Muddy rascals

We had a long journey ahead today (paying the price for our Milford Sounds detour), so we struck a bargain with the boys: we'd let them have a go at quad-biking if they promised not to moan or constantly ask "Are we there yet?".
Strong winds and heavy rain had lashed down on us last night, which is always exciting when sheltering under two thin sheets of nylon. But despite Kim waking up and crying "We're all going to die", our little tent did us proud. The rain continued sporadically today, which made it the perfect day to a) get a long car journey over with, and b) splash around at speed in muddy puddles. So we did.

Oops-a-daisy

I want one!

Gone is our campervan envy, only to be replaced by lorry lust! Just look at that for a mobile home! They have more relaxed road laws here than the UK - we've seen all sorts of buses and other vehicles converted to campers, plenty of old 60's and 70's caravans that wouldn't be allowed on the road back home, and even car insurance is only voluntary. We'd been told to look out for lorries that have homes built onto the back, but I wasn't expecting this. It has room size compartments in the sides that pull out to expand the living space, and even a chimney and rooftop balcony seats. I've always had a daydream of turning an old double-decker bus into a mobile home, but now I'm going to have to upgrade. The bumper sticker on the back of this lorry reads 'How fast does your home go?'

Bad directions?

Run for cover!

Another idylic DoC campsite location, or it would've been if it wasn't for the clouds of sandflies. The tenacious buggers even bite through layers of clothing!

Annie panning

Annie panning for gold in Arrowtown. Ned found a decent sized pebble with genuine gold flakes in it, which was very exciting, but I don't think we'll be cashing it in just yet.

Milford Sounds

We detoured south to Milford Sounds, for one of the best drives in the world, through fields of purple lupins, past mirror smooth lakes, up steep alpine S bend roads into snow-capped peaks, before descending through a pitch black mountain tunnel and emerging among countless waterfalls and lush rain-forest. We took a cruise around the imposing fjords, where we stood on the ship's bow as it rode under gigantic waterfalls, and were lucky enough to be there as the most perfect rainbows appeared. The detour was a bit of a punt, as it'll cost us two days travel, but it was definitely worth it.

Cinema Paradiso

Grey boxing day in Wanaka. Went to the local legend that is Cinema Paradiso, a quirky independant picture house filled with comfy sofa's, airline seats and even an open topped Morris car. Food and drink is delivered to your seats and there's even an old style intermission.
So that's this week's 'what to do when we get back to England' daydream sorted.

Merry Christmas

He's been, he's been! Weird to think that Santa's been to us already, and many of you on the other side of the world still haven't gone to bed on Christmas Eve yet. I thought I heard the tent zip go in the night, and presumed it was Annie going to the loo - but it must have been Santa bringing the boys' presents. Rudolph even munched the carrot we left out for him.
Santa brought Kim a snazzy digital camera to take his own holiday photos with, and Ned got a very useful and very grown-up Leatherman knife/tool thingy to help him on his travels. Just what they'd asked for, so they must have been good this year?
Waking up in our paper-chain decorated tent (thanks Ash) was magical in it's own way, definitely one to remember. Off to Lake Wanaka for Christmas lunch in a bit so here's wishing you all a very merry Christmas, wherever and whenever you are!

Mt. Cook

Avalanche!

The scenery just keeps getting better and better. We drove along the Southern Alps to camp close to Mt. Cook, NZ's highest mountain - where Edmund Hilary & Tenzing Norgay practised before tackling Mt. Everest. We're camping at 747m above sea level, in a Dept. of Consevation site (cheap and basic) with views of the snow capped mountains from our tent. An easy hike (4 hrs round trip) took us to the base of Mt. Cook, and the Tasman glacier, which is estimated to be 600m thick. It was weird being so close to snow and ice, yet still wearing only t-shirts and shorts. Let's hope it stays mild once the sun goes down.

Round Seven

Lake Tekapu

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. There aren't enough superlatives to describe the Southern Alps here, only 40km from the coast, so I won't try. We took a wee cabin by the bluest lake ever (a mineral by-product of moving glaciers clouds the water and turns it a milky powder blue), and hiked up to the top of Mt. John, where there was an observatory and very welcome cafe - possibly the most scenic cafe in the world? And their cakes were pretty good too.
At night we lay on the lakeside beach, watching the stars multiply as the light faded. This part of NZ is reknowned for it's clear nights and minimal light pollution, and we had a glow-in-the-dark sky map to spot constellations by. There were so many clear stars we had to give up in the end. Good times.

And it tastes nice too!

Testimonial

Poor Norman.

Stinky & Pinky

But which is which?

Yum, dinner

We've had a few days of NZ hospitality at it's finest. Firstly in Kaikura we were adopted by Nicola, who insisted that we stayed with her family while in town, despite only knowing us for 10 mins. (maybe it was no coincidence we met her in a pub called Donegal House?). Nicola, her husband Glenn, and their two young sons made us feel very welcome and we had a fantastic day with them on the beach, where the boys scrambled on rocks near basking seals (lovely to watch, but really stinky up close), while Glenn donned his wetsuit to dive for crayfish and paua (a type of abalone/sea snail with mother of pearl shells) for dinner that night. 
In the afternoon we took a boat trip to spot sperm whales feeding about 20km offshore. The operators said that we might see one or two if we were lucky, and that they'd had to refund an earlier trip because of no sightings - but we saw five whales in all. Even though you only see the top of their body and tail it's enough to give an impression of their immense size, and the grace they move with for all that is something we'll remember for a long time. 
In the evening we ate Glenn's barbequed crayfish and paua and, under the clearest star-lit sky, experienced the weird sensation of a NZ North Westerly wind - where the wind actually warms you against the cooler ambient temperature. By the time we left, we felt like we'd known them for years, and hopefully we will do.
In Christchurch we'd arranged to call in on a friend's parents, Dennis & Glenys, and collect a replacement credit card that had been forwarded to them. As the weather turned from warm sun to chilly rain Glenys too insisted that we stay the night with them. Dennis was an instant hit with the boys, with his Maori stories and pool hustling tips, and Glenys' warm bubbliness made us feel instantly at home. 
So a huge thanks then to Nic, Glenn, Aston, Hagan, Dennis & Glenys for your generosity and warmth. If ever we can return the favour...   

Everyone's been telling us that the South Island is even more beautiful than the North. If our view of Picton as the ferry docked is anything to go by, they might be right.

Just the boys, hanging

Far from the madding crowd

NZ has over 35 National Parks on the two islands, it's like a country full of the Lake District. We're only going to glimpse a wee bit of it, a month here is only a taster to whet the appetite. We've already had some tough choices and had to skip 'must see' areas in order to get to other 'must see's'. There's just too much - what a complaint to have! The pace here is relaxed, the spaces open, and even the cities seem compact and easy. The weather is not dissimilar to a good British summer - lovely warm sunny days with occasional cooling breezes, mixed with the odd overcast or rainy day, then back to sunshine again. Our campervan envy has subsided and we've discovered a chain of campsites that offer cheap cabins if it gets too cold/wet. Our only problem could be that from Christmas on it'll be peak season so sites might get booked out quickly.  

L plates

Ned and Kim's first driving lesson (we were deep into a National Park and had 3 fields between us and the only other campers). Ned could just about reach the peddles if sitting on a booster seat. Kim got the hang of it quite quickly, comparing the automatic peddles to 'like driving a go-cart'.

White Christmas

What a climate! We drove up Mt. Ruapehu into the clouds near the summit and into a snow storm (still in shorts). But within 10 mins drive we were back down below surrounded by sunshine and palm trees. Amazing.

Chilly

We've moved on into the centre of the north island now, to the Tongariro National Park. This is the group of volcanoes used in filming Lord of the Rings. They are still active, the most recent eruption from the snow capped one on the right was only 2 years ago. We are quite high on the island's central plateau here, so consequently it's very cold. Camping wasn't much fun, (ice on the cars in the morning) but we survived. All very excited at the scenery, as it is such a dramatic contrast to where we've just come from.

Te Puia geyser

Te Puia is a Maori cultural cantre built on sacred geothermic land, with geysers and boiling mud pools at it's heart. We glimpsed a kiwi bird in an artificial nocturnal chamber (which would explain why we'd not seen any in the wild yet), learned about the Haka, and Kim got to ask "why do Maori's always stick their tongues out like that?".

Huge Luge

We all had a go on a luge ride today, where a cable car transports you to the top of a steep hill and you ride down in unpowered carts on a winding concrete track. Ned the Fearless scoffed at any notion of braking for corners, while Kim mastered the art of overtaking at speed. And as the marketing slogan said 'once is never enough'. Amazingly, none of us have any injuries to report.

Rotorua

We're in Rotorua now, or Stinky Town as it's become affectionately known due to the all pervading wafts of sulphur. The whole town is built on geothermic land, and we're camped right next to a lake where you can dig a hole in the sand to make your own hot spring bath. Even the ground under our tent is heated, and we can hear the volcanic mud pools bubbling away nearby at night.

Te puke, or not te puke...

Priorities

Life out of a car boot

So here's to the high life! We've got an old Mazda to pootle around in, and we're topping and tailing in a 3 man tent. We're trying hard to convince ourselves that we wouldn't rather be in an all-mod-cons camper van, but the reality is that even if we'd booked one months ago, it would still have been too expensive for all 4 of us. Met a couple today who've found it cheaper to buy a camper outright and sell it on at the end of their trip, than to rent it over summer. The weather's been great here so far (all 4 days of it), t-shirt warm with low humidity and gentle breezes. Fingers crossed it continues...

Kiwi Christmas Tree

After a week in Sydney we wanted a change from cities, so headed straight out of Auckland. Currently on the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island, which has stunning ocean side drives past scenery that reminds me of Ireland - an abundance of green, in every shade and shape. Our first night camping was in a basic site in the middle of National Park forest, where we skinny-dipped in the river for our morning wash. We're following the coast for a day or two (beautiful beaches and sweeping views from mountain passes), before heading inland on our way south.
We've seen lots of the tree in the pic above here, it's known as the Kiwi Christmas Tree because it only blossoms in December. The bright red flowers might not show up too well above, but they stand out against the green hillsides here and look very festive.

Michael Jackson up ahead?

We're heading off to New Zealand today. We wanted to hire a campervan but prices have shot up as it's peak summer season there now. So we've booked a car and will pick up a couple of cheap tents instead (hopefully). Sydney was great, and having never been interested in Australia before (we only stopped here because we had to change flights anyway), I'd now like to see more of the country. Is it too early to be planning our next trip?
Here's hoping for good Kiwi weather...

Wishing you...

Told you the wind would change...

Trying on latex masks in the Rock market.

A good day today, we rode the open topped tour bus around Sydney, hopping on and off at various points. We've oggled the Opera house, mooched around the market, and chowed-down in Chinatown. Finished the day with carols sung in front of a giant neon Christmas tree in Darling Harbour, which felt surreal not only because we were sitting in T-shirts but because of the flying-fox bats circling the tree overhead.
Sydney still feels very relaxed, especially as this is the peak shopping/party time. If only Oxford St in London was this quiet 3 Saturdays before Christmas.
Annie succinctly summed up Sydney's mix of modern and quaint architecture, chilled vibe and nautical flavour by describing it as "like Bristol, but with sunshine".

Round Six

Kangaroo Poo

Close encounter

Eyeballing a python

Bondi

Had to have a day at Bondi beach, it'd be rude not to. Made the typical Brits in Oz error of under-estimating the sun (or the effect of the ozone hole hovering overhead).
Final result:
Whinging Poms=0
Sunburn=4.

Sydney

Arrived in Sydney at 6.30am, but as it's 4 hours ahead of Bangkok that made it 2.30am by the body clock. Ouch.
Found a comparatively cheap room with 4 bunkbeds (class!), and set off for a quick explore of the area. First impressions of Sydney are that it's quiet, spacious and, for a big city, calm - especially after SE Asia. The biggest surprise was the weather: cold winds and rain, not at all what we ordered!
The pic above was taken from the Sydney Tower - we're at the top of the long shadow on the far right.

Sydney Aquarium.