We dropped off our bags at reception, as our room wasn't ready, and headed out to see what the town had to offer. We were not to be disappointed. Christchurch is the antithesis of Dunedin. Where the later had decaying buildings, pale architecture and concrete, the former has lines of shops, green open spaces, bustling bars and a vibrancy that it's neighbour,well, just didn't have.

We walked along Oxford Terrace, or "The Strip" as it is known, and encountered a long line of contemporary bars and restaraunts. The pace seemed to be easy, bordering on care-free, and we stopped at one and sunk a couple of beers. Like Auckland, both of us have been struck by the "hustle and bustle factor" in the city - there isn't one!

Back to the hotel we walked to discover that our room still wasn't ready! I could see Richie starting to get a little agitated, and I was feeling like my yearly hissy fit was coming to the boil! The receptionist returned to say that the room would not be ready....but would you care for an apartment instead!!!

Trying (and failing!) to act casual and a little put out we both said "YES" simutaneously! We were both given keys and made our way upto the twelth floor and the "Executive Apartments". Ha!

What greeted us was a just amazing. We both had a room each (Richie called the one with the Queen-sized double bed first, git!) and a few additonal extras: a fitted kitchen, as well as a lounge area which was probably in the region of 80 sqaure feet!

Once we had got used to our palacial surroundings we decided dinner was in order, and headed off to find "The Blue Note" (a restaraunt I had spied in my Rough Guide, good food and live jazz) on Lower Regent Street. After that we headed back to an English Bar for some more live music and a couple of pints, before crashing around 11pm.

On the Friday Richie and I decided to go our separate ways. I wanted to vist Christchurch's revered Art Gallery, and my companion needed to buy clothes.

Though only two floors Te Puna O Waiwhetu (Christchurch Art Gallery) has several exhibitions and encompasses styles ranging from modern and contemporary, to older impressionist and realist works. For a donation of $5 I found it fantastic value and spent a couple of hours drifting round, gazing at the various pieces on display.

The rest of the day was spent wandering round the town and park areas. It certainly does have an English feel and Christchurch is up there with Wellington and Paihia in my opinion.

Dinner was taken on "The Strip", at an excellent restaraunt called "Ferment". As it was my last night in New Zealand I thought I'd go out with a bang and have Lamb. I was not disappointed. A live band was playing outside and it really was a nice way to conclude the evening.

Well, thats about it. I will send a final e-mail after we have arrived back in the UK. Unfortunately though, all that Richie and I have to look forward to is a 90 minute flight from Christchurch to Auckland, before boarding our 27-hour flight back home! As one of our good friends often remarks, "Treat me!".

"Christchurch To The Rescue!" remains copyright of the author Capt Cook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Before Richie and I set out we both purchased two travel books. Two differing opinions: a good idea, yes. Both of these points of reference will remain nameless unless we get hammered for copyright infringements but suffice to say we have a little issue with them. Both say that Dunedin, New Zealand's fourth largest city, is a place of beauty owing to it being settled in the early 19th century by Scots - it could be twinned with Edinburgh!

Well, if thats the case I will never visit Edinburgh in my lifetime, as quite frankly, the description is untrue. My travelling companion offered the view that both these authors must have got something out of the trip to have such a one-sided view...like of the female or alcoholic variety!!

It does remind me of an English city but one just coming our of the 1980's. We have also witnessed weirdness on a large scale, a guy parachuting down a road without a parachute, just acting like he thought he was flying - weird! A guy clapping! Yep, clapping as a means of getting change for playing such an obsurd musical instrument and a handful of drunks.

Having been spoilt so far this place is just not what we expected. Though we do have a roof garden at the hostel. Thank sweet mother of God for that roof garden: an oasis of relative beauty in a see of sh...well you get my meaning.

To Christchurch with all speed, please.

"DONE...in Dunedin!" remains copyright of the author Capt Cook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Having left a pretty cold and gloomy Franz Joesph we headed South again and picked up the major road to Wanaka and lunch. I did my stint in Huyandai's finest and gave the wheels to Rich, while I giggled like a kid and took pictures of Wanaka and the lake..oh the lake!

Tummys full (not to mention memory cards!) we ploughed onto Queenstown and to images that will stay with me for an eternity. Superlatives aside, drving along both Lake Wahea and Wanaka was a simple and unexpected joy. Its something that I just cannot describe. It was one "of those moments", you know. You wince and chuckle a little when friends list them, as you cynically doubt that events, people or places, possess the ability to infuse and affect your life in such a way. Don't worry, I'm not going to list mine here but, suffice to say, they revolve around the above.

So I'm going to file this one under "places". I took another half-dozen pictures in a vain attempt to replicate the feeling that coursed through me that Friday afternoon when I get back home, though I doubt I'll be able to. Visual heroin? Quite possibly.

Queenstown is not a very big place. With a population of just over 10,000 (all of them have probably done a bungy jump!) it wraps itself in mountains (The Remarkables) and just loads and loads of trees. Our first night was pretty quiet, apart from nearly eating ourselves to oblivion in the "Lone Star" restaraunt. We sprinckled a couple of beers down our necks in a vain attempt to ease its passage, and then we rolled back to our hostel.

Saturday was more productive. A late rise and a proper breakfast (the first in days!) meant that we careered down the hill from our hostel and attacked the short, but steep hike, to the Cable Cars that would take us to "Bob's Point", Queenstown's highest viewing platform. Again, said great pictures were taken and the views were marvelled at once more. We bumped into a English guy while in Wellington and he said that he was suffering from "scenery fatigue". Odd choice of words but as yet I am not showing any symptons of suffering from such an ailment - I mean come on, I have a mountain and a lake competing for space in my hostel room window!

Unfortunately the day was marred by Richie's (he'll say that it was my choice, but I deny that big-time!) choice of "eatery". Obviously the establishment will remain nameless but it was quite literally the worst curry I have ever had in my life!

Sunday was again a late rise but an eventful day. The main even in this case was the "Shotover Boat Trip" Basically, it was a boat red in colour with what can be only described as having a jet engine lashed to the rear of it (sorry, bow!), that propelled its occupants around the Shotover River like nothing I've experienced before. We did 360 degree loops, sharp turns and missed stone banks and edges by millimetres! I laughed and screamed all the way up and down the river. Upon indicating that he would be doing another 360 loop (a waving of the driver's left index finger in a clockwise motion) Richie cried "where???". He was right, it was the thinnest part of the gorge. How we did it I don't know but river water was inhaled and expletives spat out in the direction of our mad kiwi driver. He joked before we set off that he had been up drinking until six in the morning. Joking?

Today (Monday) has been spent doing a bit of driving, to Glenorchy and more picture taking. Richie wants a new screensaver and I think I might have just got hime a couple. The weather is still pretty good and we are off to Dunedin tomorow morning to start our journey north.

Oh before I forget. Ant, we went to a restaraunt last night and had the largest steaks ever! They were bigger than the size of my hand. The jacket potatoe we had with them was just dwarfed. Laughing while having chewing on steak is not advised!

"Simply Queenstown" remains copyright of the author Capt Cook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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After arriving at the reception desk nice and early (yawn, again!) we signed the necessary waiver and grabbed our gear. Which consisted of a gortex jacket, boots, crampons (they call them talons, apparently!) and a hat and gloves.

Looking and feeling decidedly un-cool, we boarded a coach that drove us to the base of the glacier, where we walked the brief distance to the glaciers edge and put on our talons. I always remember struggling from an early age to tie my own shoe laces and trying to marry these rusty pieces of metal with the soles of my boots brought these memories flooding back. Richie just stared at me in disbelief as I was given a helping hand by Blair, our guide for the day. Who was I to argue with a guy that had a pick axe which was as big as he was!

After a quick "dummies guide" in the use of talons we started our climb. I have to say eventhough we started at a relatively slow pace I found it quite difficult. Having to constantly stub each foot into the ice, while also making sure my weight was pitched forward so as not to slip, proved taxing to say the least.

My problems eased as the gradient of the glacier decreased and by the time we took our first break I was competent enough. Looking back the views were stunning and again I managed to get several really good shots of the glacier sandwiched between the two mountains.

We spent nearly six hours on the glacier itself, being educated as to why the colour of certain parts were blue (lack of oxygen in the ice apparently!) and its true length (11km). One of our group asked how long it would take to traverse its length and even I was suprised by the answer: two days!

Again, we were spoilt with the good weather and it only started to spit with rain on our descent. Unfortunately, once of our group thought it would be a good idea not to use the necessary steps and decided to take an alternative route. She slipped and fell, cutting her hands. A timely remider that the guides play a fundamental part in the safety of everyone in the group, and that you should respect their instructions and judgement.

It was a fantastic day out and our guides were roundly applauded as they drove us back. Richie and I limped back to our hostel, and a hot shower. Tired though we were it had been worth every penny.

Another early rise for the drive to Queenstown and four days of relative rest.

"Walking On THICK Ice" remains copyright of the author Capt Cook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I had to push Richie a little on this as at first he wasn't convinced we would have time to fit it in. I persisted and we booked a days' hiking and kayaking in the National Park through the very kind person on reception at our hostel.

Again we were up early and were greeted with our first prolonged spell of rain, great! We chatted to a couple before we were picked up and they said they were going to give it a miss. "Fair weather chancers" nearly came out of my mouth but I remembered my manners and kept my council.

We were driven out to Marahau where, along with several others, we hopped on a "water taxi" for the journey to Bark Bay, where we were given our instructions for the morning and basically left to fend for ourselves.

We were to meet our Kayak instructor at 12.30 and started the brisk walk to our destination. Torrent Bay was the first beach that greeted us and again I was like the pro-verbeal kid in a sweet shop: the vista wsa just beautiful and it was wrapped in quiet. I wanted to stay and lay out my towel but we had a schedule to keep and we moved on.

Unfortunately we "moved on" a little too far and got a bit lost. Needless to say the result was that we greeted our kayak instructor an hour later than intended. After "inhaling" a lunch of chicken sandwiches and muffins, we observed and listened to our instructor give us a crash course in how to kayak. At this point the weather was started to turn and the wind was getting stronger.

"Pinsentt and Redgrave" headed out in their kayak and lets just say it took a while to get the direction side of things in sinc. But in sinc we did get and we paddled on for over an hour. At this point my competitive streak kicked in and I was hammering Richie for not being able to steer properly. Our group was a small one and I was determined not to be left behind, bringing up the rear.

In the end we had to stop short of a destination as the winds were too strong to carry on. We nearly capsized at one point! We were then picked up by our water taxi and headed back to be coached back to our hostel. All in all a fantastic day and again I got the chance to take some great pictures.

We left early again on Wednesday and headed further South to Franz Joseph. It does seem that the weather has turned and pouring rain followed us throughout our journey.

We are in a dorm of four people this time which is different but good fun none the less. We got chatting to our Aussie roomate and he was immediatly taking the michael with his country's recent cricketing success. I didn't rise to it. Fair play, they hammered us!

Going up the Glacier tomorrow. Should be good!

"Two Men in a Smaller Boat" remains copyright of the author Capt Cook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The other is Wellington. Well that was what I was thinking as I jogged along Oriental Drive at 6.15 in the morning, admiring the harbour and listening to the waves lap against the beach, straining my eyes to try and locate where we had parked Bertha the previous day. I admit I stopped a couple of times and looked back on the city and the port and again it looked amazing. I think this will go down as one of my favourite cities outside of the UK.

Anyway, I found the car and drove it rather quickly back to where Richie was waiting with our bags. Car packed, we headed to the ferry terminal and our transport to the South Island. He was a little nervous and kept going on about "ten foot swells" and the like. Man, the guy doesn't like travelling on many modes of transport!

The journey across the water was rather uneventful - apart from it being quite windy when I decided to join my travelling companion on the top deck. Saying that, as we came into Picton a pod of dolphins did come up along side us. It was hardly a game of "chicken" but it was great to see these mamals swimming in the wild, free and doing their own thing.

After we had disembarked we turned onto Queen Charlottes track and the views we experienced were amazing; it made the journey to our hostel in Nelson fly by.

We're going to be Nelson for a couple of days before heading south to Franz Joesph.

Two Men and a Boat! remains copyright of the author Capt Cook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Actually, that reminds me, I haven't introduced you to our other travelling companion: Bertha!

Bertha is a maroon coloured Hyundai Lantra Estate, who so far has covered 142,000 miles - and then we coloured her! She has done a stirling job (so far!!!) though I think she will be tested a little more as we try the meandering roads of the South. Plus she has had a pair of Richie's trainers in her boot for over a week now, so the aroma of the car has taken on a certain aroma. Fragent it certainly isn't.

Anyway, after much walking we found the Kilburn Railcar and paid our $4 return and went up and down. This brief excursion up one of Wellington's hills afforded us some pretty good views of the city and I took a couple of pictures before we descended.

After this we did a little shopping and then went to Te Paupa museum, the National Museum of New Zealand. Though it was free admission (and we forgot to give a contribution as we walked out - Hey! still bought gifts from the shop though) I was a little disappointed. I suppose I have been brought up on a diet of excellent British Museums and as a result have certain expectations as what a museum should be. Unfortunately they were not fulfilled.

My disappointment was tempered by an excellent meal close to our hostel . I have to say the nightlife has been really good here in Wellington and there is certainly a European feel to it . Dare I say but I think I saw a young woman being a little.."unwell"..outside the local branch of Starbucks.

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Since leaving Tauranga we have headed South, stopping off in Napier yesterday, before heading right to the Southern tip of the North Island and New Zealand's capital: Wellington.

I was a little disappointed with Napier. Yes, it was nice to see some "Art Deco", but the beach was like Felixstowe's - and I think so was the nightlife!! Richie and I camped down for the evening at the resident Irish bar and caught a Super 14 game. Was good to finally see some sport though we will be seeing plenty of it in the days to come. I could hear a group of Americans sitting close by perplexed by the game that was unfolding before them. We resisted exchanging "banter" and continued to sink our beers.

We left Napier just after eight this morning and spent the next five hours driving to Wellington, taking in some jaw dropping scenery and several towns as we went. One such road seemed to be cut into the mountains along the Taurarua Forest Park. I did withdraw into my seat a little as my driver did his best to scare me...tut..tut... Richard doesn't like to be overtaken.

We arrived here in Wellington at about one o'clock in the afternoon and it has been so worth the recent travelling. For a capital city it...well..just doesn't have that feel to it. I've spent nearly the whole afternoon just sunbathing on the beach. Though trying to get any semblence of a tan is proving difficult after applying Richie's factor 23!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow we will be going to the musuem and trying to find the Kilburn railcar. Then it will be an early night to catch the ferry - at 7.25am!!

"Part 2 and 3 of The Road Trip remains copyright of the author Capt Cook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Richie was drving this time and looked like the old girl didn't like it - it took him three goes to get that little Japanese engine to fire! After that she was fine and we meandered our way back down from where we came stopping once to photograph the mist that was cloaking the hills as we descended.

The drive was rather uneventful and we went over the main bridge at Auckland before lunch. We decided to continue onwards and ended up having lunch in the sleepy town of Ngatea.

I took over for the second part of the trip. Driving in a country of only 3.5 million people is really a joy as the traffic is pretty minimul and congestion confined to the major urban areas.

We arrived in Taraunga just after 2pm. As their was no one on reception we decided to drive over to Mount Wautangi.

To me this was one of the un-expected highlights of the trip so far, and I will try and put some of the many picutres I took of it on the blog (as my powers of description are a little mediocre at the moment!) so you can see how beautiful it was.

We're off to dinner in a little while and then onto Napier tomorrow. I will e-mail again.

"Part One of Southern Road Trip - and a surprise!" remains copyright of the author Capt Cook, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Having picked up "Bertha" in Auckland I elected to drive and we headed North, stopping at Wangehrei before arriving in Paihia mid-afternoon on Tuesday. Richie did a very good job as my navigator and we really pushed the car to its limits as we took the major roads leaving Auckland behind.

We were soon to aquaint ourselves with a rather interesting animal -one that we have certainly not planned for. Yep, you guessed it: the Kiwi truck driver! Very interesting this particular species, as it is a little more aggressive than its English cousin. Whether it was our cars distinct lack of horsepower but these things can shift and overtaking them provided us with all sorts of challenges. We also discovered that after pursuing them for a while they seem to give up and pull over to let people by. Baffling.

Arriving at our hostel, "The Pickled Parrot", we were given our "accomodation". I haven't taken a picture of it yet but will do. I wouldn't say its the size of prison cell - actually, its somewhat smaller!!

We dumped our gear and then went out to view the bay and the shops. Richie suggested that we catch this speedboat tour called the "Excitor". I have to say aftee a little trepedation I agreed (no change there, eh!).

We spent an 90 minutes on the water and it was great fun. The rep that sold us the tickets was from Bristol so he gave us seats right at the front of the boat. Not sure if this was exactly a good idea as we felt every wave!! Richie and I exited the vessel wtih rather sore bums let me tell you!

Well, must go as lunch calls. We're leaving Paihia tomorrow and heading South to Tauranga.

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The journey was long, and though the stop-over in Hong Kong was a welcome release, it prolonged the journey a good few hours and meant that we arrived at Auckland International well and trully frazzled.

I do though have to give Air New Zealand a massive thumbs up! Having not travelled with them before I was simply amazed at the entertainment package we were afforded (Richie broke his on the first leg and had to flirt at length with a male member of the cabin staff to get it fixed!) and also the food. Really was good - we even got our first taster of New Zealand lamb. Lovely!

Yesterday evening and this morning was spent in the harbour area of the city. It feels rather strange that such a relatively large city can be so relaxed and free of the "hussle and bussle" you associate with cities back home: no one seems to be rushing around like a "t*t in a trance" and there seems to be an alarming lack of queues and traffic build-up even at peak times. This also seems to be the place where my fellow compatriots seem to congregate, and you cannot go far without hearing an English accent. As wer're relatively newcomers to this city and country it is oddly reassuring.

Today, has been like yesterday, in that we have spent most of it doing the "tourist thing". Richie bullied me in accompanying him upto the top of the Sky Tower (well nearly, to the top!) yesterday. It afforded some great views of the city and I tried out the digi camera for the first time on the trip.

We walked to the Auckland Museum this morning. This Greco-Roman building sits on a hill opposite Albert Pack and you are immediatly struck by how impressive archictecture is. The exhibits inside seem to mirror this, especially the Armed conflict areas called "Scars of the Heart 1 and 2". Like my travelling companion said, this country does not shy away from its folly and mistakes in history and there seems to be an honesty to the both written and verbal commentarys.

Well should really go. Its 2.40pm and Richie is cajouling me into buying him his first beer of the day!!

Hope everyone is well. Tony G, have noted previous comment, thanks for that.

Hi to mum and dad - both sets!

Well done to John O'Shea (Richie again!) as he made his day!

Kat, for some reason cannot log-in to English version of Hotmail. Will e-mail soon.

Take care

Richie and Steve

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I'm actually not sure how long its going to take us, nor the amount of miles we're going to rack up getting there. Needless to say we'll have the chance to look down on quite a few contries from our lofty pirch in the sky.

Typically the last few days have been dominated by packing and other bits of vital "prep". Making sure that you have an abundance of good clean underwear should be high on anyones list; though I find myself concentrating instead on copying en mass most of my cd collection, thus making sure we have enough quality "tunes" for the rental-car as we drive around the country. Yes, you make look a little puzzled at this, but if you understood my travelling companion's rather "electic" taste in music you would applaud my foresight. I mean, come on, what impression will we make when we rock up and the locals are greeted by "Gimme...Gimme.. a man after midnight" by that well known Swedish foursome. Quite!!

Anyway I digress. My luggage of choice for this trip is a rather large hold-all (apologies for spelling!), courtesy of the bank of mum and dad. Little concerned though as its pretty full already, and judging by the state of my bedroom floor, I still have a fair bit to pack.

I have been advised to pack for "all weathers" (love that term) as the New Zealand can be a little unpredictable so I'm told. Ha! This must be the first trip I've done where my vest tops are sharing space with my base layers and fleece. But prepared I certainly am, and whatever I've forgotten or left behind (still not sure about a towel: it takes up so much space!) I will buy out there.

Well I suppose I've written enough for a first entry and the next time I write we'll be there.

Speak soon

Steve x

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