On the road to Wanaka via Cromwell. Drove past the bungy jumping bridge, but not much action so early in the day. Drove through Wine Valley, flanked on both sides by mountains. A fantastic spot to cultivate the vines. Lots of names I have never heard of. I haven't seen much NZ wine in Denmark, it seems mostly to come from Aussie.

Parked up in Cromwell and wondered around the old town and had a "cinamon scroll" and a coffee. A guy flying around in a Tiger Moth was giving us a demonstration of his flying skills. He was looping, spinning and diving. Good entertainment while we had our coffee.The cake was warm out of the oven "mm mm". On the way into Wanaka I stopped off at the Transport and Toy museum astationed at the airport. Karen waited outside with her book and a coffee. Everything you couldn imagine was in there. Planes, old trucks in their hundreds, just as many cars, motorbikes ( I lost count of how many there were), Agrucultural machinery of all sorts and thousands and thousands of toy cars trains. Air New Zealand have even donated a full size passenger plane to add to the 6 07 he has already. I had a great time in there, especially seeing all the old Bedford Trucks parked all over the place. I think my old workmate Alan in Manchester won't have dry eyes if he sees this picture.

Set up camp at Top 10, just outside Wanaka. A music festival was entertaining us not far away for the evening and we didn't even have to pay for it.

Up early and on our way to Mount Aspring an hour away. The last 25 kms was on a gravel road. From the car park we could walk to the Rob Roy glacier, two hours walk away. I say that it was a walk, more like a climb. Nearly 400 meters we accended before we reached the glacier. It was well worth it. We couldn't really count all the waterfalls we could see. Although it was quite warm, most of the walk was in the woods, which protected us from the sun. We were tired when we got back to the car park.

3-4 February

Started the day by washing the vehicle which had got pretty dirty. They had a washing bay at the camp, so it was just a question of using it. A warm day again today - great. On our way north towards Haast on the coast. Again beautiful scenery all the way to Cameron Flats. Here we stayed at a Conservation Camp. Toilet and water and fabulous views from our site.

We went for a walk down to the river. Began to blow up a bit, but Karen found a spot in front of the vehicle where she could cook the meal without being blown away. Potatoes, carrots, brocolli and pork. Great to have a five star restaurant following us around.

On the road again. In to see the Blue Pools. The water is so clean and blue in colour, hence the name. You could see Rainbow Trout swimming around enjoying themselves. Next stop was a little climb up to see Haast Valley. Hard climb and not really worth it. Fantail waterfall was the next stop and this was great. We also saw thunder creek, lots of water here. Drove out to Jacksons bay, but were a bit disappointed with it. A lot of the time while driving out there we drove through rain forrest, so we couldn't see much. We had lunch in the cafe "caravan" at the bay. I had Elephant fish and chips and Karen Seafood Chowder. Spoiled a bit by continual attack from sandflies. They disappear though at dusk, only to be replaced by mossies.

Camped at Haast River Top 10 camp. Not the best camp we have stayed at, but as a place to spend the night it was okay. Rained during the evening.

A bit rainy when we got up, but still warm. Drove up the coast. Parts of the beach were full of debris from hundreds and hundreds of trees. The two times we ventured down to the beach, we were nearly eaten alive by sand flies. At one point hundreds of white stones were piled up at the side of the highway. On them people had written names and dates and of course we did the same. It was a bit of a laugh. So if anyone reading is soon going to drive from Haast to Fox, keep a look out for our stone!

In NZ there are lots of Chinese tourists. Probably for most of them it's their first time abroad. They talk a lot and take pictures all the time. A guy I talked to asked me if I knew the difference between us and the Chinese. Well apart from the fact that we look a bit different I couldn't give him an answer. "We really experience what we see, they take a photo and move on", he said. Probably right, but it is a much needed boost fot the NZ ecconomy that they are here.

Arrived at Fox Glacier and took the "Chalet walk" up. We couldn't get right to the end because of subsidence of the track. We got a brilliant view of Fox though. The buses can't get up the small road we used, so we weren't too many around. Camped at Top 10 camp Fox glacier. Karen found some Glow Worms as it got dark. Always interesting to see them.

Drove out to Lake Matheson the next morning. If the weather is in your favour, the reflection in the water from Mount Cook is awesome ( to use a Kiwi expression). Sunny warm weather today, but a slight breeze spoiled the surface of the lake. Enjoyed our walk around immensely. Continued out to Gelespie Beach. A beach covered with flat round pebbles and a beautiful blue Tasman Sea. We had to stay here for a while of course.

Called in for lunch on the way back at the Matheson Cafe. We had been told it was a good place to eat - it was. I had cumberland sausages for the first time in years and Karen ordered and enjoyed a fish ressotto. Had a walk in Fox Town and than back to camp for the night.

Fox Glacier

Drove to Frans Josef and walked as far as we could out to the Glacier. A lot has happened since we were here 11 years ago. The Glacier has retreated several hundred meters, which is a lot in such a short time. Not nearly as impressive as it was. Into the town and we had pies for lunch. Drove towards Hokitika. We stopped at a little unmaned hydro power station. A little further down a track you could get down onto a beach. After a short walk we found a warm spring where the water was about 50 degrees C. Strange right in the middle of of the stones and sand you can find warm water seeping up through the sandy bottom.

We camped at Lake Mahinapau. A great view of the lake. Met four English tourists we had seen before. Next day we had abit of a walk round the camp, then on the road to Hokitika. Drove out Hokitika gorge, but it was a bit disappointing. It ressembled the blue lakes we had already seen. You couldn't really see the gorge at all. Dorothy falls a bit further down the road was worth a stop.

We drove to Lake Pearson where we found a nice secluded spot where we could camp. We relaxed in the sun for the rest of the afternoon - reading, doing crosswords and drinking a cold beer. A cold evening tonight. 11 degrees at 8pm.

Carried on in the direction of Christchurch. Stopped off at Castlehill to check out a load of limestone rocks. in the middle of a huge flat area. Pretty impressive. When you got to the top you could see for miles around.  We rang to Ron and Anne who we stayed with on arrival and spent the rest of the afternoon at their place. They came home at 5 pm and the rest of the evening was spent engaged in telling each other what we had all been up to since last. Two lovely people who opened their house to us and again were full of information on where we should go. Nothing seems too much trouble for them. We camped in their beautiful garden.

After a morning of looking at photos of some of the places Ron and Anne have visited and even more valuable information, we dragged ourselves away. Moving now in the direction of Kaikour. Called in at a wine lodge for a cup of coffee and later while eating lunch in a picnic area we met John, who drives around taking part in rodeos. He can rope a cow in 6 seconds, which is pretty good. He invited us to come and visit him at his ranch on the North Island. So hold this space there will be more to come. Camped at the Alphine Lodge and booked a trip out to see the whales early in the morning.

Up early, becauas we are going out to see the Sperm Whales today. A calm day weatherwise, so we were lucky. We saw three whales, so we were lucky again.. A sperm whale spends about 5 to 8 minutes on the service, taking on enough oxygen to dive to a depth of 2 kms for over two hours, before they surface again. This is why so little is known about this particular whale. As the guide on the boat said, we know more about what's going on millions of miles away, than we do just two kms under our boat.

Left on our way to Abel Tasman National Park. The smallest park in NZ, bu the most visited. We should have driven via Wairua, but our GPS took us a on route up into the mountains, which defintely wasn't the right one. Fantastic scenery though, so we didn't mind the extra 60 odd kms we drove.

The countryside has changed now. the mountains no longer have snow on their tops, but trees. We drove through one picturesque valley after the other. Kaiteriteri was the town where we would see if we could find a camping site in the area. The town was busy with tourists, here to walk, kajak, or just explore the area. We drove through the town and decided to carry on knowing there were campsites further out.

We stopped at The Barns. A nice site overlooking the ocean. We found out that the owner of the campsite was also the owner of "Spaceships", the firm we had rented our vehicle off. Good I didn't say anything too bad about the vehicle!!! A good day today, even though the GPS played tricks on us.

On the road now to Takaka. Again the countryside is undescribable. Driving in NZ is not like anywhere else in the world. You just simply never get bored, and the Kiwis are really good at providing laybyes to stop and enjoy the surrounding countryside. Got to Pohara Beach Top 10 camp and decided we would stay here for a couple of nights. We had a walk down onto the beach. The tide was out, but we did a bit of paddling. Met a couple who live here. They moved to NZ from England eight years ago and haven't regretted it at all. He said "why should I try to find paradise when I live in it". I think that sounds like a family who are going to stay here.

Left next day for Wainue Falls. This was worth the effort. Half an hours walk along the river and there it was. After this we continued down the road to The Grove. Here you walk in a rain forest amongst rocks formed into fantastic shapes by the river  thousands of years ago.

A nice journey on into Nelson to shop, then a winding mountain road to Elaines Bay. We are really out in the sounds now. Campsite was right on the beach. A full moon tonght. What a fantastic sight as it came up over the bay. Left for French Pass, which is even further out in the sounds. A fantastic camping site, where we could watch sting rays swimming up and down in the shallow water. Mostly Kiwis here at the camp. One of the best camps we have stayed at.

Karen went down to see some fish being filleted and came back with snapper for our evening meal. Our neighbour came with some Blue Cod we should try - delicious. We would have stayed here for another day, but it was a bit cloudy, so we moved on. Drove in the clouds for a long time which meant we couldn't see anything - not even in front of us. Shopped and filled up with petrol in Rai Valley and drove on to Smiths Farm Holiday. Here we had to say hi to Molly the pig. As we booked into the camp we were given two warm muffins and some food to give Molly. Had a walk out to the local waterfall and later we will go out and see the glow worms they have here. We found Molly and gave her some of the goodies. Never seen such a big pig.

We are now driving further out into the sounds. Our destination today is Titiranga Farm camp, which is where the road more or less ends. As we decended down towards the camp after a drive of two hours along a narrow mountain road, the whole area was covered in mist. It was as though we were flying in a plane. We didn't really know whether to stay or leave, because it was cold in the mist. Luckily we stayed and it cleared and the temperature rose to about 27 degrees C.

We have booked a ferry for 2 pm. Drove down into Picton and I had a "a big Kiwi breakfast" and Karen had a seafood chowder, before we drove down to the ferry terminal. A good trip over. The crew were practicing emergency drill on the way over. It was a bit scary hearing the captain saying "abandon ship". We didn't!!! And luckily the crew didn't either.

Drove out Picton Top 10, 12 kms outside the city. A blowy night. Next day we drove into Wellington, the worlds smallest capital. A fantastic modern city, with something for everyone. Culture and art have been allowed to figure in the city's development and you can see this clearly wherever you walk. We went into the City and Sea museum and after that Karen dragged me into the National museum, a very interesting place. The building alone is something that has to be experienced, it cannot be described.

Roaming around the city was enjoyable and we ended it with a drink at one of the waterfront bars. Back to the campsite and luckily it wasn't as windy as last night - well not in the beginning, but I had to get out of bed to take down our awning, because it was making one hell of a din. Next day we had to find the local Toyota garage to get the lights on our vehicle seen to. Karen did some shopping while I waited at the garage. Off on the road north towards Dannevirke, a little "Danish" spot in NZ. On the way up we stopped in at Tui brewery to do some beer tasting. Six glasses for 20 NZ dollars. Good we didn't have to drive far after that. Found the local campsite for the night.

Drove into Dannevirke to have a look around. The town was originally founded by a group of Scandinavians with the largest group being Danes. This you can see from the names used in the town. We called in at the museum to see a bit of the history of the place. Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik of Denmark visited the town in 1967. The only Danes left now are buried in the cemetry. We had a quick look and there was an abundance of names on the old gravestones. Drove through Norsewood and Napier and on to Waikaremoara where we camped. Rained during the night and our bedding and awning plus tent over the back of the vehicle were absolutely soaking

Left next day and just piled all the wet stuff into the vehicle and off we went to look at waterfalls. Three fantastic waterfalls, all within a few kms of each other. Weather not to good today, still raining on and off. Called in at a Tavern and had a couple of meat pies. We camped at Matawai Camp. Nobody there when we turned up. Not very clean, the hot showers were cold, but we used the kitchen to cook our meal and dry our wet bedding etc. During the evening Karen closed the toilet door to prevent it filling up with insects. We couldn't open it again, it had locked itself - great, no cold showers now. he he.

After a wet night we woke up to find out that we had been locked in. The gate we had driven through was now padlocked. I got the vehicle ready to go while Karen went over to the hotel to see if they knew where the owner was. She tried a couple of places and eventually came back with a bolt cutter, borrowed from the local hardware shop. We got out and used the public toilet on the other side of the road.

Off we went, but I could see there was a bus chasing us at quite a high speed, so I pulled over, and yes it was the owner of the site. He apparently has a safari company. He of course wanted his money - 20 dollars. We asked him why he had locked us in and why there was no way that we could pay if he didn't turn up while we were there. He said it was private property, but we told him that as a campsite we are entitled to drive in and camp, if there are no notices saying we couldn't. He said that he realised that he shouldn't have locked us in, but come over to the vehicle and collect his money. We payed him 7 dollars because he couldn't change a 50 dollar note. I don't think the guy really knew what was going on around him. Anyway it was the first time we had been chased by a bus.

We should have driven to Rere to see a special waterfall where you can slide down the rocks as the water cascades down. The weather though was cold and wet, so we drove towards the Bay of Plenty. We went onto the beach at Opotiki and spent time there in the sun. Fantastic beach and we cold see the active volcano White Island. On towards Rotorua, but we stopped off to see an old swing bridge made of wood. The earlier settlers had built the first one and the one we saw replaced it over 100 years ago. It is one of only two left in NZ of this type.

On to Rotorua and a great camping site close by Katalla's flat. Katalla is the daughter of our friends Kevin and Jenenne Kramer who live in Te Puke. We will see Kevin tomorrow. It was great to see Katalla again after 11 years. We saw where she lived and then drove into Rotorua where Katalla was our guide. We went into a park where steam and hot water were coming to the surface all over the place. Of course it's dangerous, but it was all fenced off. Really a unique experience walking around. We went into Mac's restaurant and enjoyed a great meal together, which gave us the chance to catch up with what Katalla has been up to since we last saw each other. More sightseeing, then back to the camp.

Next day we drove back into Rotorua to see the Red Woods area. A plantation of trees planted 110 years ago and is now a maze of walkways entirely in the forest. The American Redwoods lend their name to the area. We took the green route which was a one and a half hour round trip. Although we live in the middle of an area of woodlands, this was something different. You start the trip walking through the Redwoods, then it goes over to rainforest and back to redwoods as you finish the walk. I don't think I have enjoyed a walk so much in a long time! Called in at the Pharmacy where Katalla worked on our way to Te Puke. She looked really happy there and was part of a team who all got on together. Great to see.

Got Te Puke and surprised Kevin. He hadn't seen the mail we had sent him, telling him when we would arrive, but no problem, you are always welcome at the Kramers. Great to see him again. Had a look round the six gigantic greenhouses where they grow Orchids. Karen attacked the first avocado she caught sight of. Kevin and Jay have a plentyful supply of them and nearly everything else as well. They are more or less self sufficient in everything. They have both turkeys and hens for their own use. It was great to sleep in a proper bed. It really was.