South Island

14th April - landed at Christchurch at 1am local time, we're now 11 hours ahead of the UK. Airport is quiet and we're swiftly through baggage reclaim and passport control. There's then a queue for the baggage X Ray machine and the check point for the landing cards. Luckily there were loads of information boards up reminding you that you couldn't bring certain foods into the country including fruit and you had to dispose of it prior to the control desk otherwise it was an instant $400 fine. Thank goodness I remembered I had an apple in my bag and got rid of it! I dutifully confessed to carrying coffee and teabags and that was OK. Suddenly the sniffer dog takes a huge interest in my bag and won't leave me alone. Apparently, although I had got rid of the apple ten minutes previously, the dog could still smell it! How clever they are.

Our driver is waiting and it's pouring with rain outside. Luckily he had managed to park close by as the airport is so quiet. It was about a 20 minute drive to the hotel, very little traffic. The Rydges hotel is very nice and our room is very quiet, no main road outside!

Straight to bed for a few hours sleep before waking to grey skies and rain. Nice hotel breakfast and then borrowed brollies to go out and explore. It's Good Friday and next to nothing is open!

We had been warned about the amount of construction going on as they still try to rebuild Christchurch following the 2011 earthquake and it really is a mess. The driver last night had told us that for 2 years following the disaster, a whole big area of the city was closed off and patrolled by the army. Nobody was allowed access until each building had been inspected and deemed safe. It must have been terrible.

We went to the museum thinking it would have an exhibition about the earthquake and the rebuild but not so, that was in a different building and was expensive to see so we went off the idea. The free museum was good if a bit muddled..there was an exhibition on the 75 year old history of NZ airlines, Antarctic expeditions, Speedway, mummification, geology and dinosaurs plus other random things. All a bit strange but kept us occupied and out of the rain.

Next we found the transitional cathedral that was erected following the collapse of the old cathedral in the quake. There was a photo board showing the devastation and how they had managed to save all but one of the bells. There's a fundraising campaign to replace the bell and build a temporary tower from which the bells can be rung. A short distance from here was a memorial site consisting of 185 different chairs, all painted white, over a space measuring 185 square metres, each chair representing a person killed in the quake. The artist says the site is temporary like life is temporary. It was very moving.

There's a quirky area called

Re-Start which consists of brightly coloured freight containers that have been utilised as shops and cafes. I particularly liked the one called 'the coffee container'. It's all part of the regeneration project and to provide employment.

A quick walk along the river, which has a very high water level, they've certainly had a lot of rain! Dropped into the bus station as we want to try to get to the Gondola tomorrow by public transport.

Dinner tonight at an excellent Indian called Mumbaiwala. Very cool decor meant to resonate with Mumbai street food. Hard to choose off the menu, it all sounded good and the staff very friendly. Back to the hotel where we learned that under NZ licensing laws bars can only serve alcohol over the Easter period to hotel residents or to people having a meal in a restaurant. Alcohol is not allowed to be sold to walk-ins off the street. Like today, most places will be shut on Easter Monday, they don't use it as the big retail opportunity that we see in the U.K.

15th April - woke to beautiful weather today and out for breakfast. Discovered there was a shuttle bus that picked up outside the museum to go to the gondola, about a 25 minute trip.

The trip up in the gondola (opened in 1992) took a few minutes and once at the top the 360 degree views were gorgeous- so glad

we went today and not yesterday when the weather was grey and miserable. From up high we could see that Christchurch is actually a lot larger than we had thought, it spreads out a long way but very little is high rise. Pegasus Bay is huge to the east of the city and the other side of the hill looks out over Lyttleton and towards the Pacific. A bridle way was built in 1850 so that the new European settlers could walk between Lyttleton and Christchurch carrying all their worldly goods.

We did the Time Tunnel ride, a Disney-esque attraction that was supposed to show how Christchurch developed. Good for the kids!

A quick snack in the cafe and it was back down to get the return shuttle and find a supermarket to get supplies for the camper van. We're assuming that nothing will be open tomorrow it being Easter Sunday. Derek decided to get his hair cut and has had a good scalping.

The food was so good at the Indian last night we decided to go back and try different dishes. It was so busy! Final drinks at the hotel bar, strange waiter wearing a tweed cap which didn't really fit in with the establishment but with his big personality he got away with it.

16th April - we had asked the hotel to order us a taxi to the camper van hire site and as soon as I saw the suited driver with 'corporate cars' written on the side of the vehicle my heart sank - here comes another big bill. Sure enough it cost us twice as much as we had thought. If only the expense had stopped there..

Very efficient at the rental site, young men armed with iPads that could do everything. At that point we were delivered the whammy, vehicle is diesel and the government charge a tax on every 100km travelled at the end of the rental period. And we're doing a lot of km. That has never been mentioned before, but, of course, if we take out their super package we can forget all about that and just hand the keys over in Auckland in 26 days time and not worry about a thing. That'll be $299 extra please - oh no wait, as you're rental is over 16 days long that'll be $399 extra. What I wanted to do was take 10 minutes to think with a calculator and work out the best option but wasn't given that luxury and credit card was handed over again.. at this rate we'll be selling the house when we get home (I'm joking - just)!

At first sight the van is great and the young agent gives us a quick tour round with very basic instructions. They provide a gadget that is not only the SatNav but also the Wifi connection and instruction manual for the vehicle. This consists of video clips of how everything works for water supply, waste water removal, cooking, heating etc. There's also quick guides printed and left in the van

plus a road map. They certainly try to keep it simple for people that have never driven one before. We set off....and the racket is deafening, everything shakes, rattles and bangs but we can't actually work out where all the noise is coming from! We're going to need to turn the music up loud.

And then it rained..for about an hour but the actual driving is easy, it's just a straight road South on the A1 to Oamaru passing Waitaki river on the way. Being Easter Sunday there's very little open but we did manage to get hot drinks and find a cash point! Should have made our own hot drinks but at that point we hadn't worked out how to switch on the gas!

We arrived at our camp site at about 3:30 and we've got a prime spot overlooking the harbour and the sun has come out. Very pretty. We're in the historic part of the town and it used to be a very naughty place - at one time had the most brothels and bars in the Southern Hemisphere (allegedly).

Spent some time working out how everything works, got some hot water on the go and put the bed together (think Krypton Factor challenge - those of you who are old enough)!

Went for a walk and it's a quirky place, lots of railroad monuments and a harbour defence wall that took a long time to build because they kept changing the plans! We walked along to the penguin colony centre but refused to pay $30 each to go in! After all we

reasoned we saw a lot of penguins when we went to South Africa..

Went to probably the only pub open in the town which was a few minutes walk away and it was a local brewery, all that separated the pub from the actual brewery was a row of beer barrels. Very cool place - literally.. it's cold tonight, even Derek's complaining. We have to remind ourselves it is Autumn here. We had excellent pizza though.

Back in the van we've had to put the heating on and we have lights to see what we're doing. At that point it dawned on us that we've booked into some unpowered sites so we'll have no heating or light....just like being 4 days in a cyclone really and we're so used to that - except then we would have killed for air conditioning!

Derek has just worked out how to switch the radio on and we're thinking about having a private disco (now you know I'm lying)..

The closer we look at the van the more we realise how old it is, drawers and cupboard doors that need fixing - I've suggested to Derek that his packing list in future should include a screwdriver. We

realised why the agent at pick up skimmed over the TV (it doesn't work) and there are lights that need replacing. The next Mighty depot is in Queenstown and we'll be there in a few days so words will be exchanged.

17th April - the bed was actually quite comfortable and we slept reasonably well. Rush hour for the loo and showers seems to be 7:30am and it was a small area so had to fight your way through the steam. Decided to delay the shower until we get to Dunedin!

Glorious day, blue sky and sunny but cold. Set off for Dunedin at 9:00am and first stop was the Moeraki Boulders, groups of different sized, smooth round boulders on the beach. Very strange. Of course there's a Maori legend behind their existence but it's a long story. Next we stopped at Shag Point to see the seals sunbathing and managed to get quite close, they didn't seem to care. Crossed over Waikouaiti river before turning off the main road and picked up the coast road to Puketeraki Lookout which overlooks Karitane to the North and the views are spectacular. That piece of coast road until we picked up the main A1 again was simply beautiful.

Headed South and then east of Dunedin to the Otago Peninsula to

visit Larnach Castle and gardens. We didn't go into the castle but the gardens were lovely (split into several different themed areas)and it was good to have a walk. The most stunning part of the garden (in our opinion) was the coastal garden with views out over the water. Our last visit (attempt) was Tunnel Beach just South of Dunedin but the tiny car park was not large camper van friendly so had to give it a miss! Shame.

Headed to our camp site and it's much bigger than the place we stayed in last night. Showers and kitchens are 4x the size. The bad news is that whilst in a residential area there are no restaurants within walking distance. There's a small shop/takeaway in front of the camp site so it was fish and chips tonight. Maybe that turned out to be for the best as it was a 2 minute walk and it's raining! Grabbed a shower while nobody else was around and got some washing in at the laundry block. Biggest plus point here is free, unlimited Wifi!

Long drive tomorrow to Te Anau and we're thinking we can't take so many photo stops or we'll never get there!

18th April - I went back 50 or so years this morning trying to get dressed under the duvet because it's so cold! By the time we set off just after 08:30 we were blessed with another sunny Autumn day and on our 180 mile journey heading West to Lake Te Anau. Fifteen minutes in we were in fog but it didn't last long thank goodness. First site of interest was called Shoe Road, blink and you'd miss it but it

made us laugh. It's literally a fence made out of old shoes, so bizarre. Next was Sod Cottage, a mud building restored by the local historical society in 1970. Just at the side of the road and permanently open, you're just asked to ensure the door is closed when you leave. Nearly had a heart attack when I opened the door to be confronted by a life sized wax work of the lady of the house!

Stopped about halfway at Gore for food shopping and to break up the drive.

The scenery en route continues to be spectacular especially as we approach Te Anau and the mountain ranges come into view. Everything is so green and yet at the same time the trees have started to turn colour. And there's lots and lots of sheep! So nice to be able to pull into a lay-by and make a cup of tea and have a sandwich whenever we fancy. That's the upside to the motor van, there's plenty of downsides and can't see us converting to caravan enthusiasts - ever!

Got to the site at Te Anau at about 2:30 so time for a walk along the lakeside in the sunshine. Couldn't believe kids were in the lake swimming, must have been freezing! Town is a really nice place and lots of shops, bars and restaurants. Had to go to 'B&Q' to buy a hose thingy so we could hook up to the fresh water supply and top up.

Never appreciated before how easy it is to have a shower at home, what a pain when you have to traipse over to communal showers with all the stuff you need (when you're female)! But that's nothing compared to cooking a casserole in a communal kitchen.. thought it would be a good idea as it would mean we wouldn't have cooking smells/condensation in the van. Hauling everything required over to the kitchen obviously requires military planning! You could tell the professional campers with their crates and cool boxes looking pityingly at us novices..but they did look on admiringly as we set up our wine box and wine glasses..we'd got that right! We must have timed it perfectly as by the time we left there were queues for the facilities. Derek has managed to get the TV to work in the van but not a lot of choice. We have an early pick up tomorrow for our trip to Milford Sound, looking forward to it but forecast is showers.

19th April - not the best start to the day. Our 8:15am Jucy Cruise pick up to take us on our Milford Sound trip did not arrive. Phoned their office and was told that they had tried to call this morning to let us know that that our pick up time would now be 09:30. Said they had left a message on my mobile which was a waste of time as my voice mail is off while we're away. We hung around town admiring the rainbow in the sky above and had coffee while we waited. When the coach arrived it was almost full as it was the trip from

Queenstown and the driver knew nothing about picking us up! As we had our confirmation email and he had space he let us on but only after the existing passengers had had their comfort break so it was actually 10:00am before we got going and the skies are ominously grey.

The driver gave a very good commentary along the way. On our walk yesterday we only saw a tiny part of Lake Te Anau. It's the second longest lake in New Zealand and the deepest on the South Island at 410 metres. The water is very pure and supplies the town with minimal filtration.

Along the roadside is a dense covering of Manuka bushes, not in flower now but when they are, smothered in small white flowers which the bees flock to. The honey produced is very expensive but marketed for its medicinal properties. Allegedly it reduces wound healing time by around 50%.

A bit further on is the start point for the Milford walking track the most popular walk in New Zealand. We were staggered when we heard that you have to book months in advance to do the 4 day trek and they have a long reserve list. It costs a minimum of $300 to do the 'tough walk' carrying all your own gear and sleeping in basic huts. The 'easy' option is $2000! Somebody carries your kit for you and

accommodation is more comfortable with meals cooked for you.

Next we pass through an area called Eggleton Valley which is a flood plain. At this point we noticed some of our fellow passengers were asleep! Fancy paying for the trip and then sleeping through it.

We briefly stopped at the Mirror Lakes, just as it sounds the reflection of the mountains in the water is like a mirror image.

Nearer to Milford Sound there is a 1.2 metre tunnel with a gradient of 1:10 downward slope. It's single carriageway controlled by traffic lights and took 20 years to build. The entire road is manned 365 days per year for avalanche damage as we're now surrounded by dramatic mountains on both sides of the road. The maintenance cost of the road is 5 times the next most expensive road in New Zealand.

Stopped at The Chasm for a 15 minute walk through a lovely forest with a waterfall. The trees and ferns were so pretty. We fleetingly saw a Kea which is a mountain parrot. It's very bold we're told and likes to interact, particularly with rubber seals on your car!

Little incident as we left The Chasm with the coach wing mirror taken off by a camper van going in the opposite direction. Drivers not happy..

We got to the Milford Sound at 12:45 and our Jucy Cruise departed at

1:00pm. The mountain tops are still wreathed in clouds but it's beginning to look a bit brighter. We brave it onto the top deck having collected our Pitta Stop lunch. We can't see the famous Mitre Peak but there are some lovely waterfalls. The cruise goes out to the Tasman sea and back again and takes about 90 minutes. There's a spot where we get up close to seals resting on the rocks and then get sprayed beneath the huge Stirling Falls. The sun comes out and we get to see the Mitre Peak after all which looks amazing. Lots of photos taken!

Just the one stop on the way back at Monkey Creek to allow people to fill up their water bottles with the pure water. Not sure I could tell the difference myself not being an expert on water..

Got back at about 5pm and decided to brave the communal kitchen again to cook. It was a lot busier than last night and mysteriously a

saucepan lid, a knife and a tea towel went missing! Found the tea towel that had been 'borrowed ' and a knife can easily be replaced but I'm furious about the saucepan lid being pinched! Derek's solution is that we just eat out from now on. That's because he's not a fan of anything communal!

20th April - it's so cold again! Certainly makes you get a wiggle on to get up and dressed! We have a 106 mile drive to Queenstown today about a third of which was going back down the same road we came into Te Anau on. Thick cloud but at least it's dry and it doesn't seem to detract from the scenery, the low cloud against the mountains looks very dramatic.

We stop at Kingston which is at the bottom of Lake Wakatipu and the view is beautiful, water is very clear. The road to Queenstown follows the lake edge and there are several places to stop and take more photos. I've now run into a technical hitch (where is my IT help when I need it...Rebecca)? My iPhone memory is nearly full due to the amount of photos I've taken. The phone syncs automatically to my iPad when on Wifi so if I delete photos on one they will delete on the other - there's plenty of storage left on my iPad. I can't 'unsync' without iTunes...help! Only thing I can think of is to not have both devices on wifi at same time so they don't try to sync and only take photos for rest of trip on the iPad. Will that work? Haven't a clue!

First prang in the van...OH reversed into a post. Damage looks bad to me but Derek says something along the lines of "good job we're fully insured".

The sun begins to peep through the cloud as we get to our camp site in Queenstown. The site is as advertised, quirky! Painted movie pictures adorn the walls and doors to the loos/showers. Our pitch is secluded so although the site is busy we don't feel overlooked at all and it's quite a small place.

We go up in the skyline gondola which is a 5 minute walk from the site, it feels much steeper than the one in Christchurch. The views over Lake Wakatipu were worth every penny and I wish we had paid the extra to do the luge at the top. It looks great fun and there are people far older than us doing it! We walk one of the tracks to get the different views but decide against the 3 hour walk as we weren't psyched up for it!

Back down at the bottom we walk into town and it's buzzing. Loads of shops, bars and restaurants but we couldn't find the muffin shop Derek's mum had recommended!

Derek refuses to partake in communal cooking tonight so he cooks in the van with the door wide open. At least we didn't lose any kit!

Spend the evening planning our trip for tomorrow further round the lake to Glenorch. There are Lord of The Rings filming locations in this area so we'll see what we can find.

Derek is writing the 'alternative diary' which is actually the 'grumpy old gits' diary. He's also compiling an 'is it just me?' list which is getting quite long, examples include Chinese tourists, food served on anything other than a plate and hotel room clutter. To be fair I agree with most of it and it is quite funny. Obviously not for publication!

21st April - two duvets is the trick, one underneath and one on top, a duvet sandwich- much warmer!

We're doing the Queenstown to Glenorchy drive today, it's not that far. Decided to set off just after 9:00, Derek's theory being "we'll beat the crowds.." The weather is perfect, blue sky and sunshine. We read on the internet that the drive is one of the best in New Zealand and it didn't disappoint, it was ridiculously beautiful. The views almost don't seem real as they are so picture perfect. If we ever invite anybody round to see our photos they should refuse, it'll take hours!

First quick stop was Wilson Bay and met with a very friendly duck that posed happily, felt quite guilty it wasn't rewarded with food. Next was Bennetts Bluff lookout or as Derek renamed it Wonton Wong lookout, yes there were lots of Chinese tourists oblivious to anyone else that might like to take a photo. It's not the fact that they take photos it's the poses that they insist on creating before they finally take the photo that drives him nuts! Further along the road are the views of Pig Island, Pigeon Island and Mount Creighton.

Glenorchy is the top northern edge of the lake and we took the walk from there to the lagoon, about an hours walk in total. It's so peaceful (according to Derek the Chinese don't walk further than ten metres from the tour bus) and we barely meet another person. The views, yet again, are spectacular. Cup of tea in the sunshine before heading back towards Queenstown.

Bobs Cove was one of the Lord of the Rings filming spots so we stopped there and did another walk taking a picnic lunch with us. The track took us down to the waters edge and the water is so clear. We found a spot next to an old jetty and sat on the warm rocks to have lunch - first bite of the cheese and tomato sarnie and a tour boat sailed around the corner! We saw the funny side and I politely waved back to the tourists while Derek ignored them. Two minutes later they were gone and we had the place to ourselves again. There was no

warning that the walk was difficult! Suddenly the path disappeared and we were walking up a steep incline made of rocks and tree roots. Where were the UK signs that would have said 'this path is unsuitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs?' We struggled up and it was worth the effort. Derek spotted a small plaque in the side of a piece of rock in commemoration of someone - that took some effort to do.

We got back to town earlier than expected so drove out the other side to Arthur's Point but parking the van was too tricky so had to carry on past and do a loop back. Dumped the van back at the site and walked back into town to find the post office.

Just checked the forecast for tomorrow for our journey to Wanaka and it's going to be another lovely day..long may it last!

22nd April - off to Lake Wanaka which is a relatively short journey today, only 85 miles.

We managed to get parked at Arthur's Points on the way out of Queenstown which is where we wanted to stop yesterday afternoon to watch the jet boats on the river. It looked brilliant fun, so fast

through the narrow gorge and turning circles. At 125 NZD each it was expensive though and Derek wasn't keen anyway.

Went to Arrowtown as it's a historical mining town and was advertised as a nice place to visit. All the roads into town were shut! Cars and vans parked (abandoned) all over the place and we managed to find a spot and went to see what was going on. It was their Autumn Festival that goes on for several days (sort of cross between a Carnival, Farmers Market, street entertainment and classic car show). It was really busy! The classic cars were fantastic and they started up a parade just after we arrived. The town has a mountainside forest running down one side and the trees were changing colour - absolute gorgeous (especially with the blue sky and sunshine as a backdrop).

Once out of Arrowtown the scenery changed a bit, we had entered vineyard territory. Lots of wineries offering tastings and tours but we heroically resisted. Several fruit farms as well in the area.

Started to descend through the Kawarau Gorge and stopped at a viewpoint called Roaring Meg, a small but powerful waterfall running into the river.

Tea break at a picnic area next to Lake Dunstan sitting in the sun. Not a lot of activity on the lake.

We got to the town of Wanaka in time for lunch outside at a nice cafe called the Big Fig overlooking the southern end of the lake. Liked the idea of paying by the plate size instead of one size fits all! We weren't able to check in at the Glendhu Bay site until 4pm so had a walk around part of the lakeside. We could see a small group of people gathered in one area close to the waters edge and it turned out to be a well photographed spot called the Wanaka Tree. Form an orderly queue for the photo opportunity.. And a man was sat at a piano on the shore playing lovely music. It was quite a bizarre sight! A bit further round there was an hotel set back from the shore with gardens overlooking the lake and a wedding going on. They'll certainly have a stunning wedding album! There are a few people paddle boarding and kayaking on the lake and we're getting used to seeing the paragliders overhead.

More supplies needed so quick trip to the supermarket in town. Derek has had tricky parking issues today and is much more cautious since 'the prang'.

The camping site is very different to Queenstown, it's huge and is right beside the lake. We had pre-booked and prepaid but sites are not allocated, you can park wherever you like but we're slightly limited in that we want to be on a powered pitch and close to a water

supply. We got a good space with wonderful views. But it got dark quickly so we'll have to get our money's worth over breakfast!

Derek has got the TV working again for some background noise while we update the diaries, it's something British on about amateur magicians. Who knew we exported such crap to New Zealand?

23rd April - early shower this morning, both determined to get our six minutes worth for a dollar. Not to mention we're in a car park tonight with NO facilities....or are we..?

Had to go slightly back on ourselves to pick up the road to Oamaru via Lindis Valley and Lindis Peak. The view from the Peak of the surrounding mountains is impressive. A young French girl asked us to take a photo of her there holding her teddy bear. He is her travelling companion given to her by her father so that she wouldn't be lonely!

Not much at Oamaru so pass through and stop at Lake Ruataniwha for coffee break and get chatting to a NZ couple. They've visited the UK three times - love European history! They're well travelled and very interesting to talk to.

Next stop is Twizel another LOTR filming location- Derek doesn't recognise 'the field' and says he'll have to watch all the films again to check what we've just seen. Had a nice lunch outside at a cafe called Shawty's in the hot sunshine. Had a drive around the surrounding area and it seems to be a great fishing area with a canal and very pretty river.

Off to Pukaki to find our free camp site (car park) with views over Mt Cook - only the road does not look inviting for a large camper van and we decide not to risk it. Derek is disappointed, he was looking forward to waking up to views of the mountain with his breakfast and stargazing tonight. Thank goodness for the Wifi in the van and after some debate we decide to carry on to Lake Tekapo and pray we can get into the site there.

There's a long queue at reception but thankfully we manage to get a pitch at a powered site so we have electricity, loos and showers (and we're another $50 dollars poorer) but looking on the bright side it means our journey tomorrow is slightly shorter (but not a lot). This was meant to be the night we christened the loo in the van - we discovered we're both squeamish about emptying it so haven't used it! I'm going to use it the night before we drop it off seeing as we've paid $399 for express drop off and that includes us not having to empty the toilet. Haha!

Having parked the van we go for a walk in the lovely sunshine to find the Church of the Good Shepherd, the photo spot on Lake Tekapo. Along with Wonton Wong and his extended family... Why are some people completely oblivious to others wanting to take photos? In fact, why are some nationalities just completely oblivious to others?

Close to the church is a statue of a dog to commemorate the importance of the collie to the area! Patience exhausted I flapped my hand at my oriental neighbour to get out of the damn way so I could take a picture.

24th April - up early again, the makeshift bed in the van doesn't make lie-ins tempting. We're already dreaming about a proper bed again in 12 days time.

Leaving Tepako just after 8:30 we travel to Fairlie and Geraldine and then pick up the scenic inland route to Springfield which certainly covers all types of scenery - Rocky Mountains, rolling green hills, vast expanses of flat land, rivers and gorges. And of course, sheep. As usual lots of stops for photo taking. The most impressive stop was at Rakaia Gorge where the Rakaia River water was an incredible

turquoise colour. Had a lovely short walk there and carried on to Darfield, a relatively large town compared to the 3 houses and a post box you find in most places. Managed to get lunch there before arriving at Springfield early afternoon. It's a first come, first served site called Kuwai Pass camping ground and it's very basic! Hence it only cost $20 for our pitch. We do have power and fresh water supply but the loos and showers are not the best. To be fair the shower has piping hot water ($1 for 4 minutes) but it's a very old brick building with no frills, you don't want to linger. Despite the website saying there were no kitchen facilities there is a building with a large communal seating and dining area and a little kitchen on the side with a kettle, toaster and microwave. Doesn't look very inviting though. There's a few other vans and tents and Derek seems to think they may be used by construction site workers. I saw the guy next to us take a chainsaw out of his boot so I'm scared we're going to be massacred in the night! Behind us is a big old Cadillac that doesn't look as though it's moved in a while and the people there have pot plants set up outside so wondering if they're travellers.

Had a walk along the road before we lost the sun for the day and wondered how one daft sheep had managed to escape the field and get onto the roadside.

Long drive tomorrow but looking forward to it as we're going West across Arthur's Pass and up the coast to Punakaiki.

25th April - it's Anzac Day so a public holiday.

We're on the road early and the weather doesn't look promising , very cloudy. As we carry on we realise that the low cloud is going to wipe out our view - it's just like being in fog. We could be anywhere.

And then, as if by magic, we reach the entrance to Arthur's Pass National Park and the skies clear and we have blue sky and sunshine again. Took photos of us both sitting on the entry sign, wonder how many millions have done that before us?

The road is winding and the views are great. Arthur's Pass town itself is a massive let down! We thought it would be a busy place stuffed with tourists but there was next to nothing there and not sure we saw anybody walking about. There is a railway station and we wondered if the Christchurch to Greymouth trans alpine train stopped there. Will have to google it later.

Just after the town is a parking area for walkers to start several different walking tracks. We opted for the easy 20 minute walk to Dobsons Reserve rather than the 5 hour walk up a

mountain! Our walk was lovely and included a waterfall but the wrong time of year, it's famous for Spring flowers but, of course, we're in Autumn.

As we start to cross into the West on the Otiri road and descend through the valley the scenery is awesome. Annoyingly there aren't many places to stop for photos but we got a few where we could.

We stopped at Lake Brunner for lunch and yet again wondered where people were - what do they do on a public holiday? Stay at home? It's not like they have to stay in to avoid the traffic jams, there's no traffic! Derek swears he drove for half an hour without another car coming up behind us.

We got to the West coast and turned North towards Rapahoe. The coastal scenery is lovely and one of the view points we stopped at overlooking the sea had a memorial to 65 miners that died in a mining accident and was in a beautifully maintained picnic area. Very peaceful.

We finally reached Punakaiki and the famous Pancake Rocks. Rock formations that look like stacks of pancakes only I didn't really get it as they weren't round! Regardless, it was a fantastic sight and hard to describe, many more photos taken. We had to question why something so amazing was free! They could make a fortune here.

Our campsite is right on the beach, we'll go to sleep listening to the waves crashing. Boring stuff like laundry had to be addressed but we're delighted to see a bar/restaurant within a 2 minute walk so we weren't cooped up in the van this evening. Friendly staff and a nice sounding menu which turned out to be disappointing and expensive. The TV picks up a reception so we have some background noise as we write up the diaries. It's a repeat of another UK house building programme that we've seen before!

Psyching ourselves up for the long drive to Tekaka tomorrow and the fact that the weather is changing to cloud and rain. The forecast for our crossing to the North Island on Saturday looks a bit ominous..

26th April - raining when we woke up. Conscious of the long drive we were on the road just after 8:30am. The coastal road continues to be spectacular, lots of rock formations.

There is a serious lack of petrol stations in the area, we have to drive out of our way to West Point to top up.

Mountains, green hills and valleys, rivers, etc.etc. The lack of built up areas is easy on the eye.

A long stretch of the journey follows the Buller River, windy roads, bridges and gorges. Stopped at a historic cafe called Berlins which overlooks the river, in the middle of nowhere. Can't help but wonder how far the staff have to travel to get to work! Next stop was the Swing Bridge - had to be done and good fun. Loop walk the other side with a quirky picnic area and old miners cottage. As we walked back across the bridge a jet boat was setting off for another thrill seeking ride for an affluent couple!

Ran into roadworks for a few miles but because there's only ever three or four cars in the queue it's unrecognisable as a UK traffic issue.

Lunch at a picnic area with advertised toilets but seeing the reaction from two young backpackers put me off and I decided I could hang on.

We had not realised the route to Pohara Beach took us over a mountain with endless hairpin bends. It was both scary and spectacular. It's 791 metres above sea level and features on a website about dangerous roads (we discovered afterwards...). Lots of people experience travel sickness! At the top there is a viewpoint which is well worth the 400 metre walk to reach.

Our site at Pohara is nice and we are once more parked up at a pitch from where we can hear the waves. The chatty guy at reception cheerfully informs us we have to go back the way we came, one road in and out! At least we're here two nights and can psych up for the return leg. Look forward to a day of minimal driving tomorrow.

27th April - leisurely start this morning as we're not planning to go too far, we did enough miles yesterday.

My friend Cass had mentioned Pupu Springs as a nice place to visit and we're only a few kilometres from there. The Maori name is Waikoropupu Springs and it is sacred water, you are not allowed to touch it. The small car park has a lot of information boards

and it's interesting to read the theories of how the Springs came to be. Ten minutes or so walk to get there and the only sound we can hear is birdsong. Once we get there the water is so clear, it's incredible. We read that there are only one or two other places in the world where you will see clearer water. As the Springs push up through the ground you can see the water moving. Very noisy ducks!

We did a quick detour into Takaka town on the way back to get fuel and visit the Supermarket. Thank goodness a guy realised that the petrol station roof was too low for the van and indicated to Derek to stop! Nearly a second prang..

We drove back past the camp site and followed the road called Abel Tasman Drive and we're so glad we did, the coastline was beautiful. We stopped at Wainui Falls which turned out to be a 4 kilometre return walk along a narrow path, through woodland, following a river. Another swing bridge but a piece of cake compared to the one at Buller Gorge. Worth the walk as the Falls were really nice.

Stopped for lunch at Tata Beach and sat on a bench looking out to sea in the lovely sunshine.

As it was our 'rest' day we got back to the camp site early afternoon and had a walk along the beach that is a few metres from our pitch.

Paddled but it was cold!

We've begun to rethink our plans for the North Island. We have less days and the drives are long, maybe we won't go to the northern tip Cape Reinga. Will we regret it if we don't?

The clouds are looming....think we may have a wet drive to Havelock tomorrow.

28th April - woke up to the sound of rain. No fun having to walk to the loo/shower block in this weather!

Wish now we had done the chores of topping up fresh water supply and getting rid of waste water when it was nice weather yesterday. When I say we, of course I mean Derek.

To get to Havelock today is about 180 km and we have to go back over the mountain with the windy roads. Views not nearly as nice as on the way in due to the thick, dark grey cloud. Down the coast from Moteuka to Richmond with a quick coffee break (and huge slice of apple pie, Derek reckons he got one of his five a day) at a nice cafe and then turned left towards Nelson which is a large place with a Port. Traffic is a bit busier, more cars than we've seen in days.

We reached Havelock at lunchtime without having taken a single photograph - we just didn't want to get out of the van! We're close to the Pelorus Sound and one of the top things to do here is to go out on a trip with the Pelorus Mail Boat. Just as it sounds it delivers the post to the remote locations around the coastline and goes out 5 times per week, each day a different route. We had missed today's boat, it left at 9:30am.

The other famous thing here is the Greenshell Mussels, they're on the menu at all the restaurants here - all four of them.

We had a quick walk around in the rain, didn't take long, it's a small place. Small marina but not much action happening there today.

The guy that runs the site and checked us in was so friendly. We chatted for ages and on his advice we have decided to change our plans for the North Island. With hindsight our original plan was too ambitious for just a few days and the distances we were going to try to cover weren't going to allow us to do much other than drive all day. So we're not going to the northern tip of the Island after all. We've decided to spend two nights at Hot Water Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula and then two nights on the east coast between Auckland and Whangarei at a place called Martins Bay. Had to spend a bit of time on the internet cancelling/amending bookings and incurred cancellation fees which is irritating but we think we'll probably recover that in saved fuel costs! It's disappointing that we didn't plan another few days on the North Island so we could have covered more of it but I also know we couldn't have spent any more days in this van!

We're going out to eat tonight at The Captains Daughter pub as they have live music planned and then we need to sort ourselves out for the ferry tomorrow morning. Check in is at 09:45 for the 10:45 sailing. Fingers crossed it does not rain for the entire three hour crossing!