Mount Cook, New Zealand

Known as Aoraki to the Maori, Mount Cook is the highest mountain of New Zealand. We stayed in the only hotel in the national park (the closest village is around 50km away) and the view of the mountain from our room was absolutely breathtaking. In the morning we took a couple of walks, to Kea Point (no sign of the birds unfortunately) and to the morenic lakes of the 29km long Tasman Glacier.

Queenstown, New Zealand

We stayed in Queenstown for a few nights. The town is lovely and is considered the adventure capital of New Zealand: not to be missed a 90 km/h trip on a jetboat or for the bravest only a bungee jump from the bridge where this sport was invented.

Christchurch, New Zealand

We started our recent trip to New Zealand in Christchurch, main town of the South Island and gateway to the antartic continent. The city boasts a strong English influence, and has even got its own version of a Oxbridge college!

Ras Al Khaimah

Ras Al Khaimah is the northermost of the emirates, at the boundary with Oman. It has got a great location, in between the mountains and the arabian gulf. The town itself is not very interesting, but the drive we took along Wadi Bih (a wadi is a dry riverbed that suddenly fills with water after heavy rain) and the resort we spent Friday in night were very nice.