Superlative South

We couldn't decide. The shortlist was: super, scenic, stunning, stupendous, sensational, stonking, sodden or sweet as! So we went with superlative.

The south island of new Zealand is properly varied but reminded us both very much of the UK. English is the first language (which other than Singapore and Australia is the only other country), there are lots of green hills and it seems to rain lots.

There are also some very marked differences. The UK seems to cram millions of people into every nook and cranny whereas new Zealand seems to cram in sheep. Apparently there are now only about 9 or 10 per capita (down from a high of 17 in the 80s!) so people can be very few and far between! A town on the map often consists of only 3 or 4 houses or is just a glorified petrol station and cafe.

Our first little stop was in Christchurch and is a bit like Cambridge. It has some very old buildings and is set around a river where you can go punting. There is even a tram. One major difference though, a huge portion of the city isn't there! When the earthquake struck a couple of years ago, 70% of inner city buildings were either in destroyed or had to be pulled down. So the whole place is a bit like a construction yard. It has led to some interesting new developments. There has been a huge graffiti art movement and there is now a cardboard cathedral!

The south island has mountains, and some beautiful ones at that. With aqua marine lakes surrounding them and normally a moody cloud shrouding them, the southern Alps are very impressive!

We went to a place called Queenstown and went hiking and saw beautiful scenery! We went jet boating 85kmph through a narrow canyon missing the walls by inches, visited Paradise, strolled through the forest of middle earth and wandered into Narnia!

We camped in some amazing places and saw the beautiful fjordlands where it rains 11 metres per year. We even climbed glaciers that are surrounded by rainforests and within 24 hours we were tramping along one of the most spectacular coastal walks in the world, Abel Tasman NP, in blazing sunshine. We even had time to try some local wine, see Sir Peter Jacksons personal collection of WWI planes and had a friendly fisherman give us a £75 crayfish because he couldn't manage it!

And there weren't even that many ridiculous situations we found ourselves in. Other than Gill having a staring contest with a bull. And the driving the wrong way down a one way street in Christchurch rush hour bit. Oh and the weird but delicious cinema...

To be honest, this is a mere snip of what we actually did. New Zealand is one of those truly amazing countries that you definitely need to come and experience yourself. It is so easy to get around and stunningly beautiful in every direction. Hire a camper and go! Words and photos cannot do this place justice.

And the best bit? We still have the north island to go!!