I combined Active New Zealand's five day 'Kauri' adventure on the North Island with their fourteen day 'Rimu' tour of the South Island and threw in a few cities of my own (Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington). The result was simply awesome! Biking on the trails through Whakarewarewa forest and donning a wet suit, helmet and headlamp to explore an underground rivers running through the Waitomo Caves have to be two of my favourites from the North Island. On the South Island, the three day St Angelus hike was tough but hugely rewarding. The first day was a fairly flat hike along the shore of the lake to Lake Head Hut where we stayed the night. We rose at first light (around 5am) and were on our way after breakfast. Wading through a couple of rivers before a fairly relentless four hour uphill trek until we reached our lunch spot. After lunch it got steeper and we were forced to scramble over rocks and scree for another four hours before we arrived at a beautiful ice cold lake near the summit. As we collapsed exhausted in to St Angelus hut our guide produced a bottle of champagne from his rucksack and we congratulated ourselves on making it this far. But there was more to come. We breakfasted and were on our way to the summit by 7:15am the following morning. It was a tough climb, almost vertical in places, until we reached the ridge-line and what our guide called the 'technical' part of the hike - narrow pathways with almost sheer drops! As we reached the valley the sense of accomplishment was amazing and we celebrated that evening with fish and chips and a few beers! The Mueller hike and the views of Mount Cook (where Sir Edmund Hilary trained before he conquered Everest) were also spectacular - and a great place to take some photos. I met some really great people on both of the tours and our guides worked really hard to ensure everyone had a fantastic time. This is one holiday I will be talking about for sometime to come!

| January 1970