All Summer Long

Rotorua wins the award for most interesting landscape on our journey so far. Sitting in the footprint of a volcano, we were surrounded by steaming rock, choking for several days on the smell of sulphur escaping from the ground. While…

We’ve been living in a volcano. The plane that brought us here was a thin, protracted tomb carried on the wings of a gnat, courtesy of Air New Zealand. All was going swimmingly until the crew offered us a complimentary…

Drifting across country from the West Coast of New Zealand, we spent a couple of days in Christchurch and it’s surrounding areas before departing finally from the South Island. The city has been devastated by earthquakes and a drive through…

We walked to Franz Josef Glacier from our accommodation in its township. The route took us over a bridge that’s on the edge of collapse (in line with Nicola’s nerves crossing it) and beside a river coloured with that unique shade…

Oamaru’s Victorian district and heritage trail showcases impressive architecture that has been well preserved from the 19th century, as well as many shops and cafes that approximate the atmosphere and decor of the era. There’s plenty of folk shuffling about…

On Thursday we took a cable car to the top of Bob’s Peak in Queenstown. Looking up at the cliff was nauseating enough, but it’s extra discomforting when the path to the steepest gondola in the southern hemisphere walks you…

On Wednesday we took a trip to Milford Sound, which is an inlet of the Tasman Sea surrounded by rainforest, cliffs and waterfalls. The coach journey took around four hours and is considered to be one of the top ten…

It was a slow descent as we were lowered into New Zealand through the black and white-frosted mountains. We’re used to landing in tear-stained, watercolour England after sunning our necks abroad for a couple of weeks, but what a contrast it…