Shell's New Zealand Round Up

Home of the Mauri, Middle Earth, adrenaline junkies and jaw dropping scenery. NZ has a lot to offer and certainly lived up to our expectations! The only dampener was that it was indeed damp and cold! We hit NZ at the wrong time of year (you can’t win them all) so we probably sped through a few places faster than we would have if the sun was shining, missing out a few beaches and not indulging in any kayaking, rafting or other cold looking water adventures.

 On the plus side, NZ also appears to be home of the sand flies!  Fortunately I only got bitten a few times due to the colder climate but there seems to be a real problem here so be warned. Bring plenty of repellent! We were also in the shoulder season so the accommodation, though still the most expensive we have paid, will have been slightly cheaper than high season. Every cloud eh?

After a lot of debate, we opted to not get another camper (how could you ever replace Muriel?) as we knew we would be hitting colder weather, a good decision we think. We also decided not to go with the KIWI Experience, a bus you can jump on and off which takes you all around the key tourist areas across both islands. We heard that as it was still out of season, the bus schedules were limited, leaving you stranded in towns you wanted to leave, impromptu stops for food/mini tours you didn’t want, and an average age of 20 something co-passengers put the final nail in the coffin. Instead we opted for the cheapest hire car we could get (£15 per day) which would give us freedom, allow us to carry food and s more easily, plus practice our Spanish whilst traveling. We think it was a good choice. Although I never did manage to persuade Glenn to moonlight in the Nissan Sunny as a cab driver in the evenings.

To sum up NZ, its very different to Oz, much greener, absolutely stunning and no scary critters that can eat, bite, sting you. The volcanic and snow topped landscapes leave you in awe, the sulphur lakes, geysers, hot spring and mud pools leave you amazed, and jumping out of and off things leave you wishing you brought a change of undies!

Top moments include:

·         The bloody bungee swing, I honestly thought we were going to die! But we think we would do it again, minus being filmed (Shel not Glenn)

·         Jumping out of a plane at 1200 feet and floating to earth

·         Cathedral Bay, stunning!

·         Spotting our first snow-capped mountain

·         Smelly, eggy Rotarua and its sulphuric scenery and its Geysers

·         Picnicking by the numerous lakes and rivers

·         Having a bath on the beach at hot water beach

·         The amazing glow worm caves of Waitomo

·         Lazing on our amazing L-Shaped sofa in our even more amazing room in Wanaka (things you miss when you are traveling hey?)

One thing we wished we didn’t bother with though, was traveling to the far North of North Island and doing the peninsular trip and the bay of island boat trips. No doubt it would be much nicer in warmer weather but we found them to be over priced and, well just a bit dull!

Top tips are:

1.       Get a camper van if the weather it good, much more cost effective

2.       Make sure you include Wellington, we think it’s the best of the big cities in NZ!

3.       Bring a change of undies for any adrenalin trips!