Day 1

We arrived in at Christchurch airport and could hardly control our desire to get into our spaceship and get going so we headed immediately to the airport info desk to ask how we could get to the depot to pick it up. The old gent at the desk didn't seem to understand quite how to call a number like '0800 SPACESHIPS', bless him, so we ended up with a lot of wrong numbers.

We finally got the right information on how to get there though and jumped on a shuttle bus. When we got to the Spaceships office, they tried to pass off the fact they had automatically downgraded us to the lower class of spaceship as they said ours had been in a crash. We weren't having any of it, as there were about ten of the same as ours sat outside. So we were eventually given one called 'Black Hole'.

Getting to grips with it was tricky as we have never driven an automatic before. I nearly sent Pip flying through the windscreen on a few occasions before I got the hang of the very sensitive breaks. You just have to whisper their name and the car will stop. Pip keeps trying to grab the invisible gear stick.

Our first destination was Akaroa in the Banks Peninsula, although some over-cautious travellers warned us not to go there due to the earthquake activity. We're really glad we did though as it's a beautiful area. The area is where some French whalers first settled in New Zealand before word got back to the U.K. and we sent a party to oust them. An enormous volcanic crater has been flooded into a sound over a very long time and now created a large harbour which the town grew around.

When we set up camp for the evening, Pip realised she had left her padlock for her bag at the airport (they made us open our bags to inspect our walking boots for foreign mud). So we had to borrow a pair of bolt clippers and cut it off... cue embarassed face for rest of the evening.

Day 2

We spent the next day walking in Akaroa after finding some walking route guides in the local information office. This being us though, we had to get it wrong somehow and eneded up going the wrong way twice before eventually finding the right route.

Our next stop after seeing the town, was a small bay called Okains Bay, which had been highlighted by our Lonely Planet guide's previous owner (thanks whoever you are!). It turned out to be a lovely spot right next to the beach where we camped quite cheaply for the night. We met a group of kiwis who were playing cricket on the beach and joined in.

Day 3

We had to go back through Christchurch to exit the peninsula but while we were there we got to meet up with one of Pip's uni friends who is studying there. He and his friends showed us some of the earthquake devastation and helped us find a car charger for all our essential electrical goods. We were going to find the botanical garden but got so lost we ended up just heading on to our next stop, which we decided would be a cheap DOC (Dept. of Conservation) site between Christchurch and Lake Tekapo.

Not wanting to pay fifty dollars instead of the twelve it cost, I had to go round the campsite asking if anyone could change our notes and fortunately found some willing kiwis. They later approached us and asked if we wanted to come and join their campfire and singsong, which was very nice of them. It was a lovely evening despite a bit of rain and not recognising any of the music being played on the guitar. Some of the group even said we could stay with them should we pass via Christchurch again. We may have to adjust our schedule as they have a pool and ten acres of land!

Day 4

In the cold, dreary morning mist, I took the plunge and went for the first trial of the solar shower. Unfortunately solar means sun and we had had none of it, so it wasn't exactly pleasant. We drove to the stunning Lake Tekapo, not far from Geraldine, where we had camped. Now being the professional trekkers that we are, the first thing we did after parking up was to walk up Mt. John to the observatory. In fair weather, this is meant to be the best place for star gazing in the southern hemisphere. The clouds did not deter some of the scenery views from the top though and we managed to get a snap of a rainbow reflected in the turqouise waters (pics up soon).

Day 5

A short trip northwards past some huge lakes, led us to Mt. Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain. We had to keep pulling in to get a picture of the snow capped brilliance showing through the clouds, each pull in seeming a better spot than the last. Eventually we got there though and found a bit of a spaceship party going on as there were four others all parked together.

We met a nice couple who were driving 'Droid' and walked with them on one of the walks to Hooker's Glacier and lake, along the way passing over some bouncy swing bridges.

That night, we made some delicious home-made burgers and drank with some more spaceship buddies (or maybe we should call them astronauts). Pip got to enjoy her first solar shower experience fully clothed after deciding to pour red wine all over herself. It also got so cold that I had to perform the cardinal sin of socks and sandals.