So...What did we learn?!

I think it is safe to say we learnt a few valuable lessons whilst touring the beautiful yet seasonal South Island. So here are a few facts, figures, learnings and sayings!! (Some more poetic than others)



1. Total mileage driven in just under 4 weeks - 3351 km. The equivalent from driving from Bristol to Istanbul!

2. Any Budget will never be enough.

3. Sleeping in vans is more comfortable than you think - but sleeping in a chalet bed is better.

4. My forearm is the same size as my foot.

5. Christchurch's new cathedral will be made from cardboard.

6. There is nothing in Haast but armies of sandflies (Bites to prove it).

7. The optimal skydiving position is the banana, not the pineapple!

8. Nearly 2 years on there are still over 800 buildings to be demolished in Christchurch.

9. There are no mushy peas in New Zealand.

10. Cadbury's chocolate tastes different in NZ because of the local milk.

11. The cast of scrubs consider the Whitestone Windsor blue from Oamaru as one of there all time favourite cheeses and eat it on set.

12. Dunedin is the original Scottish name for Edinburgh.

13. If you go to the rugby in Invercargill you can get a big mac for $2 NZD.

14. The fjord scenes in The Lord of the Rings were not shot in Milford Sounds but actually shot on open water lakes, with the mountains and structures generated by CGI.

15. The Franz Josef Glacier is receding, whilst down the road the Fox Glacier is growing by between 1-5 meters per day.

16. Shampoo and Conditioner is a luxury, not a necessity (in Deans opinion, not Naomi's)

17. Snoring is definitely hereditary.

18. The engines on the Queenstown jetboats can shift enough water in 30 minutes to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool.

19. You cant please all of the people all of the time.

20. Man may claim some battles, but nature always wins the war.