Abundant wildlife, the Catlin wilderness and Milford Sound... (7th-15th April)

After an amazing time on the peninsula, we continued our journey south along the southern scenic highway and boy did it live up to it's name!

We made a quick pit stop in Dunedin to walk up the worlds steepest street. Honestly, you can't even imagine the incline of this street. From the bottom, the top section of the road looked almost vertical! We managed to walk up along with the many crazy drivers revving their cars so to reach the top - I'm pleased we left the van at the bottom. On the way back down we picked up our certificate, yes really, just in case you didn't believe us! Apparently there's a race every year called the gutbuster where people run up and down the street for fun, they must be mad!

Thanks to the good old lonely planet guide and the mass of leaflets we've managed to accumulate, we set out towards the catlins. It's an area renowned for fantastic scenery and wildlife encounters so we were both really looking forward to exploring the area.

Following our guide books, we pulled off the highway to make the perilous and somewhat bumpy drive to Nugget point. I'm loving driving the van but on nice smooth Tarmac roads, not narrow gravel tracks! The view from the lighthouse at the top was well worth the drive despite being battered by the wind. We found some shelter in the bird hide just before dusk to watch the yellow eyed penguins ride the waves back to dry land and waddle to their nests. We didn't have the best view due to gigantic zoom lenses and tripods everywhere you moved but we were pleased to catch a glimpse of a few before heading to our campsite for the night.

The next day, in search of our daily coffee fix, we found quite possibly the weirdest front garden we've ever seen. The garden was named 'teapot land' and was crammed full of any and every type of teapot you could think of, all neatly stacked and 'artistically' arranged around a water feature, strange people!

We continued along the scenic highway and stupidly decided to visit every 'brown tourist signed' attraction that we came to on the drive to our next campsite. It seemed like a great idea at the time..... We visited 4 waterfalls (all very beautiful and hidden deep inside amazing forests), 1 blowhole (a subterranean cave where the roof has collapsed), 2 beaches (deserted but lovely) and an old disused tunnel (creepy with a good echo). By the time we reached our campsite at curio bay we were exhausted! I was very excited though as we found out that there were penguins making an appearance down at the beach. We rushed down there and soon found ourselves up close and personal with the penguins. It was So much better than the day before as we were pretty much stood right next to them on the beach instead of being crammed into a bird hide. A Truly amazing experience and even better that it was all for free, no tours needed, bonus!

The following morning at low tide, we checked out the 'petrified fossil forest'. Basically it's a whole load of tree stumps and trunks that have been fossilised and uncovered by the sea. Tom loved it and spent ages clambering across the rocks and fossils whereas I spent my time watching out for more penguins!! We also ventured to the cathedral caves, which again can only be seen at low tide. They were huge caves in the cliff faces and got pretty dark and scary the further back you went. We forgot to take a torch, typical so ventured as far as we dared before chickening out and heading back! Our last stop on the catlins scenic trail was slope point, the most southernly point of the country. We took the obligatory photos as we stared out into the vast ocean in front of us. Crazy to think that the next land mass you would reach would be the antarctic!

Having fully experienced the catlins, we headed towards a place called te anau on the heart of fiordland. The landscape here was just amazing and I found it difficult to concentrate on the driving as all I wanted to do was take it all in. Luckily, there were lots of stops and Tom took lots of photos along the way, in fact I actually can't stop him taking photos (he's taken over my job!)

After checking out the town, we made our way to a place called rainbow reach (where there was actually a rainbow) to attempt to walk a section of the famous keppler track. It was a beautiful walk through forests and past some lord of the rings filmsets! Although I have to be honest, most of the scenery in NZ looks as though it's straight from the lord of the rings movie so who's to know the difference?!?

Having recovered from our walk the previous day, we set out on a 2 hour journey along the Milford highway. It is supposed to be one of the best drives in the world and we can definitely see why! The drive takes you into the heart of fiordland and allows you to access the stunning Milford sound at the end. The drive was pretty scary at times, horrifically windy roads and a huge dark tunnel that seemed vertical at points, through a mountain. We booked ourselves onto a scenic cruise and spent the next few hours being wowed by the completely amazing scenery. I don't think the photos do it justice at all. The sheer size of the fiord, the mountains and huge waterfalls either side was incredible! We were also lucky enough to spot some dolphins and seals from the top deck of the boat too. All in all a fantastic experience that I would totally recommend!

So that's us up to date for now and a very rare update from me I know, will have to pull my finger out! We are both happy, healthy and still very much living the dream :)

Love to you all, shello & Tommo x x x x

Finding 'big' things in a very Scottish looking New Zealand...

So with our introduction to campervan living going smoothly we left the confines of the beautiful Akaroa and drove on to another small campsite before leaving the area. Turns out this campsite, although we'd pretty much stumbled upon it, was slightly insane. I think we may have said this before about another place but it was like walking into our friend Clarky's head. The campground itself was small but had many bits and pieces coming off it. The stream which cut through it was flanked on both sides by furniture, small sofas, wicker chairs, seats shaped like eggs hanging from trees and even a chaise-long. As we ventured further into the trees we stumbled upon another area of weirdness, a giant mud toboggan. This area also had a wooden stage. We went further. At the top, with fantastic views down the valley were two white single sofa's, comfy chairs to watch a perfect sunset. Awesome. Bit of a strange place but a great find, seems perfectly set up for a small boutiquey festival or the setting for a bad dream.

That night we would start to feel the cold. This being essentially NZ's equivalent of October things are starting to feel very autumnal. Although the days are beautifully sunny in the most part, the nights have been clear but chillingly cold. Still, the bed in the camper is humungous! We just have to sleep in our wooly hats...

So the next morning we were on our way, this time away from the Christchurch area and out into NZ proper. We had planned to stay a night in a place called Methven but after arriving got the feeling that this wasn't really a place worth staying, not unless the rusty hammer museum took your fancy. From there we headed on to an area on the edge of the alps called Peel Forest. Completely deserted and totally devoid of other tourists we paid the DoC (department of conservation) fee and settled in for the night. The next morning we woke early to take on a trek through ancient Podocarp forests, essentially trees that have been untouched since the age of the dinosaurs. We walked though steep forest tracks, mostly in thick mud for about seven kilometres. We even managed to get a hug off of one of the worlds biggest trees, a massively impressive Totara. It was just one of those moments when we just both stood there slack jawed for what was in front of us. It just made you realise, in some little way, how small and insignificant we are when measured up to the size and significance of these remarkable trees, some more than 1000 years old.

From there we travelled through a mix of backward and interesting towns until we reached our next destination, Lake Tekapo. All along the national highway, never bigger than one lane. After pulling off the main highway we were introduced to a lake of the most stunning blue you can think of, much like the rest of NZ's water. Turns out what makes it so blue is actually a type of thick sediment ironically making most of NZ's lakes very unclear, Birmingham has unclear water's but they don't look like that! Anyway dodging past the hoards of Asian tourists we visited the Church of the Good Shepard, a small but amazingly positioned church sat strikingly on the edge of the lake. Also, a few hundred metres away sat a tall bronze statue dedicated towards the collie dog, apparently so instrumental to the success of the area as a major wool producer, from the sheep, not the dog.

Lake Tekapo is also famous for it's clear night sky with it being surrounded by tall mountains and being so far from any largish town. The skies here were astonishing, not quite as clear as when we were in Laos but clear nonetheless. Problem was that it was so cold outside, maybe something approaching freezing, that it made standing outside with your neck tilted a bit of a tough one. Still, at least the old man in the next campervan next to us would fill us with happiness. Or maybe not. Essentially the guy has cancer and his daughter, who he travelled with to this part of the world a few years ago, died of cancer too, so he was basically on some kind of nostalgic trip. Naturally, we felt so sorry for this poor guy but he talked about death in a way that made us both just want to sit in the dark for a very long time. In the end, and I think this is where you have to salute the guy, you just have to see the funny side. Not bad going for 8am.

The next chapter of our journey involved a long trip down a road that seemed to have not a hint of a bend for 80km. Fortunately the views were just out of this world. We had arrived at Mount Cook, Australasia's tallest mountain.

After posting our site fees through the letterbox we parked literally below one of the surrounding glaciers. Waking the next morning was just unbelievable with the sun shining directly on it with a distinct chill still in the air. In fact in the dark it just looked spooky, like a giant, silent White monster. The next morning we took on the three and a half hour trek to its base which happened to be the remnants of a huge glacier. In the lake below were icebergs which had fallen off the adjacent glacier but this being right at the end of the summer meant that the ice had been more than taken over by dirt and debris from the surrounding area which gave the whole scene a bit if a messy look, it still looked amazing. Before driving on we also did a short 40 minute climb over to the Tasman glacier, the Southern hemispheres biggest. Although staggeringly huge and visually arresting we found the same issues here as with Mount Cook, the time of year meant a distinct lack of glowing white.

All in all the area was beautiful, we'd never really seen snow capped mountains before and now we have seen a whole park full of them. To wake up to that will be hard to beat anywhere.

From the middle of the country we took a long drive south eastwards towards a town called Oamaru. On the way we passed even more mountains and huge lakes and our first sighting of NZ's famous winery's. Upon arriving in Oamaru it seemed like we had pulled into a horror movie set. The fog horrifically dense and the locals peered through the mist like League of Gentleman extras, it did not look inviting. Even so, we checked into a site, whacked on some hot food and bedded in for the night. Fortunately the next morning we were greeted with a much more appealing proposition. Oamaru is a great place to spend a day. Within five minutes of parking up a guy whizzed past on a penny farthing, this would set the scene for the next few hours. Essentially, Oamaru contains the highest number of preserved Edwardian and Victorian buildings of anywhere in the southern hemisphere. Harbour street, it's main historic thoroughfare, essentially had not changed one iota since maybe 1887. It was extremely surreal but highly appealing. 150% better than the night before!

From there we headed south towards Dunedin, stopping in briefly to check out the Moeraki boulders, around two dozen perfectly cylindrical boulders that seemed to be placed in patterns half submerged in the sea. After driving for another 20kms or so we also stopped in at Shag Point named appropriately for it's native bird species it still made for a good cheap photo laugh. This stretch of coastline also houses several important colonies of fur seal, it was fantastic to see them up close as well as a very rare species of penguin called the Yellow eye. In fact all of Otago, the state we are now in, houses nearly all of NZ's marine animals, mainly due to it's location further south and being the biggest land mass between here and say, the Antarctic. Unfortunately for shell, the worlds biggest penguin fan, they didn't start waddling in until after dark. Unfortunately we couldn't wait that long, we had a city to visit!

I don't know what we were expecting to find in Dunedin, but whatever it was it certainly isn't there. Grey, depressing and dull. I think we envisioned a small Edinburgh or maybe even a few cobbled streets. I think we were just a bit stupid. It has some fantastic architecture but it really did feel like a place at the edge of the world. We couldn't wait to leave.

So there you go, Dunedin is the gateway to the Otago Peninsula, which is where we currently reside. A beautiful stretch of land that has the feel of an island. It is jam packed full of seals, sea lions, penguins and albatrosses which are all free to explore in the many inlets and secluded beaches. Apparently David Bellamy has called it an environmental marvel and you can't get a bigger recommendation than that.

Tomorrow we head as far south as it is possible to get in NZ and will be the furthest from home we will have ever been and is possible to get. Ironically, it is here, among the rolling hills, the changing colours of the trees and the weather beaten faces that we feel as close to home as we have for seven months.

Happy chocolate egg weekend. All our love and if anyone reads this, we miss you all a lot. Tommo and Shello xxxx

EFE the campervan, 'scenic' mountain hikes and sunshine on the Banks Peninsula...

At last! Our two month nomadic journey around the land of the long White cloud was upon us. We have been waiting for this part with eagerness for a long time, maybe even as far back as when we left university, some six or seven years ago now. Although we have literally had the time of our lives so far on this trip I think it was this, the idea of full independence intertwined with the potential of a country as majestic and inspiring as it is possible to get that we have been looking forward to the most.

Anyway, after leaving our brother and sister, Teeny and Rowan, we headed down to Brisbane airport with one of Rowan's friends Blakey, another awesome chap who had kindly offered to take us on the hour or so journey south as he was off to see his mum in Brisbane.

After saying our goodbyes we got through immigration and onto flight number one to Sydney with Qantas. Although only an hour and a half the plane was huge and full of business men and women. What was also great and totally unexpected was that they were trialling giving all passengers brand new Ipads to use for the in flight entertainment, absolutely awesome! We whiled away the short distance watching An Idiot Abroad and thinking how much, even to the fucking idiots, travelling can do to the soul.

After initially being refused to check in for our connecting flight we were rushed through and soon enough we were on our second flight of the day, finally over to Christchurch, our first stop on our NZ roadtrip.

Now as you may have heard, Christchurch has been hit by several deadly earthquakes over the past eighteen months so we were expecting some lasting damage and continuing repairs. It would be completely astonishing then to find the vast majority of the city, especially the CBD, completely in ruin. The city actually suffered from five devastating earthquakes which caused the critical damage and loss of life but over 10,000 aftershocks have been felt in the last year alone. We booked a guide to take us out the following day, a big Old typical Kiwi called Al who took us out in his van to show us his city. Although obviously an attractive city it is an unfortunate reality that it's most unique sight is it's sheer destruction, a continuous story of what was there before. Al was a good man and showed us everything we needed to see both in and around the city, including Littleton, a town on the other side of the hill where the original frontier men founded the city and it's surrounding towns in 1840. Although Littleton and it's surroundings were stunning the depressing reality was that Christchurch was essentially a ghost town. We have never known a city be so devoid of, well, people. Only the sound of the demolition vehicles gave any hint of any sort if civilisation. In fact it is this last point which provides so much disdain for the local population. Due to finicky and overly bureaucratic insurance companies buildings aren't allowed to be demolished in the traditional sense but taken down piece by piece, taking care to save all of the furnishings. It's crazy that although the quakes happened over a year ago, to look at it could have been last Tuesday.

Anyway, after a couple of nights in the worlds most comfortable room (shell fell in love with the bed), we were off to pick up our baby. The campervan that we would be living and travelling with for the next 56 nights. Her name, beautifully, is EFE. we love her.

After being shown the ropes by the excellent guys at the rental company we were on our way, first stop to the supermarket to fill our EFE up with bounty. It's a sad reality that of all the things we were looking forward to, doing our first campervan shop was high on the list. What horrifically sad people we have become. After stocking up on beautiful NZ wine and something called food we were on our way, on the road for two months. It didn't take long for Shell to get used to things. After a tearful start, which was probably due to not eating anything till 2pm more than anything, shell was flying around the roads between Christchurch and the Banks Peninsula, our first stop.

We opted for a small and rural campsite in a place called okains Bay. It had nothing but pine filled, unpowered pitches but it was bliss. So silent except for the lapping ocean which we had to ourselves, right on our campervan doorstep. We set off for a walk around the desolate beach before heading back to our campervan to cook our first campervan meal and to well, soak up the surroundings. What has taken us so long to do this kind of thing???? We are in our absolute element.

The next day we were up early and full of energy and excitement so we put on our walking gear and headed around the coast on a half eroded old wharf path that used to be used by whalers at the turn of the century. Although not too long it made for some heart pumping moments! On the way back we found the small campsite had installed a huge flying fox, basically a huge zipwire, so like the big children that we are proceeded to spend the rest of the morning in a fun-filled haze.

That afternoon we drove up and over the huge hill and down into Akaroa, a stunningly beautiful natural harbour with a town of the same name as it's focal point. We decided to stay at the campsite on the hill looking down on the town and the harbour. Apparently it's one of the best places to stay on the south island and they did not lie! Of all the places to wake up in the morning we cant think of anywhere more striking or beautiful, especially lately as the weather since we arrived in NZ has been awesome.

Anyway, today would be the day that would test our relationship the most. Akaroa harbour, the place we are staying, lies at the bottom of a steep valley, formed by two huge volcanoes millions of years ago. Thing is, these peaks that surround it are indescribably beautiful and the views from the top were supposed to be even better. I tried my hardest to get Shell excited for the trip up the mountain but the look of sheer dread was just too hard to shift. In all fairness, I don't think I've ever walked up something so steep. With most steep hikes you are most likely going to start somewhere approaching a quarter of the way up, we started, naturally, from ground zero. It was a momentous ask really, even for the keen rambler. Amazingly, Shell battled through the pain and leg breaking, constant climb until we reached the summit. We were actually supposed to betaking a track across the tops to finish in a big circle but got lost, somehow, down a very long and overgrown sheep track. Turns out these sheep are the luckiest around as they get to potter around with one of the most beautiful backdrops behind them. Feeling sheep like ourselves, we plonked down and fell to sleep among the mountain top grass (it was like a soft mattress) and all in the beautifully warming sun.

This place, already, has gripped us like a vice. No wonder people look at us with eyes of envy when we tell them we have two months here. Get in.

All for now, Shello and Tommo xxx