We left Kaikoura in the middle of a storm, hoping we would emerge into blistering sunshine once we reached Nelson, and amazingly we did. We spent the evening preparing for our two day trip into Abel Tasman. We decided against taking a camping stove and so prepared enough food for the two days and went to bed having completely re packed Greg's big bag with everything we'd need for two days camping. The next morning we woke to the sound of rain...the storm had foun...

The day after starting our new exercise routine we both woke unable to walk and slowly dragged ourselves to the car for a short two hour drive to Kaikoura. The sun was shining as we made our way down the coast and hobbled straight onto our own private fishing boat for an afternoon on the ocean. We started in relatively shallow waters to catch our bait. Our target were barracuda. Claire brought in the first one and then Greg another two. Because of the size of the...

Our time in Gisborne had come to an end. We had spent the last few days slowly packing up the contents of our flat and had placed multiple adverts in the Eastland trader for items we wanted to sell. We received, surprisingly, the most enquiries about the vacuum cleaner and the kettle. We're still receiving messages enquiring about the kettle 3 weeks later...some people are desperate for a cup of tea. Claire's parents got involved too, Tim cleaned up the BBQ so w...

Since we last wrote we have spent a month apart (don't worry...we survived). We both had to return to the UK separately for interviews and other than that not much happened. Claire did go to the Wellington Sevens' festival one weekend but as she is unable to recall much of the event there's little to write about. Three days after we'd been reunited Claire's mum and dad arrived for a holiday. They landed late Friday afternoon and we immediately whisked them off t...

We were embarking on our first full Great Walk (http://www.greatwalks.co.nz/) around Lake Waikaremoana a day later than the rest of the group due to Greg's exam. What better preparation could we have for a 3 day hike than a night spent sleeping in our beloved Grape of Wrath. We arrived at the 'campsite' after dark but successfully managed to negotiate the car onto some grassland before setting up camp. Greg insisted on all lights being off every time the door w...