Christchurch, the largest city on New Zealand’s South Island, is located about half way down the east coast and is the ideal place to start/finish a tour of the island. Much of today’s city is shaped by the devastating earthquake in 2011, which killed 185 people and severely damaged thousands of buildings. We spent two…

For us, like many of the visitors we encountered on our trip to New Zealand, Auckland was the starting/finishing point of an island or country long adventure. We spent two days in Auckland before setting off on a month long tour covering the length of the country. How to get to Auckland There are direct…

RTW Day 31 – Kaikoura 18th March 2018 Our bedroom overlooks the beach so we wake up to the most glorious view of the sun rising over the ocean. I take a stroll along the beach while the old man sleeps. The plan for today is to drive the 94 miles along the coastal SH1…

RTW Day 23 – Auckland 10th March 2018 Today we fly to Auckland. We arrive at the airport early (we allowed extra time to visit a temple en route but it is being redecorated). This gives me 4 hours to decide how to dispose of our remaining $28 in duty free, which bizarrely is playing…