[lettie]

Was desperate to do South Island, everybody there says it's the most scenic of the 2 islands (and North Island is gorgeous) didn't have time to do South, but am aiming to go back in march next year, provided I can get 2 weeks off in April as well. Hoping to have some time on South Island then. Would love to see Mt Cook area and Arthurs Pass. There's a driving tour you can do in that area, stopping over at villages and then out walking/climbing for the day before moving on. Due to the gradient on some of the roads and the altitude, some of the roads close after snowfall, and many are unsealed anyway. The weather is very unpredictable here. While I was there in December, Dunedin, on South Island had a blizzard in the morning, followed by a heavy rain shower then the sun came out at about 3pm and it was about 70 F. The weather forecasters were laughing their heads off on the news that night, as none of them had predicted that!