New Zealand

It's not that Tom and I weren't looking forward to NZ.  But to us it was just a stop off on the way from friends and family in OZ, to our South American adventure; neither of us were particularly excited about going there. Even as I borded the plane, something  I always find exciting, I just wasn't feeling it.  But all that changed as we were coming into land.  I was flicking through the inflight magazine, paying no attention to the new coutntry coming into view from the window.  Then the woman next to me said, 'Excuse me, is this your first time flying into Christchurch?'  I told her it was. 

'Then look,' she said, and pointed to the snow covered Alps, huge below us.  It was the first wow moment, but definitely not the last.

They say first impressions count a lot, and ours were all good.  It was sunny.  The bus to the city was waiting right outside the terminal as we arrived.  And the bus driver was the most helpful man I think I've ever met.  He even kept stopping and getting off the bus to make sure all of his passengers knew exactly where to go next.

As we drove towards the city we passed big parks with kids playing sport.  The air smelled clean. Actually, when I think back to it I´m pretty sure I can hear someone singing 'The Hills are Alive'... you get the picture.  We just got the feeling we were going to like New Zealand a lot.

Just add Julie Andews.

The next day we got up early to pick up our campervan.  It was all very easy and laid back.  Perhaps  a little too laid back we were later to discover as it was getting dark, pouring with rain, we were running out of fuel with no sight of a petrol station... and we realised we hadn't been told what fuel the van took.  We made it to the petrol station in the nick of time and then sat in the car for 20 minutes trying to find the lever to open the door to the petrol hole (or whatever you call it) on the side of the van, in hope that the name of the fuel would be displayed there.

It wasn't, but by this time the cashier from inside the station was wondering what the hell we were doing and had come out to check we were ok. She kindly informed us our van took petrol, as all diesel cars need some sort of tax disc on the windscreen which we didn't have. Phew.

We arrived at or first stop, Queenstown, after dark in the pouring rain and the thought of making up the bed with only a head torch (our van had no external power supply option so using the lights with the engine off would drain the battery) and sleeping there rather than checking into a lovely warm hotel with a real bed was less exciting to me than I had anticipated. However, once the bed was made it was so cosy, and we slept soundly despite the rain.

Sleeping beauty. OK, he´s actually awake and posing for the camera.

The next morning the rain had stopped and the sun was shining though the curtains of the van. It had been so dark and wet when we arrived the previous night we hadn't been able to see anything of Queenstown. So when I stepped out of the van and saw for the first time the incredibly huge, snow-capped mountains (aptly named 'The Incredibles') that surrounded us it blew me away.

Talk about room with a view

Now, I've actually found this blog post quite difficult to write as no one really wants to read about what a totally amazing time we had in this stunningly beautiful country.  I know this because alot of people have told me similar stories about NZ and it's just gone over my head.  

But, I will just say that those few days I spent in a campervan, driving across the most beautiful scenery I have set eyes upon, picnicking on the banks of turquoise lakes beneath awesome mountains and sleeping under the stars with the man I´m about to marry was the most romantic and one of the happiest times in my life. Just sayin.

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See what I mean?

The best drive. Ever.

On a different note, NZ was the place we first became disolusioned with the Lonely Planet.  The book waxes lyrical about the North Island over the South.  It doesn't even include Milford Sound or the Te Anau - Milford Highway in the highlights. For us, this drive and our boat trip through Milford Sound was by far the best two days of our trip.

And it massively bigs up a place called Rotorua, somewhere I was very excited to go to due to it´s volcanic landscapes, complete with 30 ft geysers and bubbling mud pools. Well for a start, the 30 ft geyser was hidden inside a theme park that cost a fortune, so we refused to pay. Secondly the whole place stank of sulpher, something that made Tom feel sick, but worryingly gave me cravings for egg sandwiches. Thirdly it wasn't a very attractive place... Let's just say the best thing about our time here was the Nando's we had for dinner. And I don't particularly like Nando's.

Milford Sound. Awesome.

The Lonely Planet also named Wellington as the coolest little capital in the world. Now, we only stayed a night there so can't really judge, but the whole world? I mean it was nice, it has a lovely harbour, good coffee and a cool interactive museum, but the whole world?!

Wine head followd in the morning

Auckland we did like. We stayed in a hostel that used to be the Queen of Tonga's house, and I'm pretty sure we got her bedroom. It had two walls that were entirely windows, with a view of a pretty garden and even the ocean in the distance. What's more there was a heart shaped pillow and two hot water bottles on the bed. These things make me happy. I nosed around several rooms and ours was definitely the best. In Auckland we also meet up with an old friend of Tom's from London Craig, and his wife Andrea, who've both since moved back to their native NZ. We went for a drink in a bar that could have been in Dalston for all the hipsters, though Craig assured us it was the only bar of its kind in the city.

Sittin on the dock of the bay

There's not much more to report on NZ, except to say that it's so great. But the only way you will really understand this is if you go.So go!

Oh yeah, there´s also lovely beaches...

Queenstown.

Happy.