South Island

Wellington
They don't call Wellington the windy city for nothing. Here for a couple of nights before catching ferry across to South Island. It's windy all right in NZ's capital, which Lonely Planet has just named the ''coolest little city in the world.'' It's cool, but in more ways than one. We are going to need a few extra layers for that journey across the Cook Strait.
On the upside, there's plenty of sun - and the backdrop of hillsides, dotted with timber-clad homes, reaching down down to meet the harbour makes it a fine looking place. Shades of San Francisco without the trams, though it does have a cable car.
Spend some time in the city itself - we buy a couple of fleeces! - and on the waterfront and spend the night taking in the sights around Courtenay Place, Welly's equivalent to Wind St in Swansea. This is where Wellingtonians go to let their hair down on Friday and Saturday nights - and just like the guys and gals back home they know how to party. With that early ferry to catch, we settle for a few quiet drinks in a little Irish bar off Cuba St - another ''happening place'' - and a meal in a rustic little Italian joint. Happy to watch the throngs outside dresssed up for Halloween. Spooky being here on the other side of the world on Oct 31.

Cook Strait and Marlborough Sounds
Boy are we glad we bought those fleeces now. Drive campervan on and head for top deck of ferry. It's cold - and we face a three-hour crossing to Picton on the South Island. The wind is still playing tricks as we leave the harbour and Cook Strait has a reputation for cutting up rough.
Chris will admit to not being the best of sailors and prefers to tough it out on the top deck, cold or not, rather than below where listing motion of ship isn't the best if you suffer from sea-sickness. With about six layers on, she looks like Nanuka of the North. Being the good soul I am, I stay with her, though do occasionally go a couple of decks below, not to get warm I hasten to add but to watch how NZ are doing against the Aussies on Sky Sports. Back up on deck rewarded with wonderful views of the inlets and waterways that make up the Marlborough Sounds - and the crossing has been kind with the swells fairly gentle. ''Nanuka'' reports that she is feeling okay.

Picton
Little Picton so different to Welly. Quiet and quaint little harbour town, but with some good places to eat and a couple of decent bars - the Scottish-owned Flying Haggis and Irish-run Seamus's, which is much more like an Irish pub back in Killarney or Kilkenny rather than those awful big city excuses for ones.
Take the campervan for drive around the Sounds and do a good bit of walking on point called Snout Head. Resembles Worm's Head a little. Stop at tiny harbour village of Havelock for lunch and watch the world - and boaters - go by. Try the green mussels speciality of the region - delicious. Decide we fancy trying a bit of wine tasting, so book for tour of vineyards next day.

Wine-tasting NZ-style
Plump for Na Clachan Wine Tours for spot of vino tasting and so glad we did. We are new to this game but Helen, our guide for the day, puts us immediately at ease with her relaxed and friendly manner. We warm to her straight away - as we will to the wine, we are sure. Jump into Helen's minibus and meet up with another couple, Tony and Rachel, who have just come up river on paddle-steamer. One more couple to meet at first winery.
Marlborough is the largest wine-producing region in NZ and especially famous for its Sauvingon Blanc because of its warm days and cool nights. Hey, your're listening to wine buffs now, you know.
Visit four wineries in all - starting with medium-sized independent Lawson Dry Hills, then on to famous Cloudy Bay, which turns out to be owned by Louis Vuitton (something we had not appreciated), Mahi Wines, a small independent, and finaly the largest of the independents Villa Maria, whose products can be found in many of our supermarkets back in the UK, but not the ones we were sampling.
Really enjoyable day out, with Helen, who herself grows organic chardonnay for the Allan Scott winery, proving so knowledgeable. Return feeling a tad tired - can't be the wine, can it? Have collected a case - around three bottles from each winery - to send back to UK. Please leave some for us!
During trip got talking to Helen about music. She tells us that she is going to see Leonard Cohen in Christchurch following day. We say we would love to go, as do Tony and Rachel, but that we don't know how to get tickets.
Wendy, who runs rental cottage side of Na Clachan business and who we meet at one of the wineries, says she will see if she can get some for us. She does. Helen and Wendy - what gems you are. Here we are on a wine tour - and these two lovely ladies end up getting us tickets for Cohen concert. Gobsmacked.

Picton to Christchurch
Five-hour drive to Christchurch - and it's awesome. Much of it is coastal. We are heading down to and beyond Kaikoura. The scenery here is even better than Highway 1 in California - and that's saying something. You drive south hemmed in by the snow-capped Seaward Kaikoura mountain range on one side and the turbulent turquoise Pacific on the other. Never driven with sea so close.
You can almost sense that these huge aqua-marine breakers are going to crash against you. Feel like stopping at almost every turn and twist of road to look out to ccean and up to 2,500metre peaks. Hundreds and hundreds of seals on rocks just alongside us - basking in the spring sunshine. Sea-life up close and personal - and totally and utterly wild. One of the great ocean drives, for sure.

Christchurch
Great seats in stalls very close to stage for Leonard Cohen concert. Sublime night watching a master craftsman at work - unmissable, and thanks to Helen and Wendy we didn't miss it. Met up with Tony and Rachel - and they like us were knocked out by the poet-singer genius at work in front of them. A very special evening.
John fancies catching some live rugby while in NZ and the ITM Cup Final is being played in CC on Friday night between Canterbury and Waikato, so we decide to come back but first we are heading out to an area called The Banks Peninsula to stay for one night.

Akaroa and The Banks Peninsula
Gorgeous little spot on a peninsula which is shaped like a fan. Full of small inlets, harbours and beaches. Akaroa is very French in style, even down to its street names. The country's first French settlers made their home here in the early to mid 1800s - and the influence is stil strong. It's also a big swimming with dolphins and penguin-sighting area.
Chris enjoys a visit to The Giant's House (recommended to her by a lady at Little River where we had stopped earlier). Wonderful scent of jasmine and honeysuckle in air, and house and garden gorgeous. Garden, full of mosaic sculptures, has evolved over the years and is owner and artist Josie Martin's pride and joy. Blend of flowers, sculptures and French cafe musical playing gives almost whimsical effect. A special place. Chris gets talking to Josie and it turns out she was at Cohen concert too - a small world here in NZ. John wanders around harbour, soaking up sunshine on lovely afternoon.
Our campsite is perched on bluff overlooking harbour and we are rewarded with magnificent sunset that evening - one of the best we have ever seen.

Christchurch revisited
Weather could not be more different. Wet, windy, downright horrible, in fact. Spend day looking aroud CC and drinking copious amounts of coffee. Rain too heavy to really enjoy city, but visit CC cathedral in centre of town. Impressive, as is River Avon which cuts through middle of city. CC stil recovering from recent earthquake and we see evidence of some historic buildings that caught brunt of it.
John gets to see his rugby - Canterbury beat Waikato 33-13 - at Jade Stadium (once Lancaster Park). Fine stadium with good views out to city and hillsides beyond. High up in stand - and the rain is tipping down and wind howling. Still he enjoys game (game much quicker than back home) and meeting up with some local fans in bar afterwards. A wet - inside and outside - John returns to campervan looking forward to some warming spag boll.