13 November: We woke up at 5am in order to get ourselves ready to get to the station in order to catch the skybus coach. We made the 6.20am transfer. The rain was coming down and with the sun barely in the sky, the morning seemed like a typical London morning. We were not impressed. Everything from the transfer to the airport for our flight, to our Happy Camper pick up, went oh so well by the LORDS grace and mercy only. A complimentary pick up by Happy Campers was only done between 10am and 3pm. We landed at around 2.20pm and by the time we got our bags and went through customs, it was around 2.55pm. A taxi man suggested we ring the campervan company as they normally do complimentary pick ups. Ally had suggested this as well but I was not convinced this would still work with 5 minutes to go. Needless to say, with the NZ$1 coin Ally found on the budget aeroplane where they make you pay to watch a movie, I phone the campervan company. The boss came to pick us up and all I can say is that these turn of events was GOD driven alone! This campervan is a step up from Moegoo and Skadonks so we have named her Rolls, short for Ross Royce! In many ways she is much better than the two blokes we had in Auz, but there are times when Ally and I say something along the lines of how cool was Skadonks in this way or that. One bad thing about Rolls worth mentioning is the stinking cupboard below the sink. Im not talking about a bad smell, oh no, Im talking about foul stinking! We have a cut lemon as well as an onion to try and distract us when we absolutely have to open the cupboard. Our first day when we picked up Rolls, we did not travel very far, only about 57km or so. We did, however, make it to a South African shop enroute towards Queenstown as well as a local grocer for some supplies. Our first night in Rolls was at the Rakaia Tourist Holiday Park which was located just on the other side of the longest bridge in New Zealand. This bridge is 1757m long and we drove over it! For travel luxurys of hot water, electricity and a flushing toilet, we paid $36 for the night. 14 November: The start of our journey towards Queenstown took us through the Canterbury plains where the land is very flat and divided up by pristinely maintained hedges which must be at least 9 plus metres tall. These plains were also not short of sheep and cows. These hedges serve as wind breakers one local informed us as the winds can get up to terrible speeds with the plains being so flat. We drove through Geraldine and stopped at Lake Tekapo where you can see the Church of the Good Shepherd which apparently is the most photographed Church in NZ. Lake Tekapo is located in the Mackenzie District, Canterbury Region. Its max width is 6km and has a surface area of 87km squared. Max depth of 120m. It is the second largest of three roughly parallel lakes. The other two are Lake Pukaki and Lake Ohau. The amazing turquoise blue colour is created by rock flour- the glaciers in the headwaters grind the rock into fine dust. These particles in combination with the sunlight create the lakes unique water colour. Since we had had a late start to our journey, we pulled up in a less populated part of the lake and tucked into some lunch. Afterwards, we continued on towards Mount Cook which was not the most direct route to Queenstown but so worth it! You drive for 55km into the mountains and boy is the scenery spectacular! Mountain tops covered in snow and Lake Pukaki displaying the same piercing turquoise blue colour lining your journey almost to the foot of Mount Cook. We ducked right into the Department of Conservation campsite where we could set up camp and enjoy a walk through Hooker valley. This campsite , being so close to the foot of the mountains, meant that we would have to rough it and it was not easy, but I managed! Sponge bath before bed but at least they had flushing toilets. The walk in Hooker valley can take you either 30 minutes, 1 hour or 3 depending on how far you intend going. We did the 1 hour trip based on the fact we started out after 6pm. With the sun still riding high, the time is deceptive, however, we only wanted to go as far as the second suspending bridge which was far enough. It really did feel like we were in the Berg with sky scraping mountains surrounding us. 15 November: A 9.15am departure meant that we could get to our destination of Queenstown at a reasonable hour. Ouma rusks and coffee for breakies, and we set off. We drove along the Lindis pass and parts of our journey ran alongside the river Clutha which is the longest river on the South Island. This river feeds into lake Wanaka. It was at Wanaka that Ally and I stopped in at Puzzle world which is a roadside shop/ recreational area that is full of puzzles, mazes, optical illusions etc. Price determined that we would not enjoy the maze etc but since being recommended on the NZ tours website, I was keen to stop there. A few more supplies bought at another grocer, and off we went in search for the perfect roadside lunch stop. We did find it atop a hill next to the Cardrona river. Onward drive through the Crown mountain range and down one of the most scenic and breathtaking passes we have come across, we were able to make a number of stops to take photos as well as catch glimpses of the Wakatipu basin. We bypassed Arrowtown which is an old gold mining town and headed towards Kingston instead of Queenstown as we found a suitably priced campsite there for $35 for the night. This site is also more on route towards Milford Sound which is tomorrows great adventure, GOD willing. 16 November: An early start for the day, we drove through the small towns of Garston, Athol, Mossburn and The Key before arriving at Te Anau which is the last civilised town before heading to Milford Sound. We had made several photo stops along the way and had to take advantage of watching a farmer direct his sheep dogs as they herded the sheep to a different area of the farm. These dogs were absolutely loving life, listening to their masters commands as he whistled. When their task was done, the farmer called them and they jumped onto the back of his bakkie whilst he let the bakkie continue forward in slow motion. The cows were next and so off the dogs sprung and began directing the small herd of cows to another paddock. Whilst this was going on, the sheep were still bleating their disapproval of the whole affair. One little lamb got left behind in all of this of which the farmer and his collies came back for. Before they arrived, it seemed like the perfect script out of a Spielberg movie as follows: the lamb starts bleating and bleating letting his kin know that he is left behind......mommy sheep hears his call, and I kid you not, starts bolting across the plains calling back at her little lamb. It was just too funny as the little lamb would bleat, then, mommy would reply as if to say sit tight, Im coming!. Chariots of fire the mommy sheep was not but so incredible how the instinct kicked in and the need to rescue was in full gear. The farmer came back and with the help of his collies, got the the little one reunited with his mommy. The farmer actually drove over to where we were filming and taking photos and we had a lekker conversation together. His partner is actually from JBurg. We also made a stop at a honey shop where after sampling the different kinds, Ally bought himself some honey. It probably was not the best of weather to be heading out to Milford as it was raining on and off, the clouds were hanging low and it was overcast at times. On the other hand, we saw some spectacular waterfalls cascading off the high mountains because of the water that had fallen. Before we got there, however, we stopped in at mirror lake where the reflections in the lake mirror that of the surrounding mountains.....if there are no ducks fluffing about and the lake is calm of course. Well we did not quite get all of that but the outer, calmer edges gave us a glimpse of its mirror like qualities. The massive lake you pass even before you get to the Mirror lakes is Lake Te Anau. This is the largest lake on the South island We also checked in at Gunns Hollyford motorcamp which is a lovely rustic, old town type campsite with querky signage around and old relics. The people running the campsite, Jackie and Paul, we got to know fairly well, to the extent that Paul invited us to watch with him the 6am replay of the All Blacks vs the English rugby game on Sunday morning. How could we refuse such a generous offer! Jackie had given us some great tips on what to see and do on arrival so once we had paid our $30, we set off for the Humboldt falls which was a further 7km or so past the campsite. These falls have an approximate 280m drop and it has a three tiered drop. It took us about 20 minutes or so, round trip to the falls. Afterwards, we set off for Milford Sound which would be about another 120km along the Milford Road. The scenery is just breathtaking even with the mountain top views being obscured due to the low lying clouds. We drove through the Homer tunnel and descended down a winding road capturing the beauty of the waterfalls and exquisite mountains. There is still snow in many areas and during our return leg, Ally had to go and touch the snow, and so the New Zealand snow expedition was born. He was successful and even returned with a snowball as I preferred to rather watch and document his achievment. He admitted it was a lot farther than what he had anticipated. At the end of the road you arrive at Milford Sound. This is situated within the Fiordland National Park. A fiord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs which have been created by glacial erosion. A sound, or seaway, is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight. (large bay) , and wider than a fiord. Simply put, it is a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land. Visibility was not the best but it was still possible to enjoy the absolute splendour of what stood before us! People generally tend to take a boat cruise, a possible aeroplane ride or even kayak in order to get up close with the massive mountain skyscrapers. Back at camp, Ally and I had to make sure we were not carried away by the sandflies. They are pesky things that bite for keeps and we are both suffering from being bitten a number of times. 17 November: After having watched the rugga, we ate our rump steak saamies and coffee for breakies and got ourselves ready for check out. The campsite has this amazing wood fed burner that provides hot water. This made showering such a pleasure! We were in the middle of nowhere with hot showers and proper toilets- just perfect! Our plan for the day was to head to Queenstown which we successfully did. We took some time to walk around the main centre hub and treated ourselves to some gelato which was scrumptious. Dark chocolate for me and passion fruit for Ally. Today was a gorgeous, sunny day with many people enjoying the outdoors by sitting on the public grass around the cafes and listening to a local musician singing her tunes accompanied by her guitar playing. Just awesome! We decided to make the next days driving a little easier for ourselves by driving on towards Dunedin after we had finished our roomies. We drove through Cromwell and stopped at Alexandra. A number of wine farms lined our path and again the scenery was superb! The Alexandra Holiday Park is our home for the night and set us back $33. It seems rather empty and to put it nicely, not a campsite I would recommend but having said that, it has all we need. Boerrie rolls for sups and a good nights sleep awaits us. We need it! 18 November: Todays adventure was going to take us to Dunedin. We are both suffering dearly from the sandfly bites and for the record Ally has found 22 such bites thus far. The camp site felt like something out of a low budget scarey movie where the park is HUGE and there just aint people around and those that are, are curtain twitching to get a view of the fresh bait. The camp facilities were military style with quantity over quality being the key feature. Metal shower doors and cheap metal dividers for the showers. Exposed piping etc was evident as well but at least with Ally around as my body guard for the middle of the night loo missions, all was well. 8.30am wake up meant that, in theory, we had our batteries re-charged. From Alexandra we drove down the State Highway 8 passing the very blue Lake Roxburgh and Knobby mountain range. There is so much farm land in New Zealand and it seems to dominate with little towns springing up in between. Where the land is not being farmed, there are sheep and more sheep and more sheep. Its easy to see why the Kiwis are soft targets for sheep jokes. When neither of these two are apparent, the mountain ranges and rough terrain take over. New Zealand is an exquisite place! We passed through Lawrence and stopped off for a cuppa coffee and some bovril amd cheese crackers. At Milton, we joined the State Highway 1 road route. From Milton, we drove up towards Dunedin taking the tourist scenic route which began at Waihola. Dunedin is a lot bigger than what we had originally thought. Walking through the main street, it seems like a version of Scotland. We both just got that feeling. Its a student town with a number of Churches being represented. We went into the Presbyterian Church as well as the Anglican St Pauls Church which looks like a mini replica of St Pauls Cathedral in London. From Dunedin we carried on North towards Oamaru. We drove through the towns of Waitaki, Merton, Waikouaiti as well as Shag Point before stopping off at the Moeraki boulders. These are perfectly round boulders that are now resting on the shore line. Just amazing! Our resting place for the night is in Kakanui which we actually passed when we reached Oamaru. The travel campers book was somewhat confusing which is why the back and forth but $30 for the night at the Kakanui camping ground, we we were pleased.....then we had to pay for a hot shower. Less pleased but overall happy. ($2 for 6 minutes. We both showered real quick.) 19 November: Our journey continued towards Christchurch. Some back and forth drive changers enabled us to make some great ground. For lunch, we went off the main road just before Ashburton. We went off piste taking a right down Isleworth Road and then a left down Waipuna Road. We travelled along Waipuna Road until we could go no more as the road just ends. It was there we parked Rolls on the shoreline and enjoyed our cheese rolls with silverside, cheese and tomato. With a cuppa of course. It was also where we took time out to enjoy the sound of the waves and take an afternoon siesta. I failed to mention we had bought these cream doughnuts at a little bakery near Timaru. Delicious they were but the bakery Charlie took us to enroute to Swan Hill is still tops. Home for the night was at a holiday park in South Brighton. $35 for the night and parking in bay 50 meant we had a kickass, well established hedge shielding us and providing some privacy. Ally barbecued our lamb chops and we enjoyed these with a spud each. Ally had been diligently acquiring the movie Wolverine for us and so settling in, we got to see Hugh Jackman kick butt in The Wolverine. 20 November: Up at 7am this morning, we enjoyed our last Ouma rusks and coffee and then set about getting ourselves ready to go pick up our car rental. Things to do: make padkos and flasked coffee. Clean the inside of Rolls, clean out the cupboards, fold the linen. Clean the outside of Rolls (Ally graciously did this), and shower up. At 9.10am, we were off. I found this relocation deal on the internet, by The LORDS grace, where the car rental costs you $5 a day. Yup, that was my reaction! So we have done exceptionally well with our 9 day car rental. We picked up a blue Ford Focus and then made our way to the Happy Campers depot to drop off Rolls. Thereafter began our journey to Picton and the car ferry. Arriving at around 4pm, we were so early, no one was at the counter! We decided just to wait in the car and chill. It was fab reading my John Grisham book, Confession, and Ally enjoyed the Internet on his phone. Boarding the Interislander ferry just after 7pm, we took up our places in the bar area. The All Whites (New Zealand soccer team) were taking on Mexico in their return match after having lost the first match played in Mexico. They were 0 - 3 at the time of writing this. The view from the windows on this deck is also just fabulous as you see the mountainous terrain. The ferry is also so huge that it has a level for train carriages as well. We made it to Col and Mornes just before 12.00am. It was so kind of them to wait up especially since they both had to work the next day. It was easy spotting their place as theirs was the only home with lights still on. The car ride to their place in Waikanae went well and using our satnav phones proved priceless. It was so lovely seeing them again and of course we had to take a peak in Jasmine and Christians room, both away in lullaland. Boy have they gotten big! 21 November: Today started fairly early with our morning starting off by saying hello to our nephew and niece as they came through to the lounge area. With Col and Morne working and the kiddies geared for school and kinder as they call it here. (Kindergarden), Ally and I had a relaxed morning and thoroughly enjoyed being back in a home environment.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 11:27:10 +0000
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