The last time we left you, we had just over a week left in NZ, and what a packed week that was! I guess we should start where we left you in Kaikoura.

The Maori word Kaikoura actually means "eat crayfish" as this is the local speciality. We didn't sample any as it is quite expensive, despite its abndance, but this is a seafood place in general, so we had to try some of the local "fush and chups" (said in the best Kiwi accent - although we did see a t-shirt with that spelt out later in our stay!).

This lunch was served after Annalie took to the Pacific Ocean for another Kaikoura speciality - whale watching. It is one of the lucky places on earth that has resident whales residing just off shore. These are usually juvenile male Sperm Whales who are waiting to mature before heading out to the open sea to find a mate. The area is great for this giant beast because there is the equivalent of the Grand Canyon under the sea just a short boat ride off the coast.

Ian chose not to participate in this trip for fear of spending most of the time bent over the rails or camped on the toilet! So Annalie went along on her own - but with Ian's camera for company. Admittedly it was probably a wise move on Ian's part, as there were a few people worse for wear during the journey!

The boat staff are experts at locating and tracking these whales using specific equipment. It has to be quite a science as the Sperm Whale holds the record for holding its breath the longest, at over 2 hours. As the whale watching cruise was only 2.5 hours, that could make for a very fruitless trip. Luckily the company offers an 80% money-back guarantee if no whales are spotted. This was clearly not required on the day of our cruise as there were two spottings, although we think it was the same whale. Still, it was enough to make it worthwhile. Seeing these huge, majestic creatures quite close up was a surreal experience. The icing on the cake has to be the tail "flute" which signifies the Sperm Whale's deep dive to feed.

Once that was over, and lunch was had, we hit the road again, this time to the mountain spa resort of Hanmer Springs. We'd given ourselves a day and a half there to get some R&R, but we started our stay with a late afternoon game of golf. Although it has to be one of the worst games either of us has played in a very long time. Still. it got the legs moving after a couple of hours on the road.

The next morning we had booked ourselves a 2.5 hour horse ride to explore the countryside at a more sedate pace. Annalie was given a pretty forward-going mount called Tom(ahawk) who liked, and seized, his opportunities to canter. Ian settled on a few trots with his sensible mare called Katie. The "John Wayne" feeling certainly took effect very soon afterwards and we both started to feel sore - not helped by the fact that we'd spent a couple of hours mountain biking just the other day. But what a good day to choose to go to the spa?! Anyone would think we had planned it that way ;-) A relaxing steam was followed by a soothing massage to take away the aches and pains. Once all that was completed, it was time to hit the thermal pools at Hanmer Springs. As it was getting quite late (7pm) and all the pools are outdoors, many of the pools had cooled down. The hottest pools were the sulphur springs, but we didn't want to try them for some reason! We didn't stay in there very long and rinsed off before going out for a roast dinner.

The following morning we travelled to the West Coast, over the mountains through the Lewis Pass to Greymouth. As a major port, we were expecting a bustling little town. However we were rather disappointed to find that it was actually pretty dead. Even at 1pm on a Saturday afternoon. Many of the town centre shops were shut and finding a lunch pit stop was also tricky. We had a Monteith's Brewery Tour booked at 4pm so we had a relaxed lunch and then headed out of town to the supermarket to get some provisions and had a drive around to kill some time.

The brewery is actually a very small operation, as most of the beer (and now cider!) is made by two other breweries around the country. However the Greymouth site is the historic site that originally produced the beer to the same recipe that a Scottish settler imported during the Gold Rush. The tour was informative, but most of us were there just in anticipation of the tasting session at the end ;) Seven beers were on offer, as well as the new Crushed Apple Cider that has tempted Ian's palette this holiday. After sampling each of the beers, from the aforementioned cider to the Monteith's Black stout, we were all let loose on the pumps and able to sample as much as we were able to. With a short drive ahead of us, we didn't go mad, but our firm favourites were Monteith's Radler and the cider. We did manage to coin a new nickname for the Radler beer, which is normally referred to as a "girlie beer" as it is a nice, light lager, with lemon and lime juice added. However, one of the guys on the tour was talking about his liking for this particular tipple and he was getting ribbed for it being a girlie drink. So Annalie helped him out by suggesting it was really a "man shandy"!!! It really does taste like shandy but is actually 5% strength. Very drinkable and very dangerous!! If you're in the UK, look out for the Monteith's beer and cider in Waitrose. In the US they export to Trader Joe's. Luckily we've got one of those over near West Farm's Mall, so we think Ian may be sent on a scouting mission next week ;)

After our beer sesh was finally closed, we got back in the camper for the short drive to Hokitika for our nightly stop. On the way down, we crossed many single lane bridges, which is not something you expect to see on a State Highway - or the Kiwi version of a motorway! On this drive we met possibly the most bizarre bridge of all, which was single lane AND shared with a railway line!! We're guessing the train gets priority! After all, we wouldn't argue with it!

We decided to go on a scenic drive around some of Hokitika's landmarks the following morning, although this did take us well out of our way. No matter, it was only 2 hours to our next stop. Ian proposed a trip to Dorothy Falls while Annalie wanted to see the Hokitika Gorge. We were slightly worried that we would be disappointed after driving so far out of our way, but thankfully both sites provided wonderful scenery and photo opportunities. The Gorge in particular had a stunning coloured river, a strong green-blue, that is probably influenced by the presence of pounami - or greenstone - throughout the valley.

From there it was a case of hitting the road and heading for Franz Josef Glacier. We had booked a full day hike on the glacier to enable us to see some true "blue" ice and get above the dirty stuff at the bottom of the slide. When we arrived to a beautiful afternoon in the town, we thought it might be novel and more fun to actually do a heli hike. We were still hurting from the horse riding and the thought of a full-day of walking and climbing was not the most appealing. So we booked ourselves on an early heli-hike based on the warning that, if the heli-hike was cancelled, we could still go on the full-day hike.

We went to bed to a clear night and much anticipation. During the night, however, the heavens rolled in and duly opened. We should have known better based on our experiences of this holiday! The cloud cover was so low the following morning, even though it wasn't raining, the helis were all cancelled. So we got kitted out and braced ourselves for a full day on the ice.

It was an awful lot of walking, but it was also a lot of fun. We saw some stunning ice colours and formations as we trekked around at about 900m above sea level, having gained about 700m during the climb. And it wasn't even that cold - although that may have something to do with our clever use of clothing layers! As we neared the end of our walk in the late afternoon, the heavens opened again, but it was fine. We were on our way in as it was so we weren't that bothered. It would have been a different matter if it had done that all day!

After a nice warm shower to heat us up, we headed out for dinner. Even though it was our last night in the 'van, we were too tired to contemplate cooking, even though we already had some leftover spag bol from the previous night! It turned into an appetiser for Ian ;) So we headed to The Landing in the village to sample the goodies. A reasonably-priced menu belied the HUGE portions that came out. Even though ours were large, we were still gobsmacked by the size of some of the other meals making an appearance! Needless to say we were completely stuffed once that was over and done with, but we'd earned it with our exhausting day on the glacier.

Waiting for us the next morning was our longest drive of the holiday from Franz Josef to Queenstown - our final destination for this trip. It was approximately 450kms and the satnav was telling us that it would take around 4 hours 40 minutes. However, that most definitely wasn't allowing for a) the windy roads, b) the scenery, and c) the pit stops we required along the way! We planned a breakfast stop in Haast, around 180kms from Franz Josef and signalled the end of out coastal drive. Lunch was looking out over Lake Wanaka, before we took the back road into Queenstown. We were really glad the satnav took us the back way rather than down the highway as we were left with some amazing views of Queenstown as we descended through the mountains into town.

After checking into our hotel it was time to wave goodbye to the faithful old camper. Despite the niggles we'd experienced with it, we had lots of fun, but at least we no longer had to assemble the bed each night and unassemble it again in the morning any more. Well, we didn't always unassemble it ;) We ditched the 'van and headed back into town on the bus, meeting a very talkative Scottish bus driver who informed us that Dunedin, a southern town that we didn't get to, was literally a copy of Edinburgh.

We explored the town a little to get our bearings and then decided to try out the local speciality sport - frisbee golf! There is a course laid out in the local gardens and you can hire or buy frisbees all over town. We decided to hire as we weren't sure how many times we would play and off we headed. With the same rules as golf (effectively) it was easy to understand, but a lot harder to get the hang of! This first round had us all over the place and over par in double figures!

After dinner that night, we popped into the casino to see what that was like. Compared to our usual haunts in CT, this place was just TINY! a couple of tables of each card game and roulette, and about 20-30 slots. Not the mini-cities we're used to at Mohegan or Foxwoods, which even appear bigger than most of the Vegas casinos we've visited. Still, we thought we'd sit down and give the $5 blackjack table a whirl. A couple of hours of fun saw us walk away $40 up, so we took that and ran.

On the way out that night, Annalie spotted a shop that she knew they would both want to visit, so the next morning she dragged Ian into the British Lolly Shop. It is truly like an old-school sweet shop that you used to visit when you were kids (I clearly remember two on Oldham Road!). Old favourites were there in their jar glory, including Rainbow Crystals, Uncle Joe's Mint Balls, Bon Bons (of various different flavours), Midget Gems, Cherry Lips, Porky Pigs, Cola Bottles etc, etc. We couldn't help but buy some Rainbow Crystals, Rhubarb and Custard and a Double Lolly! The best bit is that you can sample anything you fancy that's in the jars!

The next morning we were booked to take a scenic flight from Queenstown to Milford Sound and then take a cruise before flying back. Despite a lovely day in Queenstown, the flight company claimed the weather in Milford was not quite so idyllic, so we rebooked for Friday morning. With a day freed up, we meandered around town trying to figure out what crazy activity to do. Queenstown is known as the adventure capital of the world and has retained that status since inventing the bungy jump over 40 years ago. The variety of heart-stopping things to do is mind-boggling, but Annalie quite fancied doing a canyon swing. Another, less scary alternative was the Nevis Arc, so we opted for that one, and to do it tandem as well so we could share the fear at close range!

A 40-minute ride out to the site, which also included the highest bungy in Queenstown, lead us to a majestic view over a river valley below. There wasn't much opportunity to get scared as there were only a few jumpers before us before it was our turn. Unlike a bungy, or the canyon swing, you don't have to jump off or let yourself go like the other activities. So when it came to our turn, the controller gave us a countdown from five, but let us go on three, making it most unexpected! This didn't dampen our experience though as the freefall quickly turned into a controlled swing that felt quite tame compared to some of the things we've done in the past!

Another night at the casino saw us walk out another $40 up - we seemed to be getting the hang of things ;) Although sometimes it was quite frustrating watching what some people were doing, like splitting 10s/picture cards! We have no idea what that was all about!

Thursday saw another round of frisbee golf, although we'd decided to buy frisbees because we'd figured we'd play enough times to justify buying, based on the cost of hiring. Ian had gone for a solo round on Wednesday and got talking to some locals who provided him with some inside knowledge. He imparted this on Annalie and it improved her game no end!

We also had another pre-booked activity, this time on the Shotover Jet. Billed as the world's most thrilling jet boat ride, it certainly didn't disappoint as the boat raced through canyons, missing the rock walls by centimetres and throwing us into crazy 360 degree spins. But the best thing was the heated hand rails ;) Seriously, it was a cracking ride and even included some educational bits, which we weren't quite expecting. But then the Kiwis seem to be into that kind of thing. Ian voted it the best thing we'd done so far, and with only 1.5 days to go, that will be tough to beat.

When we returned to town, we headed up the gondola to get the obligatory high-level views of Queenstown. There was also a luge here, as there was in Rotorua and apparently owned/operated by the same company. The experience was much tamer in Queenstown though - which was surprising considering the town's reputation and adrenalin-fuelled crowd. But it was still fun. When we descended we thought we'd have a go at the local indoor crazy golf course that looked, well, a bit crazy! It housed the most elaborate mini golf course we've ever seen, with intricate obstacles and "lucky dip" tubes where you can only guess which chute your ball will come out of! When you finish you get a free Chuppa Chups lolly as well - that alone made it worth it! ;)

Friday morning came around and we set off on our scenic flight to Milford Sound in near perfect conditions. Clear blue skies and just a light breeze ensured prime viewing conditions from the tiny 6-seater plane. The pilot took us "the long way round" to enable us to see some of the spectacular mountain scenery that surrounds this part of the country. We even got a glimpse of the tallest peak in NZ - Mount Cook - despite being about 100kms away from it. That might indicate how clear the day was.

The Milford Sound cruise was equally picturesque, but where we've been so spoilt over the last three weeks with some stunning scenery, we almost started to take these things forgranted. Now that does sound wrong! A quick hop back on the plane and we were back in Queenstown by 1pm. After a spot of lunch we headed out to the frisbee golf course again in the late afternoon sun and then hit the Monteith's bars to take in some more of the addictive brew! In one pub, the Pig 'n' Whistle, they were bringing around sausage sarnies for free, so we sampled a couple of those. Then we got talking to some Kiwis and ended up sharing some of their snacks. So although we'd planned to have a nice meal as it was our night in NZ, we didn't actually need it! So we hit the casino one last time. For once it was Ian who had the luck of the cards and he managed to walk away $110 up.

Our final morning saw us head over to the Lolly Shop to stock up on some goodies to take home with us to CT. This time we met the owner who happens to be from Rochdale! Although Annalie had guessed he was from that neck of the woods as he hasn't lost the accent one bit. After repacking everything (properly for a change!) we had one last round of frisbee golf to while away another hour and then headed back to the hotel to wait for our ride to the airport. When we checked in for our flight from Queenstown to Auckland, we discovered that we'd received a small upgrade from normal economy to the extra legroom economy, which was nice. Maybe Annalie's contacts with Air New Zealand paid off ;)

And so ended our trip of a lifetime to the Land of the Long White Cloud (as it is apparently nicknamed!). Others may know it as Middle Earth, or the place where sheep outnumber people. We couldn't recommend it highly enough and think everyone should visit at least once. We've been here three weeks and we've just scratched the surface of this vast country. Would we come back? Quite possibly, but Ian would only do it if he could fly Business all the way ;)