Rob and Rachel's Travels

Goodbye NZ!

2009-11-27T00:04:00.001+13:00

Our last weekend in New Zealand was packed with great day trips and birthday celebrations. My dad, Rob and I took a short ferry trip to Rangitoto, a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf.

Rangitoto appeared out of the sea after a series of erutions about 600 years ago. It must have been a shock for the Mauri people living on adjoining Motutapu island! The lower slopes are still bare lava rock, so our picnic spot was quite uncomfortable!

The view from the summit was amazing - you can see right across to the city and, on the other side, as far as the Coromandel Peninsular. There are some lava caves at the top of the island, which were formed by a crust of lava cooling and the hot lava inside flowing out to leave a hollow.

Another day, another island... for my birthday day out we all went to beautiful Waiheke, yet another little gem just a short hop from Auckland.

We visited Mudbrick, a fantastically located restaurant with amazing gardens and spectacular views across to Rangitoto.

It was lovely to spend my birthday with Mum and Dad. Last year we celebrated with our adopted family and friends in Panama and, as enjoyable as that was, I did miss having them around.

We also had one last catch up/ goodbye/ birthday celebration with our Auckland friends. Coffee with Kandace on my birthday and a night out with (below) Mark, Jen and Mark's brother, Phil, in Ponsonby. We were very sad to leave them all but all promised to stay in touch and hope to meet up again somewhere in the world!

Then the really tough farewells. We flew out from Auckland at 1am on 10th November so, late on my birthday, after a delicious meal, we all left for the airport. It was very hard to leave Mum and Dad behind, knowing I wouldn't see them again for another year, so there were lots of tears. On the other hand, they've created a great life for themselves in New Zealand, with a much more relaxed pace, lots of nice friends and more fantastic places to visit.

The journey back was quite enjoyable. It was very long (10hrs to Singapore, where we had a shower to refresh ourselves for the second leg, then 14hrs back to London) but we had amazing views some of the way, like this one over the mountains of Afghanistan.

As you would expect for mid November, the weather was very miserable when we landed at Heathrow. The palette of turquoise, blue and green of our last few days in NZ was gone and in its place was... well, grey, really!

We've now been back for about 2 weeks and are settling back into UK life. I've been getting some days of supply teaching work while Rob gets on with the serious business of job searching. It looks like we'll be based somewhere down south and we'll certainly be in the UK for a good while now, but don't worry, we won't stop exploring our amazing planet just yet!

Rachel x

Leaving the South Island

2009-11-19T11:38:00.000+13:00

As our time in the South Island came to an end, we headed back up the East coast towards Christchurch, where we were to drop off the campervan. On the way, we called in to see one of the South Island's most famous sights.

The Moeraki Boulders are an amazing collection of spherical rocks, seemingly dropped out of thin air onto the beach at Moeraki, near Oamaru. According to geologists, they were formed when crushed seabed matter (such as shells) coalesced around small lumps of harder rock, which was then made larger (and round) by marine creature action (similar to worm action). Minerals in the rock then chemically reacted, causing the core to shrink, in turn causing the outer rock to crack. The cracks were back-filled with more (different) rock, giving the lines that can be seen on the surface of the boulders.

After marvelling at the boulders, we had just one stop left: Christchurch.

Christchurch is the most English of NZ's cities. Looking at the street names (including, we were pleased to see, Lichfield St!) you can certainly see the English influence. The weather was fantastic, so we fully enjoyed the botanic gardens.

A nice way to see the city is to use the restored tram system. It's stricly for tourists only though, as it only runs a 2km one-way loop around the centre! It's very relaxed, and there's an accompanying tour commentary.

We had a really nice, relaxed time in Christchurch, perfectly rounding off our time in the South Island, before we headed to the airport for our return flight to Auckland.

Rob

Tiki's Tours

2009-11-14T05:45:00.001+13:00

We had some great adventures in our camper van, which we named Tiki. We loved the freedom that it gave us and the "off the beaten track" spots that we could visit on our own four wheels.

We camped in some great places with Tiki...

Sunny mornings and mountain views in Wanaka

and right on the beach in sleepy Gore Bay. The only problem was, at first, we found it almost impossible to do any "freedom camping", so were having to go to proper camp sites every night. Here's Rob with one of the dreaded "No Camping" signs that were so common around Marlborough and Nelson.

Fortunately, as we moved on, we found more and more beautiful spots to stop at the side of the road, like this one over-looking Arrowtown and Queenstown,

and high up on the Otago Peninsular with all the bays and headlands spread out beneath us.

Heavy rain meant that this camping spot near Blenheim was dangerously close to the river and we had to make a dash for higher ground in the middle of the night!

This was a great spot in stunning Fiordland where, the following day, we woke to snow on the roof.

After exploring the South Island together for over a month, we were sad to say goodbye to Tiki and take her back to Christchurch. We took one final photo of the three of us.

Rachel x

Penguins!

2009-11-04T19:49:00.000+13:00

We've been really lucky in the last week or so and seen three different types of penguins! Unfortunately they're very shy creatures so photos had to be taken from a long way away and, in one case, not at all! Apologies for poor quality of pictures.

First was the Fiordland crested penguin in Milford Sound. This little guy has a great hair cut and seemed to be enjoying hopping about on the rocks.

While visiting the gorgeous Otago Peninsula near Dunedin, we spent an hour or so camped out in a hide on Sandfly Bay (mercifully free of them that evening!) near a yellow eyed penguin colony. This one was slowly clambering his way up the steep cliff back to his nest just above the beach. His little legs meant that after a just few quick waddles he had to stop for a break.

We loved Sandfly Bay, it had a very special atmosphere, with huge sealions lounging around on the beach and lots of birds enjoying the peace and quiet. On our way back across the sand, we spotted another penguin leaving the water and on its way back to its nest.

Our last penguin spotting event was a trip to Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony on the East Coast. This is home to little blue penguins who, weighing only 1kg and measuring around 30cm in height, are the smallest and rarest penguins in the world. Seeing them was a really special experience; we arrived just as the sun was setting and took our places on the special penguin viewing platform. As it got darker, the guide pointed out "rafts" of around 50 little blue penguins drifting across the water towards the beach. After a few failed attempts to escape the fierce surf, they all flopped onto the rocks, scrambled up the cliff and ran to their nests. We even saw some chicks coming out to meet their parents! Altogether 189 penguins came ashore that night (there was an official count for monitoring purposes) and we felt really priveleged to see such unique birds in their natural environment. OBPC is a really good organisation and does everything it can to limit human interference with the colony, which explains why the only photo we have is of me with a giant limestone penguin!

Rachel x

Routeburn Track

2009-11-03T23:07:00.001+13:00

The Routeburn Track is one of NZ's officially designated 'Great Walks'. It's a 3-day one-way trail through bush and alpine mountains in the Mt Aspiring National Park.

NZ is all about the outdoors, and we decided early in the trip that we ought definitely to walk one of the multi-day Great Walks before we left. The Routeburn came highly recommended and seemed ideal, as it can be accessed by shuttle bus to/from Queenstown.

So, we booked the overnight stays in the DoC (Department of Conservation)-run huts, arranged our transport to/from the trailheads at the Routeburn Shelter and The Divide, and rented a few necessary bits of gear for the hike. We also stocked up on nut bars, porridge oats and dehydrated meals (yum!).

On day 1, we were very lucky to find the weather perfectly clear - without it being too hot. We set off from the Routeburn shelter in high spirits. The first part of the track leads through beech forest, an important (and protected) natural habitat for several native species.

The going was good as we stopped for lunch at the Routeburn flats, admiring the great view back down the valley. Still with loads of energy, we started up the steep climb towards Routeburn Falls, where we were to spend our first night.

That was when the views started getting really awesome. As we climbed higher, the view just got better and better, and as we crossed a slip where a 1994 landslide has removed some of the forest, were treated to an incredible scene; the flats spread out below with the snow-capped peaks looming overhead.

We arrived at the Routeburn Falls hut in plenty of time, allowing us a look at the falls themselves just above the hut and get plenty of rest. We were welcomed by the impressively friendly and helpful John, the DoC hut warden.

The real excitement was in store for the next day though! The Great Walks peak season has only just started, and there's still plenty of snow on the alpine section of the track. That means avalanche danger: pieces of snow ranging in size from a microwave up to a kitchen table can break off the slowly melting snow and fall onto the track at any time. This happens silently and without warning. Any chunks that might hit a person walking the track would be about as hard as concrete. Needless to say, that could be very dangerous! In previous years, DoC have closed the track when there's a risk of avalanche, but this year they've decided to provide alternative transportation through the Alpine section: helicopter!

For a bargain (i.e. subsidised) price, we got an impossibly scenic flight through the mountains. It only lasted about 2 minutes, but we were nevertheless extremely chuffed! From her front seat, Rachel managed to shoot a quick video as we took off over the frozen lake.

This did mean that we arrived at the next hut, at Lake MacKenzie, rather early, so we had to adjust our itinerary. We continued on for the rest of day 2 to stop for the night at Lake Howden hut (run by another friendly, helpful John) and even had time, after dropping our packs at the hut, to hike up the side track to Key Summit, taking in the views of glacial tarns and hanging valleys.

On the third day, the break in the weather sadly closed, and the clouds came right down to the Howden hut, around 700m above sea level. Fortunately, we only had a few km left to hike out to meet the bus at The Divide. We climbed into the bus feeling very tired but thoroughly pleased with ourselves!

Just to prove that it really was tough, here's a picture of me having to wash my feet in near-freezing glacial water!

Rob

Milford Sound

2009-11-03T18:16:00.003+13:00

Milford Sound must be the number one talked about spot in New Zealand. Even before we arrived in the country we'd been told this was a "must-see" place and we'd seen posters advertising it as far north as Auckland. So it's very surprising that, despite all this hype, Milford Sound is still one of the most impressive places I've ever been.

The drive down to Milford takes you past enormous snowy mountains, through an unnervingly narrow rock tunnel and past huge piles of snow marked with "Do not stop: avalanche zone" signs! I had to congratulate Rob for getting us and the camper van safely through that experience.

There was no way we were driving all that way and not get out onto the water so, braving the foul weather (Fiordland National Park gets an average of 7 metres of rain per year so it wasn't surprising we got wet!), we took a cruise on the sound.

We were very fortunate because, almost as soon as we stepped onto the boat, the cloud began to lift, the rain eased and the sheer cliffs and hanging valleys emerged from the mist. For the first time that day, the very tip of Mitre Peak revealed itself. At 1692 metres above sea level, it is one of the tallest mountains in the world to rise directly out of the sea, and is an amazing sight.

Because there had been so much rain that day, the rocks were running with hundreds of temporary waterfalls, that would be gone in just a matter of hours. The permanent ones, like this one, were all the more impressive, too, because of the extra water. In a strange way, we were glad to have the rain and the mist gave the whole place a wonderful atmosphere.

We were also really pleased that we had taken the last cruise of the day because, instead of hundreds of visitors off the tour buses, there were only 6 other people on the boat and they mostly stayed downstairs in the rain. A boat to ourselves in the middle of Milford Sound? It doesn't get much better than that.

Rachel x

Southern Lakes District

2009-10-29T18:38:00.002+13:00

As well as jumping off mountains around Wanaka, we've also enjoyed the views from the ground. The scenery around Wanaka, Arrowtown and Queenstown has to be some of the best in New Zealand.

The lakes are surrounded by incredible snow-capped mountains, as you can see in this photo of Lake Wanaka. We really liked the town, too; it has a stunning location right next to the lake and lots of lovely cafes to relax in. We were a lucky with the weather and cloud-free blue skies and sunshine made it even more appealing.

Driving through the mountains is wonderful and we have to stop to admire the view every few kilometres. We loved this look out point so much that we spent the night there. Sitting in the van eating our dinner we doubted if any expensive restaurant in the world could deliver such an impressive view.

Arrowtown was a busy spot during the 1860s gold rush and, unusually for NZ, still retains many of its original buildings. The Chinese Settlement is a fascinating place, with restored huts and information about the tough lives of the Chinese who followed the rush. Arrowtown's a sweet little place now, with boutiques, chocolate shops and gourmet restaurants; I'm not sure if the gold prospectors would recognise it!

Queenstown is known as the centre for all things adventurous and we felt we couldn't leave without at least witnessing something extreme, so we went down to the Kawarau Bridge to watch some bungy jumping. I think that having your body flung around like that looks pretty unpleasant, to be honest, but this young girl was totally fearless and didn't even hesitate before throwing herself off the bridge.

While we were in the Southern Lakes District, we met up with my mum and dad and their friends Polly and David, who are also visiting from the UK. Polly and David had a lovely cruise on this old steam boat, The TSS Earnslaw, which took them out onto Lake Wakatipu.

Rob and I managed to convince my dad that paragliding is great fun, so he had a go from the top of the Skyline Gondola. Anyone who knows him will not be surprised to hear that he absolutely loved it!

Rachel x

Paragliding!

2009-10-27T13:53:00.000+13:00

NZ is well known as the capital of adrenaline sports. Doing something scary while you're here is pretty much obligatory. Feeling that skydiving or bungy jumping were a little bit too scary, we opted for paragliding.

So, when we woke up to a beautiful morning on Friday with clear skies, almost no wind and a flyer for $20 off with Wanaka Paragliding, it was fate. We phoned up and made a booking to 'fly' an hour later.

We met the paragliding team at the base of the Treble Cone ski area near Wanaka. They then drove us up to the take-off point, 800m higher. After a fairly quick briefing, we ran off the side of the mountain and floated off into the air.

Yes, it really does feel like you're flying. It's very easy (you're really just sitting down for half an hour); I was even able to take some pictures while I was gliding around. We had awesome views of Lake Wanaka and the Mt Aspiring National Park.

On the mountainside where we were flying there happened to be an Australasian Harrier nesting. As we crossed into his territory, he flew around to try to warn us off. He even tried to land on top of Rach's glider! Luckily he didn't; they have pretty sharp talons that could easily damage a paraglider!

For the rest of the day we were buzzing with the excitement of such a fantastic experience. It was beautifully serene and calm - not that scary after all!

Rob

Glacier Country

2009-10-22T14:07:00.002+13:00

We had a brilliant couple of days in Franz Josef and Fox, two tiny isolated villages famous for their enormous glaciers. We took the easy option at Franz Josef and just walked up to a viewing point where you get a decent view of the glacier. It's a really impressive sight and even more amazing when you realise you can really only see a small section of the ice.

That afternoon we experienced the full force of the West Coast weather with hours and hours of heavy rain so we escaped to the lovely Glacier Hot Pools. Unlike lots of similar places we visited in Central America, the water here isn't naturally heated, but it is real glacial water, so that was a first. It's also a lot swankier than any others we've been to and surrounded by rainforest so has a really nice atmosphere.

The next day the sun came out and we had perfect weather to get out onto the ice! This time we went to Fox Glacier, just down the road.

You're not allowed to go on the glacier without a guide unless you're experienced alpine mountaineers, (which we're definitely not!), so here's out guide, Cole. He looks the part, don't you think?!

There was quite a hike to get onto the ice, including 700 steps and some risky sections where there are frequent rock falls. We stopped at a fresh water spring for a refreshing drink.

Once we got onto the glacier we were given an alpenstock (a big stick with a spike on the end) and crampons. We fitted these over the very retro boots that they had lent us and were told to tuck our trousers into our socks so we didn't catch them on the crampons. I felt like an old fashioned mountaineer along the lines of Kiwi hero Sir Edmund Hillary and felt ready to tackle the glacier!

The ice was a lot more grey than I had expected but it was still incredibly beautiful how it has formed into all sorts of peaks and cravasses. Where you can see into the glacier, it's a vivid blue colour.

This is my favourite photo because Cole let me pose with his ice axe!

On average, the Fox Glacier flows at over 1 metre a day and can get up to a speed of 5m a day, which is about 10 times faster than the European Alpine glaciers.

I really loved the whole experience and it's definitely one of the best things we've done so far.

Amazingly, after several hours hiking on and around the glacier, we found enough energy to almost run to the end of Lake Matheson. It has a very reflective surface and is famous for its evening views of Mount Tasman and, the highest peak in NZ, Mount Cook. We managed to get there just in time before the sun went down and got this lovely shot.

Rachel x

Okarito Kiwi Spotting

2009-10-20T10:35:00.000+13:00

Okarito is a very small township about 25km from Franz Josef. Population: 35. One of those people is a guy called Ian from Hertfordshire, who runs nightly birdwatching tours in the nearby Pakihi reserve, which is a designated kiwi habitat.

Ian has the right attitude for a nature guide: he doesn't feed the birds, he doesn't chase the birds, and he tries his absolute hardest not to disturb the birds or disrupt their natural behaviour. He manages to enable people like us to see kiwis in their natural habitat because he knows the birds in the area and their behaviour.

We started the evening with a thorough breifing from Ian. Kiwis are territorial birds, and a breeding pair's territory can be about 60 times the area of a football pitch. In the reserve where we were headed, there were just 3 pairs; 6 birds in an area 180 times the size of a football pitch. What's more, we were restricted to the relatively tiny area of the track that passed through the 3 pairs' territories. (Bashing through the dense bush looking for kiwis is pointless - there's no chance of hearing a kiwi over the noise, not to mention the fact that they'd all be scared off!) A guide is obviously essential.

On the way into the reserve - dressed in our fetching mosquito hats and sporting high-viz safety vests to avoid being shot by deer hunters - we saw a couple of classic tell-tale kiwi clues. Firstly, a fresh track laid by an adult kiwi. To give you an idea of scale, the left and right toes are about 10cm apart at the tips (if you were to make that photo onto a 6x4" print, it would be approximately life-sized). Further down the track, some pretty fresh, and surprisingly large, kiwi poo. It has a white crust and smells not like normal animal dung, but strongly of ammonia.

As it happens, one of the three kiwi pairs is currently incubating an egg in their burrow, which is pretty close to the track. Kiwis are nocturnal birds, but they get up about 20 minutes before sunset to start feeding. We positioned ourselves near the burrow on the track, and waited in silent anticipation.

As the light faded, we wondered whether we might be out of luck tonight (see previous post from the Bay of Islands re dolphin spotting). But, in the fading light of dusk, we spotted the female kiwi strutting by, searching the bush for grubs and insects. Amazing! We were now part of a very elite group: only about 0.5% of New Zealanders have seen kiwis in the wild. I don't know what proportion of foreign tourists have done the same, but we're two of them!

The night had started well, but there was more to come. We followed the kiwi, keeping silent and listening for any sounds she made, as she moved around the bush. After a pretty long time standing virtually motionless and silent, we could hear her heading back towards us and out onto the path. By this time it was completely dark, so we needed special low-intensity red torchlight to see the bird (which, by the way, didn't seem to bother her one bit). She snuffled around at the edge of the path just a few metres away from us, then ran across to the other side, hopping from foot to foot. Our patience certainly paid off!

This is now up there as one of our best wildlife spotting moments, no doubt about it. A wild kiwi, in her natural habitat. Does NZ get better than that?

Rob

Hokitika

2009-10-20T10:27:00.001+13:00

A few years ago I read, and thoroughly enjoyed, a book called The Colour by Rose Tremain, which is about the gold rush in New Zealand. Hokitika is one of the main settings in the book and I had been looking forward to visiting the town for a long time.

When gold was discovered in the Hokitika River in 1860, thousands of hopeful prospectors arrived in this wild and remote location, and a busy, chaotic town sprung up from nowhere. Ramshackle hotels, banks and, most importantly, pubs, were built in a matter of weeks to support the new community and it was a scene of both great excitement and terrible disappointment until the gold ran out in the early 20th Century.

Nowadays, Hokitika is a strangely lonely sort of a place - or at least it is on a rainy Saturday afternoon when all the shops are already closed! The streets are amazingly wide and there's a definite air of the Wild West about it.

In the evening, however, the rain stopped and we were treated to a stunning sunset down on the beach. Just watch out for those sand flies!

We also found time to visit nearby Hokitita Gorge. It's a beautifully peaceful spot, with turquoise water that is turned milky from glacial flour - suspended rock particles come down from the Southern Alps. The landscape around there is really dramatic with rugged snow-capped mountains jutting out of the plains. It's a beautiful place with a lot of fascinating history.

Rachel x

Go West!

2009-10-20T10:20:00.001+13:00

New Zealand's West Coast is known for it's rugged shore lines, wild ocean and colourful history. We've spent a few really enjoyable days driving along the coast, calling in at several towns and tourist sites, and we've been very impressed.

On our way west we called in at Golden Bay and Farewell Spit. The weather wasn't fantastic so you may not be able to make out much more than a grey line in the photo but the spit is an immense sand bar that seems to go on forever. We actually had a better view of it from the plane on our way to the South Island!

Ironically, by the time we reached Cape Foulwind, the weather got a lot better.

We've had a bit more luck with "freedom camping" (aka not having to pay for a camp site!) recently and are really enjoying the independence of the camper van. This was our wonderful view in a quiet spot along the Motueka Valley Highway.

One of my favourite places was the Pancake Rocks near Punakaiki. The limestone has been formed into what look like stacks of pancakes and, in some places, eroded into bizarre shapes. The sea there is incredibly powerful and makes loud booming noises and lots of spray as it rushes into the hollows and caves. We went back in the evening, for high tide, to the see the ocean at full strength, pounding against the coast. Impressive.

Greymouth is a rather dull and depressing town, so we weren't keen to stay long, but we did do a tour of its Monteith's Brewery. They've been brewing beers such as the Original Ale, Black and Celtic Red since the 1840s and it's a real West Coast icon.

Here I am with the fermenting tanks. Sadly they weren't actually brewing when we visited, so you'll just have to imagine them brimming with beer!

After a rather whirlwing tour with a slightly rowdy group of dairy farmers, we were able to sample their full range of 8 beers in the bar - this was clearly the bit the farmers had been waiting for!

Rob liked the Original Ale the best!

We stopped in a lovely village called Okarito, which has only 35 residents and is just a tiny strip of houses between the sea and the mountains. It has a really special atmosphere, I think, and the lagoon is beautiful, too. Once again we are astonished by New Zealand's diversity.

Rachel x

Abel Tasman Coast Track

2009-10-17T19:56:00.001+13:00

The Abel Tasman National Park, on the North coast of New Zealand's South Island, is home to one of NZ's famous Great Walks: the Abel Tasman Coast Track.

To reach the trail, we took a water taxi from nearby Marahau along the coast to our chosen starting point: Onetahuti Bay, AKA Tonga Bay. It's possible to start and finish at various points along the track, from day hikes to 5-day treks; we chose to do a 2-day, 1-night stretch ending back at Marahau. On the way there, we saw a pod of dusky dolphins and a flock of ganets feasting on a huge group of fish!

The weather was perfect as we set off from the beach. Not a cloud in the sky!

The coastline is made up of hard granite deposits with soft limestone in between. Over time, these limestone deposits have been eroded and now form a series of gorgeous golden bays.

The going was fairly easy, but tiring at times. There are a few tidal crossings, where we had to whip our shoes off and wade through thigh-deep (and very cold) water. If we did get tired though, there were amazing views around almost every corner to spur us on.

There are DoC huts along the trail to sleep in - very basic, with just mattresses and bunks. We chose to sleep at a 'backpackers' (read hostel) on a boat, anchored in the aptly named Anchorage bay.

As an extra bonus, we saw some more dolphins from the boat!

The backpackers was great, with cosy dorms tucked away in the twin hulls and an upper deck where we had a barbeque dinner (with spicy vegetable pie for us veggies!) and a few drinks as the sun set.

The view from our porthole was about the best thing we've woken up to in the whole trip:

The following day we were not so lucky with the weather, and it was drizzling as we set off. This later turned into proper rain, and we were pretty glad to get back to the campervan!

This was a fantastic walk, despite the rain on day 2. It's certainly whetted our appetite for more of NZ's Great Walks. Watch this space!

Rob

Kiwi!

2009-10-14T18:29:00.001+13:00

They gave their name to the people of this country and to the famous kiwifruit and, because almost all visitors to New Zealand leave without seeing one, they've taken on an almost mythical reputation. But on our way back from the Queen Charlotte Track, we saw a real, live kiwi!

A group of workers from the Department of Conservation were sharing our water taxi and had just picked up a young kiwi on an island nearby. The story goes that he was taken by DoC as an egg from Franz Josef on the west coast, where kiwi chicks are at risk from predators, and he had spent the first few months of his life on a predator-free island in the Marlborough Sounds. It was now time for him to return home, where he is expected to double in size over the next year. We'll definitely keep an eye out for the little guy when we get to Franz Josef! As lucky as we felt to see a kiwi, especially so close up, we'd still much prefer to see one foraging around in its natural habitat.

Rachel x

Queen Charlotte Sound

2009-10-14T18:25:00.001+13:00

The dismal weather cleared for two gloriously sunny days walking (or tramping as the kiwis say) around the beautiful Marlborough Sounds. A sound is an area of coastline that has very intricate bays, headlands and hills and is formed when the sea floods into deep valleys after an ice age.

On the first day we followed a short track near the small town of Picton out to Snout Head. The views across the water were incredible. The ferry from the North Island arrives here and it must be a wonderful first glimpse of the South Island.

Having enjoyed a taste of the sounds, we decided to do a much more earnest trek around the Queen Charlotte Sound. The Queen Charlotte Track is a full 71km long but we weren't feeling quite energetic enough for that just yet, so we got a water taxi part of the way.

We arrived at the breathtaking Ship Cove, where Captain James Cook spent the majority of his time in New Zealand in the mid 18th Century. It's easy to see why he chose this spot, with its lovely beach, fresh water trickling down the hillside and plenty of shady tree ferns. This is a monument to his discoveries in New Zealand. Sadly, one of his "achievements" was to introduce sheep, which very quickly led to wide-spread deforestation for farming in the area.

These wekas are very friendly and always on the lookout for picnic crumbs! New Zealand had a wide variety of flightless birds, like this one, but most are now extinct or endangered due to the import of foreign predators. Fortunately, the weka still thrives - apparently because of its rather sharp beak!

Although the trek was quite long and steep at times, the views were amazing and made walking really enjoyable... even when having to jump the odd stream!

Here I am enjoying the evening sunshine on the water taxi back to Picton after a very rewarding day out.

Rachel x

Marlborough Wineries Tour

2009-10-12T21:24:00.001+13:00

Wines from New Zealand's Marlborough Region are famous all over the world and a day of non-stop rain and wind gave us the ideal opportunity to visit a few of the wineries. By the way, Kiwis never seem to use the word vineyard!

Most wineries offer free tasting of up to 10 wines.

At Framingham we also got to explore the wine cellar, but Cloudy Bay was my favourite winery - perhaps because the roaring fire was such a welcome relief from the miserable weather outside.

The only draw-back for Rob was that, as he was driving, he didn't actually get to swallow any of the wine!

Rachel x

Kaikoura Whale Watching

2009-10-09T19:18:00.001+13:00

As anyone who's been to there will tell you, there's one reason above all others to visit Kaikoura: whales. Kaikoura sits on a peninsula jutting out of NZ's Eastern coastline into the Pacific Ocean, and happens to be abundant in marine life. The name comes from a Maori legend; Kai means food, and koura is the Maori name for crayfish. On the peninsula's southern side is a very deep oceanic trench, known as the Kaikoura Canyon. It's here that male sperm whales come to feed on their staple diet of giant squid.

You can see the whales from the air if you like (and your budget permits) by plane or helicopter. You can get closer though, and for longer, by going out on a boat. The downside of this is that you're at the mercy of sea conditions, and on the day we arrived in Kaikoura all the trips were cancelled. We couldn't miss this, so we hung around and hoped that the next day the sea would be calmer.

The following morning, the sea was definitely calmer, but by no means calm, with a 2m swell (I'm told this is a lot). Mercifully there wasn't much of a wind, so it was deemed safe enough and only a 'regular' motion sickness warning was issued to passengers. I don't generally get seasick, but Rach was pretty nervous about this!

To locate the whales, the captain places a special underwater microphone over the edge of the boat and listens for the ultrasonic clicks of the whales echo-locating their prey. When they do emerge, they sit up on the surface oxygenating their blood for 10 minutes or so before diving back down. They can reach a depth of up to 3,000m and stay down for up to 45 minutes, which gives the whale-watchers plenty of time to observe the rich bird life: cape petrels, shearwaters and wandering albatrosses (see photo).

To top it off, the rather uniquely beautiful setting of Kaikoura makes the perfect whale-watching backdrop - one of the few places where snow-capped alpine peaks slope straight down to the ocean.

Rob

On the road!

2009-10-07T22:06:00.002+13:00

For the next 4 weeks, as we explore the South Island, our home will be a Britz Elite camper van. It's basically a converted transit van but has a surprisingly well equipped kitchen, a living/ sleeping area and even a tiny bathroom! We've had a bit of a bumpy start with problems with the water pump and nearly over-flowing the "grey water" from showers and washing dishes, but we're getting into the swing of it now and are definitely enjoying the freedom that having our own wheels provides.

Our first night was spent above Akaroa on the Banks Penisula, with wonderful views across the bay. We also experienced our first mysterious pattering on the roof... these Red-billed Gulls were the culprits.

Next we were treated to the soundtrack of the roaring Pacific Ocean as we parked up right near the beach in pretty Gore Bay.

The only disappointment so far is that it doesn't seem quite so easy to camp as we had expected. In every tiny little town there are signs saying No Overnight Parking or No Camping in seemingly ideal camping spots. We're hoping that we won't have to stay in proper sites every night and that once we get out into the wild a bit more "freedom camping" might be possible.

Tonight we are in Kaikoura, further up the East Coast. It is an amazing place with snowy mountains that go right down to the sea! Today we had wanted to go whale watching but our trip was cancelled owing to unsafe conditions at sea. We weren't too disheartened, though, and did a brilliant walk around the peninsula admiring the incredible scenery. We signed up for the whale watching again tomorrow so fingers crossed.

We did see some lovely sleeping Fur Seals today, which gave us a taste of the area's impressive marine wildlife.

Rachel x

South Island Skiing

2009-10-03T21:04:00.001+13:00

To finish off our time with Pete and Diane, we flew down to Christchurch in the South Island for a long weekend of skiing at Mt Hutt, along with their friends Jacquie and Richard. This was the first time either of us had skied outside - we'd only had lessons at indoor snow centres up to this point - and we were really excited about getting out on real snow.

We rushed from the airport and just made it in time for a couple of hours skiing in the afternoon. The weather was gorgeous: clear blue skies (above the cloud) and warm. Hot even! A slightly hair-raising drive up the unpaved road to the base car park did nothing to dampen our spirits.

To be honest, I found it initially a bit frustrating, as I seemed to have regressed from the level of skill I'd achieved before. Rach got back into it much more easily, and the first afternoon went well for her. The next day (after a late start due to rain) I got into the swing of things and had a great lesson in the afternoon.

Roaming the car park were these fantastic Keas. They're a type of parrot with beautiful green iridescent feathers and red under-wings. Careful though, they like to eat bits of cars, like rubber!

Really looking forward to the next day, you can imagine my disappointment to awake today to find out that the mountain had been closed for the day! From our motel in Methven, down in the Canterbury plain, the conditions looked absolutely perfect, but what we couldn't see were the high winds making the chair lifts unsafe to operate. Grrr! We heard that the nearby Mt Cheeseman ski field was open, so we drove up into the mountains towards Arthur's Pass, only to find, just as we arrived, that the weather was turning dangerously windy there too!

As the wind howled and the snow fell, the drive back down from Mt Cheeseman was even more nerve-wracking than the road up to Mt Hutt, but as we got back down to the plain the weather greatly improved and we decided to take a walk along the Rakaia river from Rakaia gorge.

This is when we realised why people here talk about the South Island being the "real NZ" and why everyone we met traveling raved about New Zealand. Although we loved the North Island, the scenery was breathtaking, and we didn't even really have to go out of our way to see it - just a few minutes walk from where the car was parked.

Rob

Tsunami!

2009-09-30T19:12:00.000+13:00

This morning, a pretty huge (8.3 magnitude) earthquake struck off the coast of Samoa, about 3,000km from New Zealand in the South Pacific. As tsunami waves of around 1m high were recorded (with waves as high as 4m in Tonga), a tsunami warning was issued here in New Zealand. It was expected to arrive at NZ's East Cape around 9.44am, and to hit Auckland (where we are) by 11.12am, coinciding with low tide. As advised, we packed up our backpacks, left them upstairs and headed out (with a bag comtaining our passports and other essential bits) to higher ground at the top of Mt Victoria to watch and wait. Luckily we had Rach's iPod, which has an FM radio tuner dongle, so we could keep track of the news reports.

In the end, as we stood with baited breath, the warning was cancelled and nothing happened! Lucky for us here in NZ, but not so lucky for the people of Samoa and American Samoa. Reports of up to 100 dead are still coming in.

Rob

The far north

2009-09-30T15:42:00.002+13:00

We headed north from Auckland to explore the Bay of Islands for a long weekend. Unfortunately my dad was in Sydney for work, but Mum admirably took on the role of tour guide and we had a great time.

The bay has 144 islands in total and the combination of the gorgeous curves of the coastline, the turquoise water and the sprinkling of tiny islands makes for incredible views.

The area also has a lot of historical significance with some of NZ's oldest buildings and amazing stories about the early days of the country. The Waitangi treaty ground marks the spot where Maori chiefs and representatives of the British Empire signed the controversial agreement that brought New Zealand under Queen Victoria's rule.

As well as Busby (the first government representative in the country)'s house, there is also a Maori meeting house on the site with many impressive carvings.

Rob and I went on a boat trip out into the Bay of Islands, in search of dolphins. Sadly the dolphins weren't in the mood for showing off (maybe they were put off by the miserable weather) but we did see the bay in its full glory, so no complaints.

The next day the weather was much better and we headed up to the far north on a coach trip. The early morning mist on our journey was very dramatic.
The bus is specially designed for driving on sand, which meant we had a brilliant drive along 90 mile beach. It's actually only about 55 miles but that was long enough! The tide can be quite brutal and some people get caught out, like the driver of this 4 x 4, which is now partly buried in the sand!

At the top end of the beach are the enormous Te Paki sand dunes, where we did a bit of dune surfing. They're very tall and steep at times so it was pretty exhilarating to plummet down head first with just a body board to cling onto!

Cape Reinga, the far north tip of the island is an amzing place. We were very lucky to have a clear, still day, which gave us fantastic views out into the never-ending Pacific ocean. If you were to jump off the cape, you could keep swimming for 2066 miles before you even reached the equator, let alone land!

The journey back to Auckland was wonderful, too. We took a detour across the Hokianga harbour on a car ferry and through the ancient kauri tree forests.

The kauris are the second largest trees on Earth (after Redwoods) and Tane Mahuta is the tallest living kauri. It really is overwhelming to stand at the bottom of this 2000 year old tree and marvel at its immense size and the variety of life it supports. I also find it amazing that it was still there in the same spot before any people lived in New Zealand.

A lovely few days in Northland before setting off to the South Island later this week!

Rachel x

First week whirlwind

2009-09-26T20:09:00.000+12:00

We've now been here in New Zealand for a week and we've been busy exploring every day. For me, the best thing is seeing my mum and dad again. After a year apart, we've been chatting non stop, filling each other in on what we've been up to and fitting in all those hugs we've missed! They live in New Zealand's biggest city, Auckland, and on our first day here we went north of the city for a walk in the native bush.

We also squeezed in a bit of wine tasting...

and a glimpse of the fantastic views up in the hills.

The sun came out for a wonderful afternoon on Karekare and Piha beaches. Karekare is my favourite because it's incredibly wild and dramatic (it was the setting for the film The Piano). On the top picture you may be able to make out the amazing patterns the sand made when it was blown by the wind. Here's the lovely view of Piha with lion rock, an old volcano cone, sitting on the sand. Can you make out how it got it's name?!

Devonport, the part of Auckland where Mum and Dad live, is right on the water so the city centre is just a short ferry journey away. You can see the striking skyline across the harbour.

This is Auckland's most famous landmark, the Sky Tower.

One of the best things about travelling is the friends you make and we've been delighted to be able to meet up with friends from Central America here in New Zealand. We spent a great evening at Jenny and Mark's fab flat in Kingsland; good wine, good food and good company. Unfortunately we were so busy catching up that we forgot to take any photos!
Kandace, who we met in Tikal, Guatemala, gave us a fun tour of her home country as we went driving 'out west'. Thanks for making us so welcome guys!

It's been a great start to our time in New Zealand and the perfect combination of familiar faces and new places to explore.

Rachel x

Singapore

2009-09-25T18:06:00.000+12:00

New Zealand is a long way away. To get there, one has to fly via somewhere else. In our case, this happened to be the city-state of Singapore. Amazingly clean and even more incredibly safe (the guide book says it's ok to walk around alone at night, even for women - a bit of a shock after the experience of Latin America).

We got a great deal on the flights through Singapore Airlines, which meant a long break between flights at Singapore airport. We got an even better deal though on a stopover hotel through the airline - just NZ$1 each for a pretty nice hotel right in the middle of Singapore! Just enough time for us to freshen up and head out for some food in famously multicultural Singapore.

There are many 'classic' Singaporean dishes to choose from, such as Laksa soup or Chicken Rice. We headed to the Lau Pa Sat Festival Market near Chinatown to sample a vegetarian version of Rojak (made with a peanut/chilli sauce and tofu) and a delicious Indian Masala Dhosa (a savoury pancake filled with spicy potato and served with curry and coconut chutney to dip it in). Yummy!

Our fleeting visit was just long enough for us to get a few hours sleep back in the hotel then return to the airport for an early flight. Next stop Auckland!

Rob

Setting Off!

2009-09-16T22:32:00.002+12:00

So, we're off on another trip already. This time, as many of you will know, we're heading to New Zealand to see Rachel's parents. The bags are packed and all that's left is to catch the train down to Heathrow. Next stop Singapore!

Rob