Hello! Sorry its been a while since the last update, but you know this is a hard life travelling round in a camper!

So, we are in the South Island now and have been for a bit over a week. Before we left the north, we went to Rotorua and the Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland. It was great! Saw a geyser but was disapointed it didn't make more of a whooshing noise! Also saw lots of thermal pools and steaming craters and fellow tourists - its one of the busiest places we've been to so far! The stinky egg smell wasn't too bad once you got used to it.

We then drove to Taupo via Huka Falls. We only stopped briefly in Taupo before moving on to find somewhere to stay. We ended up in Turangi in a very quaint/quiet campsite but it had thermal pools-great! Next day we drove to Wellington as we were getting the ferry the following afternoon. Had a wander round the Te Papa museum and saw a little blue penguin in the shallows of the harbour! I was very excited by this. We have seen so much wildlife as we drive/wander around.

The ferry crossing to the South Island was very scenic through the Marlborough Sounds. It was a gorgeous day and not a bad way to spend three hours. The drive from Picton to Kaiteriteri (near Abel Tasman national park) was pretty good too. Lots of vineyards and crazy winding mountain roads - the camper loves them!

We spent 4 nights in Abel Tasman as it was so nice. We walked parts of the coast trail with the help of a sea shuttle on one day, and hired kayaks to explore the bays and islands. I don't think I've ever seen such stunning beaches! The water was so clear and lovely to swim in (after the initial shock of getting in!). We saw fur seals which was fantastic and had rays swimming under the kayak!

Next stop was Kaikoura to do a bit of whale watching. On the drive down we passed the fur seal colony at Ohau which was again fantastic to be able to watch the seals lazing around and flopping in the water. We had a few days in Kaikoura as couldn't get on a whale tour till the wednesday. We walked around the penninsular and saw more seals, and went to Fyffe House, the oldest building in Kaikoura built on whale bones. We then had a day of not doing much really apart from reading on the beach as there wasn't too much else to do. The weather wasn't so great on the day of the whale trip and it was cancelled! We didn't really want to stay any longer in the hope the weather would improve, so headed to Hanmer Springs which is an alpine village with lots of thermal and mineral pools. We were there for quite a while, sitting in hot pools in the rain!

Last night we stayed in Hokitika which had a lovely wild beach. Black sand and driftwood everywhere. Very atmospheric.

Today we have been looking at the glaciers which are pretty spectacular. We're staying the night at Fox Glacier and there's a hippy band playing in the bar down the road later so we might wander down and have a look...