This whole trip was between 26-Jan-2002 and 22-Feb-2002, and was during the New Zealand summer time. It was planned between May and June 2001 with the help of Bridge the World who did a wonderful job in tailoring an itinerary based on personal requirements.

New Zealand is a long way from the UK, so it was decided to break up the journey by stopping a night near Los Angeles at Long Beach on the way out. On the way back, as a treat, stopping at Tahiti for 3 nights and again at Long Beach for one night.

I've wanted to go to New Zealand for as long as I can remember, so as I now had the opportunity, I planned to make it the best possible trip. With that in mind, I scanned through many brochures and eventually decided the best way was to hire a car and drive to the areas I was interested in. This meant arranging accommodation in the various stops, which I commend Bridge the World for their patience and expertise.

The Car hire (arranged via Avis) requested was group D size, chosen because of comfort and size, since the planned trip was to be in excess of 2000 miles (3200 km). You have a different car in each of North and South Islands due to the large cost of transport on the ferry between Wellington and Picton. This is completely painless, as they have very easy arrangements in place.

As a price guide, NZ$10 = £3, and US$10 = £7.

Eating out in NZ is relatively inexpensive - with virtually everywhere taking credit card payment. In fact it cost around about NZ$100 for two, including a main meal with wine or beer, in good restaurants.

Each section chosen from the left follows on from the previous section if relevant, and comments about each area are included, along with many pictures along the way in those areas - and links to websites that I have found useful. The sections start with information regarding travelling to that area from the previous. I plan to make it as easy to understand as possible with highlights thrown in.

Over 700 digital photos (taken with an Olympus c990z), and 12 rolls of film between a Canon AE1 Program SLR and a Pentax Espio 115. Of course, not all are included, but some of the best ones are. Most are set to show at 800x600 resolution, but I have them all as 1600x1200. So if anyone wishes a bigger copy, then I'm sure we can come to some arrangement. For those with screen resolutions of less than 1024x768, the pictures will automatically show in smaller format. The films I've scanned using an Agfa 1212p scanner, and will mention scan in the title.

Each picture is clickable and shows a bigger version in a separate window. It is quite likely that photos may alter as I add some or replace others, so keep looking back.

The pictures are best viewed in a darkened room, with a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 and 65k colours.