Spent a lovely few days back in L.A at Universal Studios, on the beach and lots and lots of shopping! Comedy moment at LAX when the immigration officer corrected our pronunciation of 'Auckland' (what a cheek!) and then asked what date we would be arriving in Auckland, Australia.... duhhhhhh. We know the yanks aren't known for their geography knowledge.... but really!
Arrived in Auckland and spent a few days mincing around the city, weren't too fussed on it really (sorry Em!) so we decided to endure a 12 hour coach journey to check out Wellington, spectac scenery en route. The weather here has been bizarre, every place we have been we have enjoyed a glorious 25-28 degree day, cloudless skies, and the next day its freezing cold, hat and coat weather.... keeps you on your toes I guess! We liked windy Welly a lot, and boy was it windy, but heard that Christchurch is the place to pick up some cheap wheels, so headed over on the ferry (hat and coat day!), then had an awesome day in Picton where we had our first 'tramping' experience (boiling hot day)!
The journey down to Christchurch came complete with lots of Lord of the Rings type scenery and plenty of seal spotting. In (very English) Christchurch we certainly did find some wheels, we are now the proud owners of a Nissan Serena van, goes by the name of Venus (she's a well built lass). It came complete with everything necessary for a road trip so we headed out to Banks Pennisula to test her out. Went on a few more tramps around here and were lucky enough to spot the world's rarest dolphin, the Hector dolphin. Venus came up trumps and the only thing we had to buy back in Christchurch was a couple of chairs (only cos we are posh!).
Time now for a proper road trip, the sights of the South Island here we come!
