Timeline: 14th to 18th Sept and the 2nd to the 24th October 2005

In the good-natured rivalry that exists between Australia and New Zealand, the Aussies will waste no time in telling you that New Zealand is behind the times, no longer any good at rugby, and other stuff, mostly to do with sheep. The fact that Australia is actually home to more sheep is conveniently overlooked. Taking all of this with a pinch of salt I was alarmed to hear that the first song on the radio as we left the airport was Cliff Richard. Maybe the Aussies were on to something after all.

We arrived in Auckland and straight into gray skies, heavy rain and blustery wind. (What the huge Asian and South Pacific communities think of the weather I can't imagine). It was the weekend of the General Election but the biggest story of the moment had nothing to do with the polls, instead one of the politicians had said the word "Testicle" during a live interview. It became apparent very quickly that New Zealand suffers from a dearth of newsworthy news.

The election proved to be the closet in New Zealand's history with the existing Prime Minister Helen Clark edging victory over the rejuvenated National Party. Clark has now formed a minority government with support from a number of smaller parties.

This resurgence of the Nationals was due mainly to their new leader, Don Brash, who tackled the thorny issue of Maori rights with little regard to PC values. He also favoured tax cuts, welfare reform, closer ties with the US and an end to New Zealand's nuclear-free stance. The latter two being something that New Zealanders are still very reluctant to embrace.

Under Clark's guidance during two previous terms, the economy has grown by 4% on average each year, there has been a steady jobs growth rate and New Zealand has the lowest unemployment in the developed world at just 3%.

New Zealand took a step back from the Iraq war, promotes itself as 'Green and Clean' (which is a misnomer as the average Kiwi produces more household waste than their American counterpart) and even offers a 10,000 dollar deposit grant to first time home buyers. But for all these positives it seemed race relations were on the minds of the electorate.

This is a complex problem with its roots way back to an 1840 document called "The Treaty of Waitangi". Even though the Maoris had put up the fiercest opposition yet encountered by a colonialist power, inter-tribal warfare meant they wanted, and needed, the Settler's (known as "Pakeha") for equipment, textiles and arms. The Pakeha, in turn, wanted land for farming. Ultimately, as numbers grew so did conflict.

The document aimed to settle the dispute in such a way that everyone would benefit. Nice idea in theory but this of course was the colonial British and if anyone could spot an illegitimate land grab a mile off it was us. The translation from English to Maori was vague, deceptive in its wording and open to interpretation of which the Maori were unaware. Confusion has reigned ever since. A current third translation, from Maori back to English, shows just how this has happened. The current trend of land being returned (albeit only a tiny fraction of what was originally taken) has panicked a sizeable percentage of the New Zealand population.

Being something I was interested in I made every effort to investigate and read up as much as I could in my short time there. Even though we stayed with two New Zealand families, attended some Maori arts and history classes and visited libraries and museums I'm still no further forward as to finding a final solution. See if you can work it out at www.treatyofwaitangi.govt.nz/index.php

After five days in Auckland we left the political and meteorological storms behind and headed for Samoa. Returning two weeks later it seemed nothing had changed.

"But the weather was great last week" locals told us. Isn't that always the case? We picked up our rental van and headed off to explore the country.

Excluding our initial stay in Auckland we had exactly three weeks which we decided to split into one week around the North Island, and two around the South Island.

Although we visited the tourist must-sees of the North Island; Waitomo glowworm caves and Rotorua, with its mock Moari villages, it was Tongariro National Park that we were most keen to visit.

Hill walking, or "Tramping" as it is called in New Zealand is what most people, including us, had come for. But the weather was having none of it and our approach to the National Park was delayed due to a heavy sleet storm. Once inside the visitor centre we mingled with other outdoor types all apparently dressed in either ski outfits or full Artic survival gear. Underdressed but unperturbed we scanned the various "tramps" listed upon the wall. Outside the sleet was turning to snow and it gradually transpired that this would be no walk in the park, so to speak.

Not being particularly experienced, fit or prepared we decided to scale down our ambitions and chose a walk that was just above one "Suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs" in the difficulty ratings. 15 minutes into the walk I stopped to take a picture. Visibility was under 50m and my hands, tanned from two weeks in the South Pacific sun just 48 hours before, started to tremble under a coating of snow. And that was the end of our tramping.

We stopped a couple times more before arriving in Wellington, which looked more like a small seaside town than an international capital. The enormous museum is a great place to kill a couple of hours and learn about Maori history, and unlike its counterpart in Auckland it is actually free.

In New Zealand you can take part in countless outdoor activities. There's so many in fact I planned to list them but after 15 came to mind straightaway I think it would be best to say the islands are home to just about every outdoor activity you could imagine, and some you can't. Zorbing anyone?

New Zealand is also famous for the All Blacks. Rugby is the nations favourite pastime but their real passion is tailgating. Followed closely by speeding and generally reckless driving. This turns what would be a normally pleasant experience of driving through the spectacular countryside into a fairly stressful and irritating experience. Crashes are out numbered only by roadkill.

When not holding up impatient juggernauts our trusty van (right) managed to comfortably negotiate over 5300km (3200miles) which could have taken us across the Atlantic. Just a regular Toyota van with some clever joinery work which turned daytime storage into a bed at night. Due to our diminishing budget we were at the bottom range of a market that sees vans as big as battleships cruise the roads.

The highlight was undoubtedly our trip to Mount Cook, or Aoraki to give it its Maori name. The weather, which so far had continued to rain, was on the verge of washing away our enthusiasm along with the top soil.

On our approach into the Hunter Valley, the rain had stopped and for once blue skies were visible but low cloud looked like it was to ruin any hope we had of seeing the mountain. However, as we got closer the clouds started to lift. Once we had started walking they lifted more and by the time we were facing the mountain they had gone completely! It was like the weather was testing our endurance and as we had persisted so then this was to be our reward: The mountain absolutely radiant and gleaming, lit up by the sun so white it was blue, so blue it was white. Standing proud against a cloudless, sapphire coloured sky. So perfect it almost looked like a theatre backdrop. It was worth all the rain.

After that, the weather was on our side, all the magnificent scenery and places we visited (of which there was no short supply) were clearly on display presented crisply by the southern hemisphere spring. Glenorchy, Milford Sound, Haast Valley, U-shaped valleys, V-shaped valleys, the Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers, it was like driving through a geography textbook.

It was possible to take guided walks onto each of the glaciers. They were vastly different from what I was expecting; no serene, white, cubic forms, instead they were noisy, angular and full of rubble, so much so that it was like walking through a quarry in places.

I can't finish by not mentioning the Kiwi itself.

After the war, New Zealand was keen to shake off its tag of just another British colony and so embraced the Kiwi as its national emblem and symbol of separate identity. The bird features everywhere from stylised company logos to fluffy toys, but it's not so abundant in real life. From an estimated 10 million at the time of European arrival it now numbers around 50,000 and is forecast to be extinct within the next 10-15 years.

Although having seen two of these hapless, flightless, creatures bumbling along in captivity, I'm actually surprised they've lasted this long. The introduction of non-indigenous predators by the good old Settlers, the clearing of its natural habitat and its vulnerability to roadkill all take a hefty toll each year. Reserves are being set up and conservation schemes initiated but whether this will be enough is down to speculation.

I dread to think what would Aussies call New Zealanders then.