The thing that struck us most about NZ was the respect that everyone (we met) seemed to have for the traditions and culture of the Mauri people. People acknowledge the fact that years ago the locals were treated poorly and conned into selling land off on the cheap, but nobody seems to dwell on it or let it get in the way of life. Land is being given back to families from whom it was taken, and neither the Mauri people or the Europeans seem to have a grudge, and they all consider themselves Kiwi`s, regardless of their ancestrial origin. You may not think it would make much difference whether they all get on or not, but the fact is that everyone in NZ seems to be friendly, and we didn`t manage to run into any unsavoury people the whole time we were there. Summer or Winter is a great time to visit New Zealand, unfortunately we turned up somewhere in between so we didn`t get the sun or the snow. But, that just means it has to stay on the list of places to visit I guess so we can come back, and come back we will indeed. So, we didn`t manage to jump out of a plane in the end, or visit White Island (an active and live marine volcano almost 50km off shore) but we did manage to go white water rafting, black water rafting (floating along on an innertube in an underground river through a cave which is littered with glo worms and a very strange thing to do indeed. We saw a spermn whale, dolphins, a huge chunk of ice some 12km long and 1200 metres high, there was breath taking scenery that wouldn`t look out of place in Lord of the Rings, oh, hang on... apparently it was. We fished for our own dinner, and boy did we eat well that night! Have you ever walked among bathing fur seals? No, well we have, but a word of warning, they bite, and they`re quick on land, quicker over rocks, and don`t even think about racing them in the water. So if you come to New Zealand, and you should, then you should do all of those thigns we`ve done as well as the thigns we couldn`t do due to weather or cash flow. Paddle a canoe, climb a mountain, swim with some sort of animal you`ve never seen before, and whatever you do, make sure you take a ride on the Magic Bus. Take as many pictures as you can, but not so many that you only see New Zealand through your view finder. It`s a very photogenic Country as you can see, but pictures don`t even come close to seeing it in the flesh. Sit and stare at the scenery, and when you`re bored of that, just imagine life back at home and then sit back down and stare some more because you`ll miss it when you leave, I promise you!

The land of the long white cloud really has so much more going for it than Australia, and the UK dare I say. People are nice, places are nice, and the Government seems to be doing a good job of moving along with the times but without forgetting the past, and without moving too quickly. Jobs are a plenty, towns are quaint and nowhere near as overpopulated as back home, and only being around the same size as the UK, you`re never far from an adventure in what is undoubtedly the adrenaline capital of the world, if not the universe. Seriously, you can jump from planes, bridges, cliffs and even buildings!!! And then be jetted along a river at 50mph in only 3 inches of water while the driver does 360`s through tight rock lined alley type things. Then there`s rafting, zorbing, "fly by wire" (google that) as well as white water surfing, bungy jumps, catapults and good old shark diving.

However, with all of that said, every silver lining does indeed have a cloud, and here it was the milk. Not anywhere near as creamy as it should be for a country with so many cows and so much rain, but, I reckon I could live with that over time (maybe by adding the cream in myself???)

Kiaora!