Day 16. Akaroa, Banks peninsula, NZ. Happy hikers.

Can't help feeling we'll struggle to find a more dramatically situated campervan park in the next 50 days than the one we've just spent our first night in.

Plonked high on a hill overlooking the town, we had a 5 minute walk to the chip shop, enjoyed unbroken views right the way down the estuary and top it all, were treated to a spectacular sunset.

The novelty of sleeping in the van was pretty large too - like a couple of over excited schoolkids we were last night, especially once it got dark and the local wildlife started making strange noises. I'm sure the fun of the thing will wear off after 7 weeks living in a 10ft x 6ft room on wheels, but at the moment it's an adventure and a half.

Went on a couple of long walks today to try and work off some of our Christchurch calories. In marked contrast to the ordeal we suffered on our Cook islands trek, this was much more our cup of tea - easy gradients, clearly marked trails and plenty of places to stop for emergency cheese sarnie rations. No Branston pickle over here mind.

Of course, all the good work was undone later when we tucked into our fish and chips. It was the lack of vinegar this time that threw us. Vinegar's a British thing apparently, which just goes to show how weird the rest of the world really is.