Sam and E-J's Adventure

By 6pm we were almost in Akaroa, however we decided to stay in another campsite about 20 minutes away in Okains Bay, which we had read good things about.

This campsite was situated in a 5km wood right on the bay. It also had a few basic facilities, including a shower which gave you hot water for four minutes for 2 dollars.

When we got there, we found the place to be pretty much empty, so settled in for the night, in a cosy little spot which just looked out onto the bay.

With the wind blowing straight in from the bay, we sat in the communal kitchen with a wholesome meal and a few drinks (well, actually quite a lot for E-J)! After a few glasses and feeling tired, this became a concern to Sam, as E-J ensured that anyone who was in the kitchen new of E-J, or the women who talked "like Princess Diana", as one Lady put it! However the German couple eating there at the same time, were not quite so enthralled by E-J's conversation. From Sam's point of view, E-J wasn't really making any sense and the German's couldn't understand a word she was sluring! By the time Sam finally managed to drag E-J away from any further embarrassment it was pitch black outside and we had real trouble finding where we parked the van. Somehow, we managed to take a wrong turn and found ourselves fighting our way through foliage and branches, until we finally came upon the van, by luck. Despite insisting that she was wide awake and didn't want to go to sleep, as soon as E-J's head hit the pillow she was out like a light and snoring!

The next day, with E-J feeling a little worse for wear, we headed to Akaroa. As the French believed they owned this area of New Zealand, it has a slight, quaint French feel to it, with the streets and shops written in French. This makes it feel like a place slightly removed from anywhere else in New Zealand.

After indulging in a good old fry up, we enquired with a tourist office about swimming with dolphins. This place is particularly renowned for swimming with dolphins as they have the rarest of all dolphins here, called the hector dolphins. These are also the smallest dolphins in the world and can only be found in New Zealand. They are an endangered species, so it was a real privilege to get the opportunity to swim with them. To our luck we found that there was space throughout the day, so booked ourselves on a 4pm tour with the hope that the weather would improve as it was rather overcast in the morning.

The rest of the day we spent killing time, wandering around the town (which took all of 10 minutes), surfing the net at "Le internet", in the hope that someone might have finally sent us some e-mails or put some comments on the blog! We spent the rest of the day chilling out by the bay and reading our books. It was simply blissful and by the time it was 4pm the sky had brightened and the sun was shinning.

As we got into our groups and into our wetsuits, we were relieved to find ourselves in a friendly group of seven. As we set off in our boat out of the bay, we were all told a bit of history about the dolphins and the usual safety procedures about the boat. Ten minutes later, we spotted two dolphins swimming past us and as we slowed down they started to make their way back to us to investigate. This was our chance to get into the water, which was absolutely freezing! The first challenge, was to get in without making much of a splash as we had been told that splashing to dolphins is an aggressive act and is threatening to them. The second challenge, was to not scream from the sheer agony of the freezing cold and the final challenge was to try and move in the water, as all we seemed to do was bob around from the air trapped in our wet suits.

As we acclimatized to the water, the dolphins would swim near to us and then disappear again. We were instructed to attract them by singing into the snorkels under water (as apparently they liked that noise) and to tap stones together (which were given to us before we got in). We're still not absolutely sure whether the guide was being truthful when she said this, or maybe she was just having a laugh at making us all look ridiculous. Needless to say E-J got incredibly carried away with her dolphin impressions, Sam on the other hand kept making a noise similar to a seal with a sore throat! The rest of the group just couldn't understood why...

As we continued to wait in the water, several other dolphins would swim towards us and under us, checking us out. We had bought an underwater camera, but it was impossible to get a picture of the dolphins as they swam so fast past us and the water was also very murky. A couple of times a dolphin would swim right up to the back of a person, but as soon as they tried to turn around, it has gone. Sam was the only lucky one to have a dolphin actually play with him. This was when the dolphin circled Sam and he circled around with it. It was incredible to see.

We were only allowed in the water for a maximum of forty minutes, so after the final flock of dolphins left us, we all got back in the boat shivering and very greatful to be given a cup of hot chocolate.

When we got back to Akaroa, the tour had taken a total of two hours and by now it was 6pm. All the stores were closed and with no food in our van, we resorted to eating in one of the restaurants in Akaroa. It was a beautiful evening and we sat outside by the dock, discussing what an experience the day had been.

That evening we returned to the same campsite as the night before and went to bed, without bumping into the Germans! The next day was a day of nothing, so we decided to spend the morning on the beach at our campsite (which actually turned out to be a lot colder than we had anticipated) and spent the afternoon in Akaroa.

It was really lovely just to wander around the quiet little place and have nothing to do. We have been so spoiled over the last few months, with constant activities, that sometimes you just need a day of nothing.

The following day Sam's friend Charlie met us in Akaroa. Very kindly, Charlie would be having us to stay in Christchurch during our last two nights in New Zealand. First, we went to Hicks Bay where we went surfing. Charlie had very kindly brought three surf boards down so that we all got a chance.

Having only really body boarded before, in wasn't long before E-J had, had enough of being thrown around in the sea. Also her rather lively imagination, managed to persuade her that if she stayed in the water any longer, she just might be the first shark attack to happen there. Sam on the other hand, took to surfing like a duck to water and even managed to stand up on his second go.

After a short session in the surf, we set off for Christchurch. Leaving it a bit late, we raced there to get the van back in time. Having just made it back and dropping the van off successfully we where kindly collected by Charlie and taken back tp his house where his housemate, Emily had very kindly offered to cook us supper for the night. With a few drinks enjoyed at the local pub we slept very well!

The following day, Charlie took it upon himself to entertain us. We spent the morning wandering around the shops near to his place. We stopped in a couple of surf shops and a what can only be described as a revolting second hand place, which Sam seemed to love....

The afternoon was spent surfing with Charlie and his housemate Emily, who were both fantastic surfers and made us look pretty pathetic. Sam managed to stand up a couple of times, but E-J felt as though the sea had literally slapped her in the face, from the amount of times she managed to fly over her surf board in an attempt to catch a wave. After drinking a gallon of water, E-J was the first to call it a day and after a while the others joined her too.

That evening, Charlie and Emily, joined us for a meal in the centre of Christchurch, which was lovely. After that we went to a trendy little bar in town, before heading home.

The next day, Charlie was off to work at 8am and after saying good bye and thanking him for his enormous generosity during our stay, we headed off too. We managed to work out the bus system to the centre of Christchurch, had a quick bite to eat and then caught another bus to the airport. At this stage, Sam found E-J impossible to handle, with the amount of excitment building up inside her. E-J was completely over the top about the fact that in a few hours she would see her Mummy and sister in Sydney.

The flight was only three hours and very pleasant and before we knew it we had left New Zealand and were on our way to Australia.

Sam's comments: Swimming with dolphins was not the life changing experiance people say it is meant to be, but the surfing might be! A big thank you to Charlie, a great friend.

E-J's comments: I really enjoyed the last campsite we stayed in. It was so lovely to wake up in the morning and hear the sea. Swimming with dolphins was also an incredible experience, although I wished they had wanted to play with me! Charlie was lovely and just so generous with all he did and gave to Sam and me. Staying with Charlie made it a really special end to the trip in New Zealand. Bring on OZ!

After an action packed last couple of days, we were ready to see some more of New Zealand so headed towards Mount Cook.

Having only left Queenstown at 7pm, we didn't reach the campsite until 10pm. On arriving in the pitch black, we found it to be a deserted area by a swamp like pond. With the area reminding us of a typical backdrop to a horror movie, we headed back up the road to one of those dreadful commercial campsites. When we reached it the owner informed us that they had already closed for the night. Sam, with his usual lucky charm, managed to persuade her to let us stay.

The next morning we were up early, showered and ready to start the day. It was a very freezing morning and we gave full credit with much admiration to the man sleeping in the tent next to us, with his form of transport, a bike lying on the ground next to him.

Disappointed to miss the local sheep shearing show due to our early start, we decided to drive on and make a day of our time at Mount Cook.

The windy roads on the way to Mount Cook had the most stunning views as we followed a crystal clear, blue lake all the way there.

When we reached the town nearby, we enquired about which walk to do and decided on a pleasant three hour walk. Sam, not wanting to read sign posts, insisted that his particular route was the correct route and after ten minutes of walking in a round circle, we realised that we were going in a completely wrong direction. Somehow, we had managed to join a twenty minute walk to one of the many look out points of Mount Cook. Sam suggested that it would be better to keep to this route and that he actually didn't quite fancy the thought of the three hour walk anymore!

The view was incredible and we both stood there for a while, taking in Mount Cook's monsterous size and the whiteness of its snowy peak.

We spotted a few ambitious walkers hiking up another mountain to the side of Mount Cook and thanked ourselves for not thinking we should have done anything as strenuous or stupid as that! Before we left this area, we stopped in the local cafe and reflected on all we had seen so far.

Lunch was enjoyed taking in the peace and quiet of the serene, beautiful lake, before a load of Japanese tourists all fighting for the best photo arrived. With this, we jumped back into the Camper and hit the road for the long drive to Akaroa. Although we spent over five hours on the road, it was a lovely drive surrounded by beautiful scenery.

Sam's comments: A lovely place and I felt so lucky to catch it on a beautiful day.

E-J's comments: Mount Cook and the scenery around it is simply breathtaking. I just wish we could have had a bit of a longer trek around it, but Sam is always in control when it come to directions....

We drove back to Queenstown on a beautiful morning and managed to take in some of the wonderful heritage sites on the way.

We planned to stay in Queenstown for four nights with E-J's friend Emily, who had three days off from work and had arranged a few days of adrenalin packed activities.

Emily, now renamed team leader had organised for both E-J and herself to do a paraglide in the morning of the first day and E-J not the best at flying in a plane (like her father) was dreading it. This was not helped by Sam repeatedly saying, I'll still love you even if something does happen to you and things similar like, "it was great knowing you". The guides also took it upon themselves to join in, saying that E-J's pilot had only just passed his test the day before...

It was a beautiful crisp day and E-J and Emily were jumping from Coronet's Peak, which is about 3000m above sea level. E-J, knowing that her nerves were getting worse decided to go first and before she had time to think was told to run as fast as she could off the side of the cliff.

Suddenly, she was off with her guide paragliding along the mountain edge and above the tops of thousands of alpine trees.

The views were incredible and she found herself absolutely loving it, although her hands were freezing too. The guide then asked her to hold onto the the two cords to steer the paraglide, but it wasn't long before she handed them back to him. EJ (always knowing best) also managed to tell the guide that she thought they were heading for the mountain edge! Her guide, one of the best paragliders in the world, reassured her that he knew what he was doing! As they landed, E-J's screams of terror could be heard echoing for miles as the guide sharply turned the paraglide around and down, adding a bit of a thrill to the end. E-J's landing was perfect and very smooth and as she sat comfortably on the grass she happily called out, "I'm alive!". Emily's landing wasn't quite so smooth and the poor girl could be seen tumbling on the floor as her guide tripped over her on landing.

The next part of the day was a wine tour. This was arranged with a group of other people. The guide took an immediate dislike to E-J, after E-J questioned her about something she was unsure about. From then on, whatever E-J said the guide would completely disagree, to the point that everyone started noticed. The vineyards we went to were ok, but not of the same quality that we had experienced in Mendoza and this made us realise just how spoiled we had been in South America. Also, there was no actual vineyard tour or explanation about the wineary and how it was produced. We were simply taken to one place, poured four tiny thimbles of wine to sample and then moved onto the next place. We did stop at one place to have a meal, but the portions were so small. The guide helped herself to a susbtantial amount of salmon, then made a point that everyone was only to have one piece as she saw E-J taking a second measly piece that had been left.

Despite the guides strange ways, we had a fun time during the tour and enjoyed taking in all the stunning views around us.

When the guide finally dropped us back in Queenstown, she said to Sam, 'hopefully, you'll be rid of that one soon and I hope to see you again'. Sam wasn't quite sure how to respond...

That evening, Emily had organised for us to do a tour on an old vintage steamship called the Earnslaw, along the Lake Wakatipu from one end to the other. This gave us a fantastic view of the mountain range, The Remarkables.

This was good fun with plenty more wine and on the way back E-J discovered the pianoist at the back of the boat and took it upon herself to accompany him on vocals. We're not sure if he actually appreciated it, but the rest of the boat seemed to find it rather amusing; particulary the Canadian toursist who zoomed his camera in on E-J singing away! Sam decided he felt more comfortable out on deck!

The following morning we woke to pouring rain. Emily had arranged for us to go river surfing, which involved dressing in a wetsuit and helmet and going down the river in grade 3 and 4 rapids on a body board. Madness really! On seeing the weather, Emily said she wasn't so keen to repeat it again, but E-J having not experienced anything like this before, was still determined to try it. Sam, also had to back out as his mosquito bite was starting to hurt again and he was worried that it may become infected.

The river itself was the Shotover river, but a different section to where people get taken in a speed boat. In fact in this section, you pass under the Kawarau bridge where you can see people bungy jumping off the original bungy site.

The water was freezing and after a brief paddle E-J found herself being thrown into grade 3 rapids, which felt like she was being thrown around inside a washing machine. After a minute or so the rapids died down. The guides' controll of the group was incredibly professional and they took great care in making sure that everyone stuck together and if anyone needed any help or support they were there to give it to them. In another section of rapids the group was
then told to surf the rapids, which meant you had to approach the rapids backwards and then paddle like mad to reach the crest of the rapid. Once you had caught the surf, you stayed in one place not moving forward or back, just simply bouncing up and down over the swell of it. It was a very strange experience and E-J along with three others were the only ones who were able to catch the surf, out of the group of twelve.

By the time the group reached the final rapid, E-J felt as though her lips were turning blue and having already swallowed a gallon of water asked the guide if he would help her down the last part. This made the experience far more enjoyable as she was able to sit back and enjoy the ride, while the guide found the perfect line to take her through, so that she wouldn't be pulled under and thrown around by the grade 4 rapids. It was a most exhiliarating experience.

After the tour was over, the group gathered in a pub back in Queenstown to enjoy a hot dog and a few drinks, while watching the photos of the day. Sam was bitterly disappointed to have missed out on something that looked so much fun, so decided that instead he would do a bungy jump before we left Queenstown.

The next day Emily was back in charge of the tours and we started the day early with a bus ride over to Glenorchy where we would have a jet boat ride along the Dart river, followed by a kayak back down the river. This would be organised through Emily's employer who ran the tours. Sam, again was concerned about getting his foot wet, so was only able to join us on the jet boat before he headed back to Queenstown.

The jet boat ride was good fun as we went zooming along the river and then by a signal of the drivers hand, we would suddenly be hurled around at 360 degrees, leaving our stomachs behind.

It was brilliant fun, though Sam ended up getting completely soaked by sitting on the side, much to the E-J's and Emily's amusement!

After this part of the tour, Emily and E-J said goodbye to Sam and proceeded to blow up an inflatable kayak. Once set, E-J took the front position of paddling, while Emily sat in the back steering. It wasn't long before Emily worked out that E-J was pretty useless at paddling and if she wanted to get anywhere she would have to steer and paddle.

The kayaking was great fun and at lunch time we stopped at the side and had a fantastic picnic of lots of delicious foods, while looking out at the incredible views around us. After lunch, we then got the opportunity to kayak inside some caves, which were fascinating and the water inside seemed to look like a glowing aquamarine.

When we were almost at the end of the kayaking trip, when our guide heard on the radio that all the jet boat drivers were determined to splash their work colleague, Emily.

Seeing the speed at which they went and the power of their splash, worried both Emily and E-J, so that each time a jet boat was on its way round, Emily and E-J would paddle like crazy to the side of the bank, get out of the boat as fast as they could and run out of the way of the spray. E-J and Emily were particularly pleased they did this, when on a final attempt to get them, one of the jet boats got so close to the kayak that the spray literally blasted the boat out of the river!

After this, we headed back to Emily's to shower and refresh ourselves, before we ended the evening by the lake with fish and chips from a local bar.

The next day Emily was off to work, so we planned to move on from Queenstown, but before doing so E-J wanted to do one last adrenalin filled expericence and that was The Canyon Swing. The Canyon Swing, is a massive swing that sits within a canyon on the Shotover river and has a 60m free fall drop before a 300 metre swing, begins.

As we headed there, the guide started to make a few jokes and Sam, being as calm as ever, indulged in the banter. E-J just kept incredibly quite and petrified about what she was about to do.

There were six of us in our group and after the other four had gone, it was E-J's go. It took her forever to gain the courage to walk to the end of the platform and as she looked down at the canyon below, she realised just how far down it was. After several minutes of persuasion, the guide managed to coax E-J into stepping off the platform. He kindly told E-J that he would hold on to her before droping her. However, as soon as she stepped off, she suddenly found herself freefalling down and before she knew it, it was over!

Sam, on the other hand not at all phased by anything, took only a second before he confidently jumped feet first off the platform. This style of jumping was suppose to create maximum thrill.

Both of us thoroughly enjoyed this and were tempted to do another, however, already stretching the budget we decided that once was enough.

The next thing we planned to do was collect our van from the Queenstown carpark and then drive to the bungy site for Sam to do his bungy before heading on. When we got to the car, we found it had a dead battery and not believing our luck, we had to take it to the garage down the road. The garage told us it wouldn't be ready until 5pm, so with no time for Sam to do his bungy, and make another rugby game in Dunedin we would have to stay another night.

The next morning, we were at the Kawarau Bridge at 9am, so that we could be on the road straight after Sam's jump. It was another beautiful, crisp day and E-J felt more nervous than Sam. The next few minutes all happened so quickly, as Sam was weighed, filled in the appropriate forms (the usual signing away of your life) and then made his way to the bridge.

Before E-J had a minute to blink, Sam jumped and all E-J could do was scream!

After this, E-J started to wonder whether she wanted to try this experience too, but Sam persuaded her that she would hate it, so we headed off towards Doubtful Sound in the hope of either doing a tour that day or the following.

When we reached the tour company for Doubtful Sound, we were shocked by how expensive it was. It was almost three times more than Milford Sound and after much consideration, decided to call it a miss as we really couldn't justify the money. Instead, we headed to Taupai, where we found a pub to enjoy a few drinks. Sam watched the 1st test match between England and New Zealand and E-J sat outside reading Cosmopolitan!

The evening was spent on a glow worm tour at one of the local caves. It was quite interesting to see the glow worms sparkling away in the pitch black of the cave, but having seen and done so many wonderful things, it didn't hit us with as much impact as we had hoped.

Also, having seen Sam do the bungy, E-J just couldn't stop talking about it and trying to understand his experience, much to Sam's annoyance. The more E-J talked about it, the more she was intrigued to do it.

The next day, Sam exhausted by E-J's constant questions about the bungy, asked her if she really wanted to do it and if so he would drive her back, cutting out the rest of the south of the South Island to head back up towards Queenstown. E-J being E-J, was desperate to do it by now, but wanted Sam to do a tandem with her. Sam decided there was absolutely no way he would do a tandem bungy with E-J. So, she would have to do it on her own (not quite how she had planned)!

Similar to Sam's experience, within seconds E-J found herself being weighed, filling in the necessary paper work and then waiting at the top of the bridge to jump.

The bungy seemed a lot more terrifying than The Canyon Swing, especially since one had to go head first, but without thinking E-J moved onto the top of the platform and dived off the bridge as though diving into a swimming pool. Her blood curdling scream was very loud!

After the jump, we then spent the rest of the day in Queenstown before heading back up the East coast towards Mount Cook.

Sam's comments: A flat battery on the campervan really sums up our trip here. Disapointed to miss out on a trip to watch the rugby in Dunedin. However have experianced some challanges that I won't be in a hurry to do again!

E-J's comments: The last few days in Queenstown have been incredibly exhilarating. I think I've turned into an adrenalin junkie! It has been so much fun catching up with Emily and she has made our time in New Zealand simply brilliant!

Having stayed in another beautiful campsite just outside Wanaka, we arose early and headed for Queenstown to stay with E-J's friend Emily, for one night before heading down to Milford Sound. On the way there we briefly stopped at Wanaka and took in the sweet little town and it's sights. E-J also took great delight it fooling around with a sculpture by the side of the lake.

When we reached Queenstown it was lovely for E-J to see her old friend Emily and after catching up over a good meal, E-J was already looking forward to coming back to spend some more time with her.

The 295 kilometre drive down to Milford Sound had breathtaking sights all the way there. Much to E-J's pleasure Sam did most of the driving so she was able to sit back and take in the incredible scenery. As we began our journey, the skies began to turn a miserable grey and by the time we reached Milford Sound the place was covered in a deep, low mist with torrential rain splashing down everywhere. This was surely the only reason why it was named after Milford Haven in Wales?

Rather than being disappointed by this, it added a greater depth to the place. Surrounded by tall, threatening mountains and steep gorges, everything look very haunting and eerie as they gloomily appeared from behind the low cloud and mist. The rain also caused an abundance of tiny waterfalls to cascade down the mountains, creating a constant sound of splashing water. This was the first time that we both felt totally awe struck by the magnificence of the place. It was very easy to see why Peter Jackson chose to do most of the filming of Lord of the Rings down here; it felt like another planet.

The town of Milford Sound consisted of one cafe, which was attached to one pub, a few buildings which housed staff, a petrol station and a fire station. Having spent all of 5 minutes understanding the lay out of the place, we looked into the best way of seeing this world heritage site. Deciding to avoid the huge tourist crowns aboard all the cruises, we booked a kayak tour for the following day and then made our way to the only lodgings / campsite area there. The place was of course booked up. Luckily, one staff member took pity on us (due to E-J providing him details of our unfortunate time in Wellington!) and found us literally, a hole in the hedge where we could park up and stay for the night.

The rain poured heavily all that night and E-J began to worry just how soaked she was going to be kayaking the next day! When we woke up the next morning, the skies were still a moody grey but the rain had stopped. There were only eight people kayaking in our group, which made it perfect, as it meant we had the place all to ourselves. E-J particularly felt this when Sam insisted on going on ahead of everyone!

From the kayaks, the views were spectacular and we felt so helpless and small as we looked up to the most enormous mountains right above us, which are apparently three times as tall as the Empire State building.

The kayaking was a good four hours and by the end of it we were all pretty tried and wet from the waves. E-J was relieved to have seen some seals on the rocks as the guides had told her that two weeks ago a great white had been spotted in these waters and all other sea life had disappeared. The thought of coming across a fifteen foot shark was something E-J desperately didn't want to experience.

After a quick lunch break we got back in the kayak for a second tour. This involved a walk along some of the famous Milford Sound hiking track. The kayak crossing was suppose to be simple, but by now the winds had picked up and it was almost impossible to get out into the water.

People call kayaks the divorce boats and after several angry words about each other's paddling and near miss of some rocks and trees in the lake, we could see why! Fortunately E-J managed to calm down and remember how to paddle!

The walk itself was beautiful. The place is so full of rich, lush trees and vegetation. Our guide was incredibly informative, explaining a lot about the different plant species and wildlife that can be found there. He also showed us various plants and shrubbery that you can eat.

After the forty minute walk we returned back to the main base of Milford Sound and were taken to the bottom of a most impressive waterfall. It was so powerful and incredible to be so close to it.

By now it was 8pm and we were on our knees from all the exertion of the day. We decided to end it with a delicious steak in the only pub in town! By now the skies had totally cleared up and we were able to experience a beautiful sunset among all these incredible mountains.

Sam's comments: I can understand why Rudyard Kipling called this place the eighth Wonder of the World, amazing, best experiance of New Zealand. Altough E-J's tantrum in the Kayar nearly spoilt it!!

E-J's comments: This place is simply breathtaking. Photos can't do it justice. These mountains are just so enormous and as you stand at the foot of them, they literally go vertically up into the sky! It feels almost magical, a place I would highly recommend!

After a busy morning of cleaning the old van and exchanging it for a new van and a newer model (much to E-J's pleasure) we decided to start heading towards the Glaciers. This was a long drive and as we took in the incredible views we felt as though the past sad days had finally left us. The landscapes were breathtaking, with rolling mountain ranges and the most crystal clear, blue lakes.

As we drove along the deserted highway without a car in sight, we continually stopped to take in the most impressive views.

By 4pm, we were a comfortable distance from the Glaciers so decided to rest for a night in a beautiful little spot by Lake Lanthe.

There were only a couple of tents there and one other campervan. After battling with the sand flies and covering ourselves in repellent, we enjoyed a good meal and a cold bottle of wine, while watching the sun go down over the lake. It was beautiful!

Up early the next morning, we made our way to Franz Josef, which was about forty minutes away. On arriving, it was a little misty so we decided to wait around until it cleared. We then walked to the end of the pathway and crossed the restricted fence to get a bit closer to the glacier.

The glacier was impressive to see, but looked incredibly dirty from the dust of the rocks around it. It was not as impressive as Perito Moreno in Patagonia, which had a magnificient angular structure formed from being in a lake. We took in the sights appreciating them for what they were at ground level, though we're sure we would have found the views far more breathtaking had we seen them from a helicopter or small plane.

We then made our way to the Fox Glacier and walked up to the base of it. Again, we found it to be not as beautiful or as impressive as the one in Patagonia, but we feel that we have been rather spoiled by all the incredible views we saw in South America.

As we walked back to our car, Sam suddenly shouted out to E-J, "Look!" and just at that moment a most enormous piece of ice broke away, causing an incredible crash and explosion into the small stream below. We were so lucky to see this, as it was such a massive amount to fall at that time.

Pleased to have experienced this, we set off towards Queenstown where we were meeting a friend of E-J's in a couple of days.

Sam's comments: Enjoying the new van but not the sandflies they are everywhere

E-J's comments: The place we stayed at the night before we saw the glaciers was how I had hoped our experiences would be like in the campervan. The view from the back of the van was incredible and it was so special to wake up to something like this. I am also pleased I saw the Glaciers, but I'm afraid they're not a patch on Perito Moreno in Patagonia.