NZ19

Hiding from the sandflies... Our day began early – as we opened the van it was filled with sandflies. They are a serious nuisance here on the West Coast. Here’s Jess dressed up so avoid them..! We arr..

We are still alive...! Ironically the post I tried to upload to say we’ve had no wi-fi or cell service for days, in a brief glimpse of 3G signal, failed to upload... Anyway, we are now a long way behi..

On the way to Lake Tekapo from the South, you pass by Lake Pukaki, which points directly at Mount Cook (the largest mountain in NZ, at 3764m high). The rule of thumb is, if you can see it, drive to it..

Our campground for our stay at Lake Tekapo is at the foot of Mount John, where the University of Canterbury has an observatory – to take advantage of the dark skies. Crazy water colour! Somewhere..

The big attraction of Pancake Rocks are the coastal rock formations, which look like stacks of pancakes – and have eroded in such a way that when the sea smashes against and through them, it sprays up..

After Punakaiki we drove to Pelorus Bridge – from the barrel-rolling scene in The Hobbit – and realised (too late) that we had left Jess’s phone behind in the room. Apparently next day delivery d..

Picton is a funny place –Â it’s basically a small town centred around a ferry port and water taxis –Â so it’s relatively industrial (compared to most of NZ) but you can still get a good view –Â if you..