Well now folks, here we are again.

So we picked up our campervan, though we did end up waiting an extra day so that we could get the newer 'deluxe' model that comes complete with hot water, a hoover and a fan heater! Woooooohoooooo I hear you cry. Basically it's miles better than the one we had in Oz, partly cos of the above and partly because there just seems to be more room and everything is arranged better. However, after 2 weeks or so the novelty has started to wear off and it is annoying having to take everything out of the cupboard to get at the kettle etc.

So here's a quick rundown of our route around the South Island since we left Laura and Phil. First we headed to the Banks Peninsular and went to Akaroa which started as a little French settlement, it's a pretty little place but there isn't a great deal there. We then went off to Mt Cook which is amazing, the lakes around it are amazing too and huge! We did some walks around here which were cool and of course the blue sky helped. Didn't quite conquer the peak mind, but what does that matter between friends eh?

From Mt Cook we headed via Oamaru to Dunedin and the Otago Peninsular where we saw some of the rarest Penguins in the world - Yellow Eyed Penguins. Now they've put a viewing hide on the beach to watch them come ashore (which we used) but almost everyone else didn't bother and got right up close to them and scared them half to death, the 4 we saw didn't move for at least an hour because there were so many people close to them with their big long lenses on their cameras. There was some justice though, one guy who had been up close went swimming and got chased by a 400kg Hookers Sea Lion - unfortunately it didn't eat him but serves him right for getting too close to the penguins. Anyway we met a guy that runs nature tours on the beach who told everyone to move but says it happens all the time. It's a real shame as the number of penguins on the beach has fallen significantly over the last few years because of it. Anyway we ended up writing a complaint to the powers that be about it to help the nature guy out (and for our own peace of mind) but as yet have had no reply!

Moving on, we visited Dunedin a nice town, probably nicer than Christchurch I'd say which has a real Scottish feel. Didn't do much but walk around and admire the architecture and enjoy a latte (yes I've started drinking the very odd cup of coffee).

In our attempts to keep the costs down we've been trying wherever possible to stay in picnic areas or on the side of the road for free which has been working pretty well and we've only been to camp sites on every 3rd night in order to fill up our water containers and charge phones and batteries etc. So we rocked up right on the beach again at the start of the Catlins Coast which I liked and Kate didn't! It's really rugged and windy (like all of NZ!) but still it appealed to me. It also included the Southern most point of mainland NZ, Slope Point where we froze ourselves to walk to a rubbish signpost!

We then headed up to Milford Sound through Invercargill for a spot of food shopping, now we heard Mick Jagger once described Invercargill as "The arse end of the world", well we'd have to agree with him on that one (excuse the swearing Mum!). Anyway Milford Sound was something different all together, for those that don't know it's one of a series of Fiords along New Zealand's south west coast. The weather just seemed to get worse and worse as we drove in and that night was freezing (no power for the fan heater at the camp site might I add, typical!) so getting up at 7 to go on a boat at 8 didn't sound too appealing. It was worth it though, as the rain and snow (yes it was supposed to snow 700m above sea level but turned out it snowed at sea level!) meaning more waterfalls and snow capped peaks. The scenery was great although you never quite knew where the tops of the mountains were for the mist (although it did clear later on)! We stopped off at an underwater observatory (definately too cold for diving) which was interesting as the Fiords are a little different as they have fresh water floating on top of the salt water meaning things that normally only live deep down live higher up.

Leaving Milford we headed for the adrenalin capital of NZ, Queenstown. Now although we didn't do any crazy adventure sports we did like Queenstown and the views from the hills around town are superb. We then headed to Wanaka which again is a nice little town, we also attempted to go and do the Rob Roy Valley walk but abandoned that for many reasons which I won't go into here. Then we headed up to Fox Glacier for a cheeky look and a walk around Lake Matheson which wasn't reflecting for us at all, that damn wind again!

A long drive up the coast and across to Hamner Springs was next where we just chilled out in the Sulphur Hot Springs, 40 degrees was the hottest we tried and lasted in there about 2 minutes before we bolied ourselves. From Hanmer it was up past Abel Tasman and to Golden Bay to see Wharariki Beach and Farewell Spit and sandbar that extends out 35km or so into the sea. It's pretty crazy but "the nicest part of New Zealand" as it's been described I'm not so sure. Laura and Phil I have to say you didn't miss anything by not going here, Abel Tasman was much nicer in our humble opinion.

Lastly for the South Island it was over to Picton to catch the ferry to the North Island, the crossing was nice heading through the sounds and out into the Ocean, it also gave us time to read the guidebook and see where's good to go in the North!

So here we are in Wellington which seems like a nice city, though you have no idea how hard it is trying to find somewhere free to camp in a city! Don't worry we managed.

Now it may seem that with all the above it's been amazing, which it has but I must admit that we are feeling that we're starting to go through the motions a bit and yearning for home, family, friends and normality. Not to mention that the conversation has run completely dry. We're starting to hit that feeling you have after a long trip where you can't be bothered and just want to go, so what we need is several kicks up the butt from all you guys out there to give us a push across the finish line, this means many emails and texts (so they spark some conversations!). Parents please don't worry about this paragraph as you know all this already and it's been great having you to talk about it with.

Phew, I think Kate can write the next one of these I'm knackered and I've been sat here for hours. Oh, I should probably just say as usual there are 18 more piccies for you to have a look at.

Take care

Rich and Kate