New Zealand

December 2007 - January 2008

After a very long flight we arrived late afternoon in Auckland and spent a few days there before travelling in our hired car to Paihia. We spent the next few days dolphin watching, drove on the 90 Mile Beach and also managed to do some sand surfing. From the Bay of islands we drove to Coromandel where we visited Hahei, the Hot Water Beaches and hiked to Cathedral Cove. From Coromandel we drove to Rotorua visiting geysers, craters and mud pools. After spending Christmas at Lake Taupo we drove to Napier, where we visited some wineries. We then spent a few days in Wellington before crossing the Cook Strait for the south island. We celebrated the new year in Picton and from there we travelled to Golden Bay, staying in Motueka. We then visited Abel Tasman N.P. and took the west coast to Franz Josef Glacier. There we took a helicopter flight over Franz Josef, Fox Glacier and Mount Cook. Next we drove all the way to Queenstown and after a couple of days we stayed at Te Anau from where we visited Milford and Doubtful Sounds. We drove further south to The Catlins and then on to Dunedin and The Otago Peninsula. From Dunedin we drove all the way to Kaikoura where the next day we took a boat trip for some whale watching. Our last destination on the south island was at Christchurch and after a few days we flew to Auckland. After two days in Auckland we took the long flight back home.