Ben and I really didn't have time to plan our trip... we had plane tickets and the first three days planned, nothing else. We ended up getting on the internet net at a general store and booked two tickets from Auckland to Christchurch (south island) and a campervan to travel and sleep in. Where we would end up on a day to day basis time would only tell. It really did end up being the best way for us to travel and see the country not to mention more relaxing.

We found that New Zealand is such a rural country that the best way to travel is to just drive and when you get tired pull over and sleep...everyone does it. It is also such a beautiful country that as soon as you think it can't get any more beautiful you turn your head and it does. New Zealand It is also such a safe country and the people there are so nice and respectful...we even picked up a hitch hiker from Australia one day.

We started out our journey on the south island in Christchurch which is such a neat old city. We walked the streets (it reminded me a lot of London) sampeling cafe's, shops and having our usual of fish and chips. That night we slept in our campervan at a RV park so we could shower and wake up early for our Hot Air Balloon adventure. This was an adventure we thought we would only do once in our lives and it was such a great way to see the Canterbury plains. We really enjoyed the scenery but I think we both enjoyed the process of getting the balloon in the air and the actual science behind flying it. We ended up landing in the same field we took off on which is extremely rare...Our pilot has flown over 500 flights and has only done this 2 times....pretty cool.



That same day we started our drive south to an area named Lake Tekapo. We were told to arrive during the late afternoon since the way the sun shines off the lake makes it look just stunning. I would say it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! That night we drove to a spot by the lake and set up "home". In the middle of the night I was awaken by Ben saying "look at the stars" (we had a sunroof just above our heads) WOW I think we were able to see just about every star out there!!! It was amazing and soooo beautiful!
