New Zealand

Milford Sound is a truly spectacular sight and the boat cruise is the only way to experience it. However there is nothing else to do there (at the sound) other than the boar cruise and if you are not going further south than Te Anua it is a long journey (even though it is just a short hop west from Queenstown as the crow flies).

However it is a must as the journey from Te Anua to Milford Sound is one of the most spectacular that we undertook in the whole of NZ. The lakes you pass, the tall mountains on each side capped with snow, the avalanches of snow and rock that have (come) crashing down to try and bury the road all the time, the crazy hole that heads straight down into the mountain that they call a tunnel, etc makes this a truly exciting road trip.

The conditions at Cardrona are very good, lots and lots of soft powder. The road getting up and down is a bit scary, especially in our camper van but so far we have survided two days and still not had to use snow chains.

It was a bit of a shock to the system on the first day as we had forgotten everything, couldn't even do a single turn. Am glad that we booked a lesson for the first morning and by lunch time all was good again as it came back fast with the help of a bit of instructions.

Marie is doing great, much better already than by the end of last time at Whistler.

We have one more day of snow boarding tomorrow and then on Friday we will head even further south to the fiords, which promises to be really good at this time of year. Not sure of our journey from there though as we have already spent a day in Queenstown, and we were originally going to spend a night there on our way back up to Christchurch - will see how it goes.

NZ doesn't really have any resorts on the ski slopes so you need to stay in either Wanaka or Queenstown of you are going to visit one of the many slopes in this area. Which one I suppose depends on which slope(s) you are going to and what you are looking for (as some slopes are more or less equal distance from both towns).

We prefer Wanaka as it gives more of that ski town / resort feel. It is for smaller and cosier and has a good vibe. I also found the setting slightly more beautiful. If however you are looking for more action then Queenstown might be your bet as they have the bungy, jet boat, gondala etc (which is what makes them more of a tourist stop than just a ski resort). Of course it is very easy to pop over to Queenstown for a visit on your rest day, which is what we did.

The pass from Wanaka to Queenstown is spectaculiar with incredible views, but don't attempt during - or just after - snow as it could be closed (or very scary).

We are staying in a resort in Wanaka for the next 5 days while we snowboard so good to be out of the camper van for a bit. Also be nice to sleep in a real bed and not have to defrost our clothes in front of the heater each morning before we can put them on.

Need to go and climb in the spa now, later

9 days in and our first day of rain!! But it did try and make up for the all the sun we have had so far. Started the day from the West coast of the South Island at Franz Jozef and headed down for a bit before turning inland to Wanaka. This place (west coast of South Island) gets between 8 to 9 metres of rain a year! Rain has stopped now and looks to be clearing so should be all set for the snowboarding tomorrow on fresh powder (rain down here means snow up there !!!)

Every little town we go through is known for something in NZ. They each have their little bit too be proud of. Either they have the longest single-lane bridge, or the second-biggest lake on the south island, or the most photographed tree etc... (so can get rather obscure, but they idea is great).

Yesterday I flew over the Franz Jozef glacier by helicopter. Landed on it and walked around between the huge blocks of ice - and even crawled through a 5m long tunnel. Amazing experience and the only way to truly understand (and hear) the tremendous forces at play here. If you are going to visit the glaciers then I would recommend Franz Josez over Fox Glacier. Not only is Franz Jozef more spectacular, but it is also easier to get close to and experience by car and foot. The town and accomodation at Franz Jozef is also far better (nothing happens at Fox).

Left Taupo this morning and made our way to mnt Ruapehu. Spent some time sliding down the slopes on a piece of plastic. Weather has been fantastic so far, we have been very lucky and hope it holds. In fact we have heard it is better than Cape Town.

Changed our plans a bit today and made our way to the west coast to Whanganui so that we have a shorter journey to Wellington tomorrow - this will give us more time to explore Wellington.