish i had the balls and am a little jealous), yeterday we went up the gondola to see the views from the top (AMAZING!!) and went on the luge runs a couple of times which was great fun, and we're going jetboating tomorrow too. Crazy golf and Super 14 matches tonight. Just a day left here now, so we'll update again when we have more to say!

Toodleoo

Kati and Mat