So after a stressful morning, Max managed to get his interislander ferry (3.5 hr crossing), $200 less in his pocket for the flipping car towing, and I got the 12 seater Soundsair flight (19 mins) which was actually not too bad, but the plane was like a ping pong ball in the air as we were landing at Picton airport (well a strip of land in between 2 farmhouses and some startled sheep) so I was glad when the wheels were on the ground. I hung around the info centre til Max appeared and we went for lunch before driving to Nelson where we spent the night in a lovely hostel but with very unfriendly travellers. We have decided we are well and truly over hostels so will no longer stay in them!

From Nelson we drove North to Abel Tasman National Park and a lovely seaside village called Kaiteriteri where we stayed in a Christian Camp ( we didn't realise when we booked it) and we had the bare minimum for our $50. A bed and nothing else...apart from the bible! It was a lovely spot though so we headed to the beach and had a lovely afternoon soaking up the sun before dinner and a good night's sleep. This area is full of vineyards, wild plains and hills so the driving is very beautiful. From Kaiteriteri we headed further north over Takaka Hill or the 'Marble Mountain' which was a beautiful drive and arrived in the area called Golden Bay. From here we drove to Collingwood where we checked in to our cabin for the night and then headed further north to Te Waikoropupu (Pupu) Springs. The water here is said to be the purest in the world and it was unbelievably clear..and vey pretty to see. From here we headed to the northern most point of the South Island - Cape Farewell, Farewell Spit and Wharariki Beach. The beach was beautiful with huge sand dunes, great coastal landscapes and landforms and little islands dotted everywhere. Cape Farewell is where Captain Cook sailed away from New Zealand in 1770.

From Collingwood we drive South via Motueka and on to Murchison where we stayed in a lovely holiday park at the side of the river. We decided to have a more relaxed day after our big travel day yesterday so our one big exertion was going to visit the Buller Gorge and Buller Swingbridge. We took a walk across which was scary for me given we were 17 metres from the river bed and 110 metres long and it swung...A lot! We then had a walk to see where the big earthquake of 1931 had hit and then had a relaxed swim in the river before dinner and hours on the internet trying to arrange our honeymoon!

From Murchison we had a very long driving day along the west coast via Punakaikai where we stopped to view the Pancake Rocks and Blow hole. These are natural limestone sculptures which look like enormous stacks of pancakes which were formed 30 million years ago from fragments of skeletons and shells and have been formed by the salt water and winds beating the living daylights out of them for squillions of years.

From here we drove along the coast until Fox Glacier for our overnight stop. Fox Glacier was named in 1872 in the wake of a vist by Sir William Fox, the country's Prime Minister at the time. Its a sweet Alpine resort with nice cafes and a base for all the exciting adventure activities you can do......and we did some of them!! We woke up to an overcast day, which was disappointing, but then the clouds parted and the blue sky came out, the sun shone and we headed to Mountain Helicopters for our 30 minute helicopter flight which was brilliant.

Helicopters are soooo smooth to fly in. I was pretty amazed given small planes bump you all over the place. We were up front and next to the pilot and got amazing views of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman as well as exploring the Fox Glacier and Franz Josef. We also landed on top of the mountain in the snow, which was great fun and a great photo opportunity before heading back. On the route home, the pilot decided to do something a little different and do a 360 loop which made me lose my stomach somewhere a long the way. It was the wierdest feeling, like your whole body was being pushed down in to the floor - Very bizarre! It was a fabulous thing to do and I loved every minute. Max was very sweet as he bought me the ride as a present! Great husband potential :o)

After the helicopter ride, Max headed off for his sky dive (I'm not a daredevil) and had a brilliant dive. Jumping out of the plane to free fall for about 40 seconds before opening the parachute and 'flying' for 5 minutes or so...the spins were a little too fast so he was a little green when he landed but after lunch, chocolate, coke and Nurse Helena on hand, he felt normal again...and loved every minute.