Now in New Brighton South on the east side of Christchurch having been on Banks Peninsular for a few days, Sumner and Taylor's Mistake. The latter is an ideal little spot if you like surfing and local walks in the scrub/hills but you need a sense of direction to find it!! At Akaroa we did a "Spot the Dolphin" trip and Helen swam with a pod of Hector's Dolphins in the Harbour; these are unique to NZ and the smallest dolphins in the world (we're told). Meanwhile I was the photogapher for an Aussie and another Brit lady who'd been forsaken, so I was busy clicking (see photo of Helen and a dolphin). We also did a day walk around (and up) the "Stony Peak"(806m) near Akaroa; it was hot & sunny and gave great views of the harbour and to the Pacific Ocean on the other side of the Peninsular (see photo).
The weather has improved in that we are dry and getting some sunshine so we're heading back into the mountains (Arthur's Pass through the Southern Alps)so hopefully it will keep clear for us to see the peaks. That's all for now..

Now at Timaru south of Christchurch. It's a cloudy day but not raining so far and we'v been travelling from in Southland down to Tuatapere near the south coast and east to Invercargill and the "Lands End" of NZ, Bluff. We took a ferry over to Stewart Island and spent a couple of days there with fine weather. We did some short walks including that around Ulva Island which is a wildlife sanctuary and we were lucky to see may rare birds including the South Island Robin and Saddleback.
After that, we went to Curio Bay and camped there amongst the flax plants and saw our first Yellow-eyed penguins coming up the beach after their day out at sea. They were nesting amongst the scrub on the shoreline and bringing back food for their youngsters. Also Alan managed to get charged by a Sea Lion which had decided to sunbathe next to the door of the camper. Undaunted we continued on up the coast to Dunedin where we needed a repair to our camper fridge, so whilst that was being done we went around the "Cadbury's World" factory. After that we visited the Royal Albatross Centre and saw loads of birds soaring around and on nests. This is the only mainland nesting site in the world as the others are on off-shore islands.
Last night, staying in Oamaru, we visited the Blue Penguin colony and saw over a hundred returning to their burrows at an old quarry site, that was between 9.30 and 10.30 pm; again they were nesting and the parents took it in turn to go fishing for the day, leaving at daylight and returning at dusk. The pics are of the Yellow-eyed penguins at Curio Bay and us at the Invercargill Gardens amongst the roses (we had a picnic lunch in the sun here!). Couldn't photograph the Blue Penguins because they are too shy and easily disturbed....oh didnt mention all the different Shags around here, lots of photos but won't bore you !!

Now south of Millford Sound on the west coast. We’ve had a bout of cold and wet weather but did get a few hours of almost clear sky for our cruise in Milford Sound. Because of the torrential rain over the last few days, all the waterfalls were flowing giving us some spectacular sights. We didn’t stop in Queenstown because of the weather and camped at Te Anau before travelling to Milford Sound and camping at Cascade Creek in a DOC site. Also saw a few Kea Parrots (Mountain Parrots) on route through the rain forests

Happy New Year..we’re still in Golden Bay near Collingwood spending a few days exploring the area and catching-up on camper jobs with plans to move off tomorrow towards Greymouth on the west coast and onto the Glaciers etc.
The tramp along the Abel Tasman coastline went well and we had our frozen Christmas lunch at Totaranui by the beach. We started at Wainui Bay on 24th and walked over the hill through Manuka scrub to Whariwharangi Bay where we camped. This area was very quiet as most walkers start or finish at Totaranui further on so we had the Bay to ourselves, apart from a Fur Seal and Pied Shags on the beach; we also mixed with hundreds of bees that swarmed over patches of sand (we think pouncing on sand fly larva) but they didn’t bother us. We did manage a campfire here with wood from the beach (lots and lots as usual) reminding us of Namibia and were later joined by another couple camping.
The next day to Totaranui was a climb and descent to Mutton Cove and other Bays before reaching the long beach and big campground. The “Trampers” camp was separate in a grass field by the beach and also covered with bees, funny to us! It had been a hot walk and sunny, so for the first time we went for a long swim (even though it was cold water!) and once in we noticed the changes in the sea temperature as pools of warmed water mixed with colder, very refreshing! Spectacular sunset for an evening walk along the beach and then to see all the Kiwis with their massive tents, freezers, boats, kayaks and you name it, they had it, camping in style!
On Boxing Day we followed the coast, sometimes on the beach, e.g. Goat Bay, before climbing over a wooded ridge to Awaroa Estuary, our first “critical” river/estuary crossing. This was easy but did entail removing boots and cooling our feet and legs (up to our knees) even at low tide, mainly because of the river crossing. This was a pleasant site but with lots of sand flies near the beach and again lots of bees on the sand paths nearby.
In the morning, to avoid the “heat of the day”, we were soon toiling uphill to the Tonga Saddle and down to our second “critical” crossing. I had been a little concerned about this one, the Onetahuti River crossing, as the park authorities warned that it could sometimes stop progress even at low tide. In the event we stepped across it in our boots over two hours before low tide! After more forest including lots of tree ferns and gullies, we reached Bark Bay in time for a wade across to the campsite. The Bark Bay campsite set on a peninsular of sand was pretty busy and although quiet to start with, we were soon joined by many other groups, the site next to us being South American students studying in NZ. Then we got our first rain in the night and a Possum, or something, had feasted on pasta in the students’ tent next door. We decided to have a quick breakfast in the covered kitchen area, pack our wet tent and get on our way hoping things improved…which they did. So next we had the added excitement of a passage over a long suspension bridge over the Falls River (the largest river in the park) and meandering around-up-down many gullies now with flowing water after the night’s rain. Soon we were sitting on a bench overlooking Torrent Bay and figuring out the route across the estuary and whether it was too early to cross. It turned out that the route was easy (being marked with large orange discs!) and the crossing possible. The Anchorage campsite is large with lots of space and many local walks to Bays and lookouts etc. We found a nice sunny spot and explored Te Pukatea Bay, a sandy bay just 20 minutes over a low ridge. At the campsite we met an Australian who’d come over especially to do the “Tramp” and was busy exploring all possibilities in the area, and also a group of Kiwis on their summer break. Also this was the first time we saw as well as heard the famous Bell Bird which with Tui (Parson Bird because of its white bib), were feeding on the nectar of wild Flax around our tent.
We had a night of rain, which in a small tent, tends to disturb our sleep! so by 7.20 h we had broken camp and left without breakfast, with a plan to stop later when the sun was out. Well it did work out that way but only after a long “drag” over a pass in drizzle to eventually reach picturesque Apple Tree Bay and breakfast with a cup of tea. From then on the going was easy, contouring close to the coast to reach our destination at Marahau. We did spot our first “Rifleman Bird” (about the size of a golf ball and no noticeable tail and so-called because of its green colour) on the way. By now we were looking forward to a hot shower at the campsite (they are use to trampers/kayers asking to use their showers!!) and a nice lunch at the café at the entrance to the park. From here, we’d arranged to get a bus to Riwaka and change to the “Golden Bay” coach to Pohara our campsite near the start of the walk.

The “Tramp” covers some stunning coastline and beautiful coves with soft or grainy sand. Our route was in the opposite direction to that taken by the majority of walkers and because of the tides it meant that we had the track to ourselves most of the time apart from the last hour near the end when we met lots of “day walkers” (a bit like dog walkers on the South West Way when approaching a town!). After Christmas and during January is the busiest time of year on the track but the number of people allowed into the park is decided by the number of camping & hut places. Apart from the campsites we stopped at (these had filtered water and covered kitchen areas) there are many smaller campsites, mainly in small coves, that also have idyllic settings but lack potable water (there is water but you have to treat it yourself) and they have toilets (usually long-drop). Of course all hut places and campsites have to be booked (the wardens did check us at every site). We did meet a couple without a tent having to do 9 hours walking on Christmas Day because there were no hut places available on route and because of the tidal crossing at Awaroe, they had to start before 6 in the morning. In general the track is very well maintained, well marked (I challenge anyone to get lost there), it does have a few steep gradients but less than 200 m altitude and is similar in difficulty to “moderate” graded sections of the South West Coastal Path.