Rotorua - Regal Palms - Superior Studio, NZ $205 per night http://www.regalpalmsml.co.nz/

Very well equipped and comfortable room, extras including DVD and CD player, huge bathroom with 2 person spa bath as well as shower. Other facilities on site included small outdoor swimming pool and gym. The only downside, it is a good half hour walk from main centre, though taxis only cost about NZ $10, as we had no car hire while in Rotorua.

Sky-line buffet - highly recommended - the motel phoned for a free shuttle to take us there, price of NZ $57 each includes the return gondola ride and as much as you can eat buffet, which included soups, cold buffet with lots of fresh sea-food, meats and salads, hot buffet including carvery meals, large choice of desserts, tea or coffee. Great views over the town and Lake from the restaurant.

Wild Rice Thai restaurant - good value and large portions, a decent Thai restaurant.

Arthur's Pass - Wilderness Lodge- mountain view room NZ $360 (per person), including dinner, breakfast. http://www.wildernesslodge.co.nz/index.html

The rooms are comfortable, clean and warm but it's not the rooms that make the place special, it is the views. The lodge is built so that it has magnificent mountain views from all bedrooms, dining room and lounge. The price includes an excellent cooked breakfast and a 3 course evening meal, with a couple of choices on the menu, mostly local produce all beautifully cooked. The price also includes various activities, e.g. a tour of the sheep farm, evening slide shows or as we did, on a clear night, star-gazing. I'm glad I didn't miss staying here but I still think it is over-priced. There was only one other couple staying in the hotel that night.

West Coast:

Hokitika - Shining Star - beachfront chalet king deluxe NZ $129 http://www.accommodationwestcoast.co.nz/index.html

Spacious and well equipped cabins with sea view. About half an hours walk or short drive from Hokitika centre. Would recommend the accommodation but not necessarily Hokitika. Cooked our meal in the cabin that night.

Franz Josef - Rainforest Retreat - tree lodge NZ $149 http://www.rainforestretreat.co.nz/index.aspx

Lovely spacious wooden cabins set amongst the rainforest, off the main road - 5 minutes walk to anywhere in the village.

There was a bar/restaurant on-site but we ate at the Alice-May pub about 2 minutes walk away. Popular and comfortable pub with outside seating area for better weather. Reasonably priced decent food - I had a good venison casserole and my other half, traditional fish and chips.

Wanaka - Moorings Motel - lakefront studio NZ $180 http://www.themoorings.co.nz/default.asp

Well equipped, modern and with fantastic lake views. Just across the road from the lake front and 5 minutes walk from the shops and restaurants.

Capriccio - ate there both nights, excellent seafood specials and tasty pasta dishes. Some tables had lake views.

Te Anau - Campbell's Autolodge lake view apartment NZ $ 140 http://www.cal.co.nz/

Huge apartment, separate bedroom with super king size bed, decent bathroom and large lounge dining room and kitchen area with sliding glass doors to take advantage of the lake view.

Ming Garden - good and very reasonable priced Chinese food.

Keplers - good food, we tried the seafood chowder followed by blue cod topped with scallops and prawns with a cheese sauce.

Overnight boat trip Doubtful Sound NZ $399 each http://www.realjourneys.co.nz/index.cfm/doubtful

Double en-suite room, compact but comfortable. Food on board was excellent - a lovely hot and cold buffet in the evening with more than enough for everyone (even the greedy ones) continental or full cooked breakfast in the morning to set you up for the day.

Riverton - Nautical Haven NZ $200 (including breakfast) http://www.harbourviewhouse.co.nz/nauticalhaven-bed-breakfast.html

A wooden 3 bedroomed bungalow (2 doubles and a twin) with a large lounge dining room, a fully equipped kitchen and a verandah that looked over the huge sweep of beach. Very nautically themed - too many nick-nacs for my taste - but clean and comfortable. Breakfast could optionally be pre-ordered - we ordered it and had a tray delivered the day before with fresh fruit salad, yogurts, fruit juice and croissants filled with cheese and ham to heat in the oven.

Couldn't find anywhere open to eat, so ate in that night.

Catlins - Nugget Lodge NZ $ 150 http://www.nuggetlodge.co.nz/index.htm

Comfortable studio apartment with beautiful views right along the beach. Knowledgeable owner is photographer and wildlife ranger. Loved this place and it's location.

5 minutes drive to The Point at Kaka Point, pub, restaurant and general store. Had a decent bar meal one night and a meal in the restaurant the 2nd - the restaurant was only open weekends out of season

Otago Peninsula (Portobello)- Rugosa Cottage - Rose room, NZ $ 155 (including breakfast) http://www.rugosacottage.co.nz/rooms.html

Small B&B in bungalow in Portobello. We'd originally inquired about the self catering Seafarer's cottage which is in the grounds but as this was booked, we accepted B&B in the rose room. The owner had gone to some lengths to add personal touches to the room - it was pretty in one way and overlooked a lovely flower filled garden but I found it too fussy for my taste, almost like staying in a room in a museum. It was also right next to the owners lounge so didn't feel private. Worst of all it was cold, the small electric radiator did little to heat the room but fortunately the electric blanket kept the bed warm.

1908 restaurant - one of the best restaurants we visited. Beautifully cooked and served food with huge portions. Had wonderful tender braised lamb shanks, fresh fish, even the bread was home made.

Flew Dunedin to Auckland, pick up 2nd hire car and drive to Bay of Islands

Russell - Triton Suites - suite no 1 NZ $145 http://www.tritonsuites.co.nz/accommodation.html

Spacious apartment with view over the rooftops to the sea. 5 minutes walk from the seafront and shops. Our suite had a large room with super king sized 4 poster bed, oversized comfy chair and sofa, dining and kitchen area. The bathroom had a 2 person spa bath and separate shower and there was another bedroom with twin beds.

Sally's - we ended going back each night to this restaurant on the waterfront at Russell. Excellent seafood and other dishes. Dishes included delicious green lipped mussels in a Thai style creamy coconut based sauce, pan fried scallops with a delicate mustard sauce, traditional fish and chips and red snapper served on a bed of tagliatelle with prawns and mussels.

Auckland - Jet Inn airport hotel (deluxe room) NZ £ 170 http://www.jetinn.co.nz/home.html

Decent airport hotel 2.5km from the airport. The rooms were comfortable and the restaurant quite good.