Jim and I flew to New Zealand in late November and spent two weeks driving around the South Island. We found this to be a great place to visit - uncrowded, clean, friendly, and incredibly beautiful. Our trip was arranged through Relaxing Journeys. Jim told them that we wanted a two week self-driving tour. They arranged our rental car and sent us a suggested itinerary. Once we approved it, they also books our accommodations. We find this a very enjoyable way to travel.

We flew into Christchurch after about 14 hours in the air. The first afternoon we picked up our rental car, checked into our hotel and went for a walk in the city park. After a delicious dinner at a local Italian restaurant we crashed!