New Zealand

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Overview

Even before Lord of the Rings, I had wanted to see New Zealand and, now that I have actually been, I can't stop raving about it even though it was winter and cold.

Anyone who hasn’t been and is even vaguely considering going, should definitely go. It has everything.

There are lakes and mountains, beaches and blue seas, volcanoes and glaciers and geothermal fields. The wildlife is something else – we saw whales and dolphins, penguins and albatrosses. There’s tons of culture and loads to be learnt about the Maoris, and of course there’s adrenalin-pumping activities galore – skydives, bungee, zorbing.

I know I say this about everywhere I’ve been, but the people were lovely and life is even more relaxed than in Australia. Also it was a pleasnt change to find that the backpackers where more closer to our age than some of the teenybobbers we met in Australia.

Having re-learnt how to drive and gotten ourselves in gear, New Zealand is the place we have covered most thoroughly but I still need to do it again in summer just to see how different it is and to actually do the Tangariro crossing.

Highlights of the trip this time though have to include the skydive at Taupo, Franz Josef glacier and the whale watch in Kaikoura.

26 July

• Yesterday we did all the stuff we hadn't had a chance to do last time - the Sky Tower, for some pretty impressive views of the city, a liquid lunch in the sun by the harbour – well, it was Catherine's birthday – a reverse bungee thing and some shopping. We even managed to get to the restaurant we'd spotted last time for a pot full of mussels each.

• Today, Saz and I climbed the Aukland Bridge – it was 2 for 1 – and were very lucky with the weather which was pretty good. Parts of the bridge move because it is actually two bridges and where they've added extra lanes and the later part flexes with the traffic. And then some guy proposed to his girlfriend at the top - ah bless. We were all so relieved when she accepted.

• That's pretty much it for New Zealand. Much as I have loved it, I really am looking forward to seeing some sun again

• Off to Tahiti tomorrow, but it will be yesterday when we arrive because we're crossing the international date line.

24 July

• Today we've been Zorbing. As it was such a nice day and because it sounded heaps more fun, we did a wet one – you climb into this huge inflatable ball and they throw in a bucketful of warm water and then they send you whizzing down a hill. The theory is to run down inside the ball and stay upright. I managed about four yards then fell over. Of course once you're down, there's no hope of getting back to your feet and you just slosh around, up and down this thing as it bounces down the hill. The guys in charge compared it to a water slide, but it felt more like being in the washing machine. Anyway it was great fun and we were both busting to get up there and do it all again.

• We spent the previous night in Taupo, but as we'd been before, we didn't really "do" much of it – and instead went out for a lovely meal in a bar that we'd been to with Ben. It was just as much fun second time round.

• Then we headed over to Rotorua, famed for it's geothermal fields, and hot spas. We spent a day at the Wai-o-tapu geothermal field, with spectacular coloured pools and boiling mud. After trekking round there, we went to one of the many hot spas and soaked all afternoon in the naturally heated, outdoor hot tubs, and for want of anything better to do, had a massage to sooth aching limbs. Saz and I both had an "aix" massage, which was essentially a full body massage, but at the same time, they're sprinkling you with lush warm water - it was heavenly.

• That evening, we went on a family run Maori experience – not as touristy/tacky as you might think. As family is such an important part of the Maori culture, it was nice to see a family business where the "chief" had all his kids, nieces and nephews helping out with the dance demonstrations. He explained about the culture, "muko" (facial tattoos) and in return, we rubbed noses with them all before tucking in to a lovely meal. Afterwards we went for a walk through their local bush and had the plants and their Maori uses pointed out. All in all, it was very cool.

• The next day, we headed further north to Coromandel, but stopped en route to Matamata to visit the site where they filmed Hobbiton for Lord of the Ring. There's not much of the set left but we learnt some interesting things about the filming - making people different sizes, and the flying - fascinating stuff even for Catherine, who hasn't seen the film.

• In Coromandel, we stopped in a hostel that was allegedly haunted, but we didn't see any ghosts. The scenery there was incredible, and we kept having to leap out of the car to take photos, so every journey took three times longer than it needed. We went to Cathedral Cove, a rock formation created by the action of the sea, on a secluded beach. From there we moved on to Hot Water Beach, where in low tide, you can dig a hole in the sand and it's your own personal hot tub. Unfortunately, we were there at high tide, so we just played in the waves/caves instead.

• We've been on a couple of the local walks - one through a kauri grove (kauri trees are huge, and they grow for thousands of years - and I think, they may be impossible to find outside NZ) and another to an impressive waterfall, where you had to scramble across the river at various points and I nearly fell in more than once.

• Now, we're back in Auckland - needed some civilisation to pick up all our bits and pieces for Tahiti, because according to the Lonely Planet, imported stuff is very expensive there, and "pretty much everything is imported".

• Also iIt's Catherine's birthday tomorrow, so we thought it'd be nice to be somewhere that actually had a bit of life so we can go for dinner or dancing or whatever.

• I tried to call the Somersets again today, but missed them - will try tomorrow, but I've only really got Saturday to see them, so I hope it's convenient

• That's it for now I'll try and be in touch again before Tahiti because I don't know if we'll be able to afford email – or anything else, other than lazing on the beach for that matter - once we're there.

18 July

• Nelson, with its population of 50,000, was the biggest town we'd been to in AGES but there really wasn't much to do - we spent a day in Abel Tasman National Park, having a walk or rather four hour hike. We also spent a day wandering round town and went to the Wearable Art gallery which was different and pretty entertaining. For the rest of the three days, we have been lazing in the spa or sauna.

• Arrived in Wellington and met Saz who's over for a couple of weeks and had a relatively quiet night to allow her to get over the jetlag.

• Yesterday was a glorious day and we went up the cable-car, wandered back through the botanical gardens and on to the Parliament House. Catherine and I had been before but we were a few minutes late and missed the fist chunk, so we were quite happy to go again as it was really interesting anyway.

• Picked up another rental car and drove up to Taupo today. That's about as far as the plan goes at the moment, except that we haven't done Rotorua or Cape Coromanderel yet.

• The revamped web site looks pretty swanky.

12 July

• Well we now know what blackwater tubing is – it’s riding a tube on an underground river.

• We walked through a immense cave system with impressive rock formations and there were amazing glow-worms. There were so many of them that as we floated down the river through the caves and looked upwards it was as though we were drifting through the constellations Fantastic!

• We've had a totally lazy afternoon today, which is almost criminal given the weather we've had, but we're here till late afternoon tomorrow so we still have time to have a look round and see what we've missed so far - not much I think.

11 July

• Guess where we went on the way here to Westport today? Yep, we went back to the pancake rocks at Punakaiki where we went on a trip yesterday afternoon. Ah well, we sat in the cafe and had a lovely latte and chocolate cake - although we probably should have gone back round, as it wasn't raining but yesterday had been a serious power sightseeing day.

• Need to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, as we're off for some black water tubing, whatever that turns out to be. I'll let you know as soon as I find out. Although I fear it will be wet and cold. it's sooooooooooooooooo bloody cold here

• Can't wait for Thahiti and the sun.

9 July

• Hi - just a quick update cos I’m almost out of time.

• The glacier walk at Franz Josef yesterday was absolutely fantastic and neither as cold nor as hard work as I’d been expecting. It was great fun, beautiful and we were lucky with the weather, as the sun was shining (it chucked it down both days either side of the day we went) so you could see all the layers and the blue in the ice. Impossible to believe we were standing on ice that was about 400 metres deep and you could squeeze through all the crevasses and actually see the icefalls. Wicked!

7 July

• Fox was a quiet little place, although the backpackers’ hostel we stayed at was mental. Wandered over to Lake Matheson, but unfortunately, it was too choppy to see the famed reflections of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman. Still, it was stunning.

• Then we walked on to the viewpoint which we couldn't quite find, but the views from the brow of the hill we were on was worth the walk - all in all, 20km along the most boring flat, straight road we’ve ever seen.

• Arrived in Franz Josef yesterday, and had a lazy day, reading the papers, watching movies and soaking in the hot tub - all in preparation for the glacier hike we didn't do this morning but as it was pouring down. We've postponed it till tomorrow, so fingers crossed for decent weather. Instead we went for a walk round some of the local tracks It was quite fun and the weather improved as the day went on, so I have high hopes for tomorrow. Particularly because I’ve spoken to so many people who've said that this glacier hike was the highlight of their trip to NZ.

3 July

• Yes, I know it's July but we've been snowboarding this week and while you guys are at home enjoying what I hear has been a very pleasant sunny Wimbledon, we've been freezing at the top of a mountain in the Remarkables.

• The snow wasn't up to much - it snowed for the first two days we were up there, so by Tues, it was perfect. But come Wed morning most of the snow had blown over the hill. Bummer! Still, there were a couple of runs open and enough snow – powder in places – for me to get out there and have some fun. As usual, I am now a walking bruise, but at least I know I was trying.

• Neither Catherine nor Ben had ever been before, but I think I have made at least one convert.

• Off north tomorrow to explore the west coast, and the glaciers - can't wait.

• Ben left this morning and is bringing home some photos and the videos of me throwing myself off high things.

28 June

• Well we did it – jumped off the Nevis Bungy, the highest in the southern hemisphere (if not the world) - and survived to tell the tale. It was amazing. I don't think there was ever a moment when I wasn't going to do it, but I’ve never been so scared in all my life.

• There's not much snow up on those mountains at the moment. There are only two runs open, so we're hoping there will be a big dump in the next day or two (it's certainly cold enough) then we can go play next week. Neither Catherine nor Ben has ever been before and they're both keen to try, but I don't much fancy going up a mountain if it’s busy and icy. Certainly not for three whole days but fingers crossed.

26 June

• From Christchurch, we headed further south to Dunedin - the Scottish capital of the southern hemisphere. Apparently Dunedin is Celtic for Edinburgh and they have plenty of Scottish shops, beers and even celebrate Burn’s Day.

• From there we went out to the Otago Peninsula to see the penguins and albatrosses. With a 3m wing span and cruising on the winds at up to 100 km/h the albatrosses were pretty impressive.

• And the penguins were sooooooooooooo cute! Apparently, they're scared of anything taller than they are, so we were walked around the reserve in trenches with eye holes about a foot off the ground so even though the penguins knew we were there, they weren't afraid.

• Then we went over to Bluff, which is the Lands End of NZ. Had a lovely walk around the coast there, so we've now been to the two extremes of the NZ "mainland".

• Yesterday we went out for a cruise around Doubtful Sound actually a fjord, and not a sound at all but so named by Capt Cook who was "doubtful" there'd be enough wind to sail back out if they went in when he first discovered it in 18-something. It was stunning (I'm rapidly running out of adjectives), incredible sheer snow-capped mountains plunging into a sea which was like a huge lake. Freezing but spectacular and we saw more dolphins.

• Tomorrow heading over to Queenstown tomorrow for some serious bungee jumping and possibly a bit of snowboarding too.

20 June

• Apart from saying that Christchurch is old and quaint, I forgot to mention what we actually did there. We wandered around and found the art gallery but it was huge and there really is only so much 19th century art you can view in one go. So we had brainstorm about half way round and decided tohead back into town to the aquarium. As a sideshow, the aquarium has a couple of kiwis which are nocturnal and reputedly very difficult to see in the wild. They're like hedgehogs with legs and a beak. Very cute though!

• Today we've had a mammoth drive to Mt Cook but the scenery is so amazing it passed quite quickly. Hopefully the cloud will clear a bit tomorrow, so we can actually see the mountain as it's supposed to be pretty impressive. If it's fine, we may go on one of the many walks round here before heading even further south to somewhere like Dunedin.

18 June

• Funny to think of being sweltering at home because it is freezing here, and it's only going to get colder when we head over to Queenstown in a few days. Never mind, as long as I get to go snowboarding it's all ok.

• The whale watch yesterday was spectacular. We set off at about 8am on this big jet boat thing and saw four sperm whales, three humpbacks and a couple hundred dusky dolphins - with the most incredible backdrop of snow-capped mountains. You couldn’t ask for better and I think I now have an entire film of photos of the grey sea with grey (and probably indistinct) animals.

• From there we've come down to Christchurch which is a pretty little place – well not so little actually as I think it's the second largest city in NZ – and for the first time in a long time, we're somewhere where there are actually old buildings. It feels kind of historic for a change. We are moving on again tomorrow, but not quite sure where yet.

16 June

• We arrived in Picton late on Sunday night - everyone shattered after the rugby on Saturday (wooooohooooooooooooo!), so we didn't get up to much.

• Found a lovely hostel and even although we had no plans we decided so stay an extra night. Spent all day Monday wandering around the "Snout's End" I think it was called, and it was absolutely beautiful. Today we trundled down to Kaikora where we booked to go whale watching tomorrow morning assuming the weather is good

15 June

• OK, so it wasn't the most exciting match in the world - far too much kicking, and not enough rugby for my liking. But Jonny Wilkinson is still a star, we won, and best of all, WE WERE THERE! Wonderful! The seats were fantastic (about five or six rows from the pitch with a perfect view) and the atmosphere was electric. The kiwis were bloody good sports - despite taking the mickey throughout – and they even congratulated us for winning in the end. That’s something you wouldn't get at home.

• What a perfect end to an incredible week, what with the sky dive too. We have just watched the video again, and it' still gives me a buzz - all that freefall, the clouds, the wobbling faces (it's pretty hard to keep it from looking like putty when you're travelling at 180km per hour!) and the sheer joy when we got back to the ground although my ears were popping for hours afterwards.

12 June

• Right, we're now in Wellington and have just succeeded in getting tickets for the England vs All Black match on Saturday - Wooohooo!!!.

• We drove down through Napier and Hastings yesterday - nothing much to see in either. There’s some serious Art Deco going on that apparently rivals Miami - I should be able to confirm this when we've been to Miami on the way home.

• On our last day in Taupo, we went on Huka Jet, a strange shaped speedboat, that races along the river at about 80km/hour while the driver throws in all these 360 degree turns that drench you. It was great fun, but doesn’t compare to the thrill of falling through the sky at 180 km per hour.

• Unfortunately the Tongariro crossing, one of NZ's best and most famous walks was closed for winter due to the snow and gale force winds up there. I guess that's something else I'll have to do next time in summer.

• Instead we went to another geothermal field but I can't remember what it was called but apparently it's where they filmed some of the scenes for Walking with Dinosaurs. Very pretty - lots of bubbling mud, steaming craters and geysers.

9 June

• In response to Jenny’s concern about the Sky Dive – Yes I thought you would rather hear about it after the event. We had been thinking about it ever since we arrived in NZ as it's one of THE things to do while you're here but we only decided to do it the previous day. It was soooooo coool We picked up the photos today. Catherine's are much better than mine but I still have one or two cool shots and the video is fantastic.

• I called the Somersets today, and spoke to David - he sounded really quite excited to hear from me "you sound all grown up” but then my phone card cut out and I got their machine when I called back, so I'll try again in a day or two.

• Been to visit the Craters of the Moon (hot sulphur steam crater things) and Huka Falls today. Also saw the dam release, and watched the water flow out for the local electricity supply - equivalent two Olympic size swimming pools per second. Spectacular.

• Tomorrow, we're off Huka Jetting (whatever that may be) and then some more hot spring stuff. After that we're off to Tongariro Crossing and, if we can afford it, hopefully some snowboarding.

8 June

• Catherine and I just jumped out of a plane at 15,000ft! It's apparently the worlds cheapest skydive and one of the few that takes you so high - it was absolutely amazing. Forty five seconds of freefall through the clouds then a gentle drift down with views over the beautiful Lake Taupo and an elegant return to earth - none of the stumbling and rolling around that happens with the old parachutes. FANTASTIC! There's a video and photos that I'll send home soon.

• Time for a little celebratory beer I think.

7 June

• Northland is absolutely beautiful and, with its big green hills and loads and loads of sheep reminds me of the Scottish highlands. Having the luxury of a hire car we can take our time – stopping for loads of photos of bays, views and stuff.

• We drove up the east coast to the Bay of Islands and spent a couple of days in Pahaia.

• Then we drove over to Kaitaia and took a day trip up to Cape Regina, northernmost tip, and 90 Mile Beach where we went sand tobogganing in the huge dunes which was a laugh.

• We have just passed through Hamilton – I was going to get a photo of me at the sign, but it was on a highway – on our way to Lake Tapou where we now are. Hoping to go sky diving soon.

• Got to dash – about to run out of time.

1 June

• We now have a plan:

– Hired a car between three it's pretty cheap and the distances are miniscule compared to Oz

– Tomorrow going north, to Northland and 90 Mile Beach – more poetic licence as it's apparently only 64 miles.

– Then back south through north island via Lake Taupo where we may do the world's cheapest sky dive (Editor's note: In this context wouldn't "world's most expensive" be more re-assuring).

– On to Wellington for mid June, because England are playing the All Blacks although I don't think we will actually be going because the tickets are about £150. Ben may go.

– Down to south island and hopefully some snowboarding in Queenstown

• Today, we've been to the Auckland museum to find out about NZ and the Maori - because I know nothing of either.

31 May

• We arrived on Friday and met Ben - Catherine's brother - in the hostel in Auckland. Didn't get up to much as we were all pretty shattered.

• Ben brought my new Crdit card and ticket to go to Claire's wedding.

• On Saturday, we took the ferry over to Devonport and wandered around, scampering up Mt Victoria – although mountain is a bit of an overstatement – and North Head. It was all very scenic and enjoyable especially as the forecast had been for rain and it turned out to be a glorious day.