Ashfield House Bed & Breakfast Temuka

Left Dunedin at about 10 and drove straight to the Moeraki Boulders. The boulders themselves were very impressive, but there were heaps of people swarming all over them. Some of the boulders were broken and cracked and the kids enjoyed climbing on them. After we'd had enough we drove to Oamaru and ...

... s personal caravan. We are so lucky they offered it to us. It's great, we have a little fridge, TV and all. Brian can't stand up straight but is surviving. One of the truck drivers was staying here and our friends Mark and Jo. However, Mark and Jo were chased away by the driver. The first weekend we were all hanging out, and they asked us out to dinner and the driver went with us too. He's a very nice guy - but almost weird ...

... bunny and two legendary big black pigs that just nuffled around and ate soil. We filled the van with fuel and filled the Jess with chocolate off-cuts from a choccy shop to finish the drive to Tekapo. Lake Tekapo wasa bizarrely luminous blue colour, but very beautiful. And extremely cold. (J, I did jump in the next morning for about ten seconds when I thought the bones in my feet were freezing)! Top place, we even saw a Chinese couple draggin their old mamma up a ...

... the dramatic peak of Mt Cook as the back drop. We stop at regular intervals towards the town taking loads of photos at each stop, some of which i intend to turn into full framed versions when we have a more permanent base. The colour of the lake is amazing, the glacial waters that feed it contain large amounts of the mineral Mica, which is a flaky type of rock which causes refraction of light through the water turning it a bright turquoise colour. This effect can be seen when the sky is ...

... We also got to enjoy the superbowl at a great sports bar - surprisingly packed and full of Americans!! After leaving Christchurch we ventured to the tiny town of Peel Forest. We stayed at an eco-lodge which is a cabin/lodge in the middle of the woods taht is energy concious and utilizes ways to conserve water and energy in everyway possible. It felt great to be out in the middle of nowhere and enjoy relaxing with ...

... 15 and then begin the most beautiful show of nature - 15 minutes of sunset on the mountains and the amazing clouds above them. We couldn't stop taking pictures and being amazed by the views. It was the most beautiful sight I've ever seen! I just can't describe it in words. We didn't want to leave, but just before darkness we started climbing down (it's was too foolish to stay up there further more with no flashlights) and got back to the hut fulfilled with the ...

... Nelson and, of course, Russell. Those are easy and you don't forget them. But Kaikoura, Akaroa, Whangarei and the rest; well, they escape us and we keep asking each other, "What was the name of that place again?" When the Kiwis pronounce the names of these places for us, it doesn't help. Their accent makes it just that much more difficult. Simple words sound different. "Yes" comes out as "Yees" (yeast without the 't'). "There" comes out as "Theer." A ...

... we were all very excited to see the area in the daylight. I ended up getting pretty sick that night, and luckily, felt better in the morning. In the morning, we headed over to the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Center, where we walked around this museum filled with old climbing equipment and movies. We got to see the "World's Southern-most Plantearium" and watch a 3D movie about Mt. Cook.

After the Routeburn I spent another day in Queenstown to recover. In fact I decided to sample one of the local adrenalin activities.... the Canyon Swing. I had spoken to a few people who had already done it and they all seemed to enjoyed it more than the bungy jumps. I joined a group of 6 people and we were all strapped into harnesses. The guys who work there asked who was going to go first and nobody volunteered, but eventually I gave in and headed to the edge of the platform ...

... again across the Alps. Our path is only one of the three that cut across these impressive mountains that form the backbone of the South Island. Through the Otira Gorge with waterfalls cascading overhead, a quick break at Arthur's Pass, then back down onto the Canterbury Plains. We then said farewell to our travelling companions.