Blogs from West Coast, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 2

Geo: -42.7156, 170.968We left our little spot of paradise in Christchurch to climb climb climb.It was pretty much farmland for at least an hour, with very little climbing.Then we found beautiful peaks at every turn, black stone and white snowy streaks.The weather was gorgeous until we got to the very top of Arthur's Pass, then we were in the clouds. So, we were once again very blessed.We were very curious about where the transalpine train was - and we found it at the Mt. White Bridge. We appreciated being able to pull over to take all the photos we wanted.After the Arthurs Pass Village we stopped at the viaduct overlook for one last view - and were visited by 2 curious and "cheeky" keas. As you can see - one of them was waging war on ... read more

Haast Pass - Makarora Road Leaving Thunder Creek Falls we headed further along the Haast Pass - Makarora Road Makarora Lunch Stop And stopped in Makarora for lunch. The views from lunch were spectacular. I ventured out into the middle of the road to take some photos, even though it's the main road from the West Coast to the east. There weren't any cars to be seen at all, it was that quiet. Makarora River Leaving Makarora we continued along the Haast Pass - Makarora Road past the Makarora River Lake Wanaka Past Lake Wanaka Lake Hawea And past Lake Hawea, where we stopped at the lookout. Just amazing views! Lake Hawea to Albertown Road Leaving Lake Hawea we headed down the Lake Hawea to Albertown Road Lake Dunstan We went past Lake Dunstan Jones Family ... read more

Otira Highway We all piled back into the bus made our way to Hokitika. Hokitika The Jade Capital of New Zealand, I didn't go into a jade shop, but I did wander around the town including: Beach (lunch spot) Department of Conservation Around town Haast Highway We continued along the Haast highway and headed towards Franz Josef Glacier Harihari Whataroa Lake Mapourika ... read more

Last days of South IThere is so much beauty and scenery in South Island and although the previous weeks I had spent in towns and cities, I was set to embrace it to the full. My first stop after leaving Invercargill was to head, with my fellow German backpacker Luca, to Manapouri which was a very small dot on the map of New Zealand which I had found by accident on my phone. Hitch hiking again made it easier to decide when we wanted to go and we were lucky that we got a lift straight away from a guy who was doing the 2 and a half hour drive there. He worked for the Department of Conservation and told us of the work that he did and the conservation of New Zealand, including telling of ... read more

Hello there from dusty Wanaka! We had a bit of a scorcher today, just like Christmas Day and Boxing Day, so the campsite we are in now, on the edge of Lake Wanaka, has turned into one big dustbowl. I just walked back from the amenities building after a rather unsatisfying shower(the shower head had exactly 6 tiny holes, pointed in all directions, and it was built into a wall at a height that hobbits would really appreciate, but beings of the human kind not so much), and my feet had turned a lovely dusty brown by the time I got back to our Bertha. Luckily the wind has died down a bit, and it's slowly cooling down as well, and of course the view is to die for, so we're still happy happy! :) But ... read more