Tunisians know how to bake!

This Tunisian orange and lemon cake had the right amount of moistness and softness, along with strong flavours which complimented a nice milky latte on the side. Vudu cafe serves an array of brunches which I will be returning to try in the next few days for sure. The selection of cakes was quite large, it was really difficult to choose just one! You can find this place on Rees street in the middle of Queenstown. It has a front and back door, so there's no excuse for missing it! 

Where: Vudu, Queenstown, New Zealand 

Price: ££ 

Rating: 7/10

A taste of Wanaka

Wanaka is full of fancy restaurants. I decided to opt for a tasting menu with paired wines. Entrees included smoked salmon, popcorn corn on the cob and a duck, pickled fennel and fig dish (above). The main was confi lamb shoulder, iceberg lettuce with horseradish and potatoes roasted in duck fat. Dessert was a cylindrical ice cream cone with vanilla pods and apricots. 

Where: Kika, Wanaka 

Price: ££££ 

 Rating: 9/10

Wonderful Wanaka

Wanaka was the next stop from Franz Josef, before Queenstown. We drove along the west coast where the sand flies were hideously irritating, to a beautiful lakeside town with lots of character. The town itself gets busy in the winter too, and has a real ski-town feel to it. You can trek 3 hours up to Roys peak, or 45 minutes up mount iron. Both have stunning views! The lonely tree in the picture is famous for being out so far in the lake on its own. So far Wanaka has offered a lot of fancy restaurants, quirky bars and leisurely walks.

'Ginuinely' happy!

 Gin and tonic in a crystal cut glass with a raspberry rim, overlooking the Lake Wanaka is a great way to end a day. You can see the sun setting in the distance, behind the glorious snowcapped mountains. The story from the night before had left a nice sheet of white on the tips. This bar had a lovely, heated roof terrace, smooth music and ambiance. Not to mention the crisp drink that went down easily. 

Where: Gin and Raspberry, Wanaka 
Price: £££
 Rating: 7/10

Troll alert

 So my nieces gave one of their favourite Troll toys to take away with me for good luck, and asked me to take him everywhere that I go. So here he is at Thunder Creek falls, which has fresh glacier water from the southern Alps in the South Island. It was a refreshing pitstop from Franz Josef to Wanaka.

Fish when it's freezing

 So it rained and it poured when we arrived in beautiful Franz Josef, and it was pretty cold! It was quite cold, and our glacier climb was cancelled on both days. We were absolutely gutted, because it is a MUST DO here. The clouds were too low to allow the helicopter to get you up. Instead I had a tasty grilled fish burger with a garden salad.

Where: Full of Beans, Franz Josef
Price: £££
Rating: 5/10

Time to learn a little history

It was a rainy, windy day in Wellington. The perfect day to visit Te Papua museum. I'd highly recommend the Gallipoli war exhibition, which showed how the Anzacs (Kiwi and Aussie soldiers) joined forces with Britain in WW1 to fight in Turkey against the Germans. Worth a visit. 

Just four Lake bums

Nelson lake national park was a pretty stunning site. The water was a little chilly, and had rather large eels in it, but otherwise was quite enjoyable and peaceful!

Hikers heaven

Abel Tasman National park was a real beaut. We took an aqua Taxi across the bumpy sea to a more secluded part of the park. It was a leisurely hiking trail, with a lot of bugs! However I thoroughly enjoyed it and rewarded myself with a fresh Vanilla milkshake later.

Latte alert

It's always time for a Latte when you have one of those wet, miserable days whilst away travelling. The Latter art was pretty and the coffee itself was smooth. We stopped of in a place called 'Panukaiki', where there were the formations were stacked like pancakes. There were also lots and lots of cute seals hanging about!