17 December 2025 Steps: 11,523 This morning we got up nice and early to drive from Te Anau to Milford sound, for our boat cruise through the fjord. Fun fact : Milford Sound is actually a fjord, not a sound, as it was created by erosion by a glacier, not a river We drove straight to Milford Sound without stopping, and managed to get one of the last free parking spots, but that meant a 20 minute walk to the terminal, which added a bit of unnecessary stress! We probably should h

16 December 2025 Steps: 5,450 This morning we drove to Te Anau as we have a boat excursion booked for the next day at Milford Sound , and we wanted to split up the four hour drive. As we were heading out of town, we passed the Kawarau bungy site , and we watched a few people bungy jump off the bridge. Not a chance that I would voluntarily do that! Evelyn did seem keen to do the zipline though, so we’ll see if we get time to do that when we are back in Queenstown. Driving to T

15 December 2025 Steps: 10,739 Today we took a short drive from Queenstown to Arrowtown and started with a nice walk along the Arrow River Gorge . The trail followed the river and passed through an old gold mining area , with stone huts and the remains of early settlements tucked into the hillside. Lupins were everywhere and the views over the river were beautiful the whole way along. Arrowtown After the walk we headed into Arrowtown itself. It is a lovely little town with a

14 December 2025 Steps: 13,765 Today was Jessica’s 11th birthday , and her uncle Michael had arranged a special surprise for her as a present. All he mentioned was that it involved taking the gondola to the top of the mountain - but nothing else! Cue the jokes about him getting her a bungee jump for her birthday… The Skyline Luge, Queenstown The views over the lake were incredible , although it soon became obvious what the surprise was as we passed over the tracks where peop

13 December 2025 Steps: 7,568 This morning was an early start as we had to catch an Uber to the airport for our flight to Queenstown , New Zealand, and to meet up with Susie's brother Michael that lives there. More Flight Delays We had planned to spend some time in the lounge and grab some food before boarding, but unfortunately things didn’t exactly go to plan. The Virgin bag drop machines weren’t working properly, and it took almost two hours to get through security, which

12 December 2025 Steps: 13,495 Although we had already seen our fair share of koalas at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary a few days earlier, we wanted to try our luck spotting a koala in the wild . It always feels more rewarding when you see an animal in its natural habitat. I started researching “ where is the best place to see koalas in the wild in Brisbane ,” but everywhere we looked seemed to be hit and miss. Koalas don’t move much and tend to sit high up in the trees, whic

11 December 2025 Steps: 9,748 We enjoyed Brisbane Southbank so much last night that the girls were keen to go back for some swimming at the Streets Beach, which is a man made pool right by the river. It is such an amazing free thing to do in Brisbane, and the pool is divided into different sections, with varying depths. The sand is lovely and nice to sit on and even inside the pool, so it’s really soft on your feet. In the afternoon, me and the girls went to go watch Zootopi

10 December 2025 Steps: 14,611 Today has to be one of my favourite days on our trip , as not only did we get to see koalas up close, I also got to see how happy Evelyn was seeing a koala , which for everyone that knows Evelyn, means the world to her. The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is best known for its koalas, but there are plenty of other animals to see as well, including kangaroos, birds, reptiles, and a wide range of native wildlife. Before hea

9 December 2025 Steps: 10,830 Our first day in Brisbane didn’t start off too well as Susie still hasn’t managed to shake off whatever bug she’s caught, so we were a little slow getting moving today. While the girls were stirring, I headed out to Woolworths to pick up some cereal for breakfast, and what a gorgeous morning it was! Lovely and warm, but without the crazy humidity that we’ve experienced in Asia. QAGOMA (Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art) Our first s

8 December 2025 Steps: 5,401 Today we said goodbye to my parents, who are flying back to the UK with a night in Singapore, and we said goodbye to Asia after two unforgettable months . Our time here has been incredible, but now we’re off to Australia for a whole new part of our journey. It’s hard to believe we’re already about 70 percent of the way through our trip . We’re all really excited for Australia and New Zealand, but no one more than Evelyn, who has been counting down