Epic Kiwiland

Touch down into green hobbit land, expecting freezing temperatures we were pleasantly surprised when we stepped out of the airport to glorious sunshine and a reasonably warm 18 degrees. From the airport to Auckland city we took the most expensive bus ride in the whole of our trip (giving us a taste of 1st world prices again) £8 each for a 40-minute ride. Despite the price the service was great and the bus driver flooded us with useful information; 2 things we certainly were not used to.

That day we met with my friend Moira, who gave us a tour of the area, seeing Tuis, green parrots and awesome views within hours of touchdown. She topped it all off with the most delicious dinner of wine and cheese... wow what a welcome to NZ - thankyou Moira!

In a bit of a rush to get to Wellington as we had precious rugby tickets, the next day we took the Overlander train enjoying epic scenery in our glass-ended train carriage. Neither of us could quite get used to how EVERYTHING is explained and so well organised, leaving no space for confusion or error. And again, so so polite!

A small oversight not to book any accommodation on our part, on a weekend in Wellington where the All-Blacks were playing... the first night we were lucky enough to find a hostel as our plan to sleep in the train station was foiled by the freezing wind and 4 degrees temperature as night fell. After the most amazing hot shower we hit the town, enjoying rum and cider in the rugby-manic atmosphere.

The next night we weren't so lucky, all accommodation - even the pricy places - were booked, so we hired a little car as our bed. We took a short tour down the coastline - cities aren't really cities as I know them here, as in 5 minutes you're out in the wilderness with epic views. The coastline is littered with paua shells and thick leathery seaweed, a welcome change from the plastic bottles and polystyrene we found on many asian beaches.

France vs. Tonga. All blued up in glitter we headed to the "cake-tin" stadium to see my first ever live rugby match! The atmosphere was electric, France's poor performance didn't dampen our spirits, the passionate Tongans fully deserved their victory - I even glimpsed a few tears on a proud Tongan's cheeks. The atmosphere continued in the bar with Scotland vs. England, and we whiled away the night drinking whisky with 2 argentinian farmers Daniel & Hugo. The rum definitely helped my broken Spanish to flow better!

A civisiled short ferry across the Tasman Sea and a bus down the coastline, we arrived into shaky Christchurch. Seeing the destruction first-hand - the whole of the city centre barriered off, and giant cracks and holes everywhere, really hit home to us the destruction of the quakes. We stayed with the lovely Siobhan and Steve, who welcomed us into their home with open arms. We enjoyed some home-cooked food, boozy rugby games and BBQs - and our first roast in a long time... wow amazing Siobhan, truly delicious! Cider-fuelled pub visits and walks in the park... lovely Christchurch. It was hard to leave such a welcoming home-from-home.

Try!

Ireland vs France

It was made slightly easier by the arrival of our campervan! Which was very civilised - not just a bed on wheels but equipped with a sink, gas hobs, fridge and radiator! Off we went north to Kaikoura, famous for it's whale-watching but at £75 per person for 3 hours and no guarantees of seeing one, whale-watching was a bit out of our budget. Instead we beach-combed and watched the rugby with a few pints of cider and a plate of fresh scallops!

One of the few places in the world where mountain peaks meet ocean shores

Driving up the coast you could easily miss the sea-lions posing as rocks in their awesome camouflage. We even saw a few penguins stumbling around the shoreline.

Next stop Marlborough Sounds - hike central. We walked and walked among lush old fern forests decorated with moss and lichen and littered with waterways around every corner and opening with an epic view. We climbed up and down mountains in glorious Kiwi sunshine.

Highland Ninja

We stayed in a farm campsite where they gave you free muffins on arrival and across the fields had a waterfall where at night the banks twinkled with hundreds of glow-worms.

What's going on 'ere then?

Lush... green

We headed on to French Pass, on the tip of a peninsula with the most epic scenery I've ever seen.

What a drive

As the full-moon rose over the sea we enjoyed some wine and freshly caught blue cod with a french couple who had been fishing that day. Further north to Farewell Spit, the northly Kiwi-shaped tip of the south island, we found the most northerly pub showing NZ vs Australia in the rugby. I warmed myself through to the bone around their open fire before we moved to camp right on the waters edge.

Snug as a bug in a rug!

The weather turned and it rained. Just like British rain, the kind that doesn't stop. So we took the opportunity to get some driving done and went all the way down the west coast through torrential hail before arriving at Fox Glacier. The sun came out (apparently it rains 200 days a year here so we were pretty lucky) for us to enjoy spectacular views of the glacier.

Eating 8-year-old glacial ice               

East through the Southern Alps to Wanaka, where we found the most beautiful camp-spot ever - right on the edge of the lake with not a person/building in sight, encircled by the majestic white-tipped mountains.

Down to stunning Queenstown, staying with my friend Charlie for a few days who it was great to catch up with after 4 years. On everyone's recommendation we tried the Ferg burger and can confirm they are indeed the best burgers in the world (or would be if they used Parsonage Farm meat that's for sure!). We caught the rugby final of France vs NZ with a group of 16 kiwis who were taking it very seriously, so we tried to keep calm about the superb French performance! Looking at the whole tournament though, New Zealand deserved to win, but it was good to see the Frenchies blow the wind up their skirts!

Our final 2 days in the camper took us to Lake Tekapo where we were blown around by howling winds and torrential rain in our camper, although this didn't impact the amazing views of the dazzling turquoise lake, made blue by some rock-flour and a glacier.

Back to our home away from home, lovely Christchurch. We stayed with Siobhan and Steve and their housemates Mon, Karen, Ray and Katie who all welcomed us once again. I baked caked and james got to know the laptop once again. We made up for lost drinking time and had some big nights out and in. Lovely people and a lovely place, special to us is Christchurch city.

Not many amusing broken English signs in NZ, as you'd expect, but this far-too-obvious fire escape sign caught our eye...