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Published: April 5th 2008
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Touched down at Christchurch Airport with no plans other than looking at campervan hire availibility and cost. Checked out a campervan at an airport hire companies depot, it looked good so we decided to go for it, except we didn't realise tomorrow was Good Friday and the start of the Easter Holidays. There were none available until at least Sunday. Headed into Christchurch instead. Found decent accommodation at Thomas"s hotel for NZ$ 69 per night, the current rate is 2.5 New Zealand Dollars to the pound. Spent a few days in the South Island's largest city exploring the centre, visiting places like their cool Arts Centre, Museum, and Botanic Gardens. In between times Eileen was phoning Hire Companies trying to get a good deal on Campervan Hire, eventually settling for one from Jucy for NZ$60 (24pounds) per day.
Wonder how many miles we're going cover!!
On Sunday morning we were picked up from our hotel and taken to their depot to pick up what was going to be our mobile home for the next 26 days.
The Toyota Camper is great, room to stand up with two gas hobs, little fridge, Dvd Player(no DVDs) sink,
Rainbow Waterfall
Yeh! Milford Sound again and a microwave, although this only works if you are connected to a power source. Although hired from Jucy, the vehicle has EZY Cruiza on the sides.
OFF WE GO !!!! in Jucy Lucy, Didn't want to travel to far on our first day so we headed inland to join the SH72 Scenic Route South, on this road our first impromtu stop was at Rakaia Gorge, a beautiful setting beside the crystal clear river with cliffs on the far side, first of many photo ops.
Stopped again in Geraldine to make an inquiry at a Motor Home, 40 dollars!! Too much! therefore we moved on to settle in the wee town of Fairlie in MacKenzie Country for the night. After a drink in their local pub we parked opposite the Fire Station to sleep. I'm sure you're not supposed to.
On day 2 we drive through Burkes Pass to Lake Tekapo, have to say, " The scenery in New Zealand is outstanding" the air is amazingly clear and we are driving along empty roads, well almost!! apart from all the other campervans, Britz, Maui, Spaceships, Wicked Campers & the rest. At
Our Little Camper
At Raika Gorge on our first day Lake Tekapo we found a great spot lakeside beside a picnic table.
Guess What! the water is crystal clear and the view of the mountains is fabulous.
Found out already that our van seems to attract others, every time we find a good spot with plenty of space someone parks along side us. After returning from a walk to the picturesque little church we were gobsmacked to see a car in the small space between our camper and the picnic table. I was already annoyed at the vehicle parking 10 metres away, never mind this comedian. Had to take a photo !! or is it just us, would you squeeze alongside another vehicle when their is two football fields of space to park?.
After our Al Fresco breakfast we're on the road again, stopped at bottom of Lake Pukaki to see one of the best views of Mt Cook, New Zealand's tallest mountain at 3755 metres, problem was, it was cloudy, couldn't see it!!! 20 minutes later after we'd left it was clear! Ah Well, Too Bad!!
We crossed Lindis Pass on our way to Wanaka, a lovely little town on the shores of Lake Wanaka. If
Mirror lake
on the road to Milford Sound we camp out in the open we have no facilities or power so we'll have to spend some nights in Holiday Parks to shower, do laundry, charge up our cameras, etc. Booked into Aspiring Campervan Park above the town. It was more than we expected at 39 dollars but the facilties were excellent, first thing we done was head to their spa, where would you believe we met a couple from Newcastle who we knew from Noosa in Australia. They are also going to Fiji next, will probably bump into them again.
The weather has been great so far, hotter than we imagined at this time of the year, unfortunately it hasn't prevented Eileen from catching a bad cold. She wasn't up for moving again, so we spent another night at the campsite.
Next destination is Queenstown, the capital of extreme sports. It is set in a gorgeous location at Lake Wakatipu surrounded by stunning mountain ranges including one called the Remarkables. Before arriving we stopped at Gibbston Valley for a wine tasting tour, where we entered their wine cellars built deep into the hillside. The Pinot Noir is superb, look
Lake Tekapu
Picturesque little church out for it! especially 2008, which is expected to be their best year yet. The Pinot Gris and Riesling are also good.
On the road in, we came across Kawarau Bridge, the site of the first ever Bungy Jumping in 1988. We entered through their large visitor centre onto viewing platforms to watch a few youngsters leaping off the 43 metre high bridge accompanied by the sound of loud pumping music.
In the evening we stopped at a great spot in Park Street. Had a nice meal with wine on a lakeside bench with another fantastic view, afterwards we took a chance and camped overnight night. OOPS !! A local resident must've heard Glesca Riff Raff where in town and shopped us. First thing in the morning a guy from the council drives up and reads the riot act. You are not allowed to Freedom Camp within 10 Kilometres of a town, otherwise you have to use an official campsite. He let us of with a warning, could've been fined.
Towering above Queenstown is Bob's Peak, a Skyline Gondola takes you to the top where a hive of activity awaits. They have a
43 Metre Kawarau Gorge Bridge
Site of the first ever Bungy in 1988 visitor centre, restaurant, Maori Centre, walking trail, luge, bungy, and paragliding.
Fancied a shot on the luge. A chairlift takes you to the start where you have the choice of 2 runs, the scenic or the advanced. It's like sledging on a tea tray, brilliant!! they go really fast, I had 3 shots!
Afterwards we watched the Paragliding followed by a walk to a viewpoint to see Ben Lomond.
Back in town you would never believe who we bumped into coming out of the Sofitel Hotel, Ozzie & Sharon Osbourne!! Mixing with the stars eh! , that reminds me, the night sky in New Zealand is the best I've ever seen. I think I"ve clearly seen the Milky Way more times already than back home.
Not taking any more chances we headed out along the Glen Orchy Road to find the DOC Campsite at 12 Mile Delta, DOC stands for Department of Conservation and they have cheap basic sites throughout Kiwi land. This one cost NZ$7 each to camp lakeside and use the solitary WC sitting out in the open. Found out later that this was one of the many locations used for a scene in the Lord Of The
Rings movie, the one where Frodo stops for a pee, No! I don't remember that either.
Next morning we made a short detour to Arrowtown, famous as a former gold rush town, lots of wooden buildings remain from its heyday, perhaps a little contrived and too touristy, nice all the same.
Back on the road we noticed signs for Bannockburn as we drove to Te Anua in Fiordland, the natural base for trips to Milford Sound. Our camper hire company gave us a two for one voucher on a cruise along the must see attraction, Milford Sound.
The 120KM fantastically scenic journey from Te Anua takes a couple of hours especially taking into account the number of stops we made, Mirror lakes, Lake Gunn, Homer Tunnel and the Chasm. Our Milford Sound cruise out and back on the Milford Adventurer boat took one and a half hours. Although named a sound it is actually a Fiord with mountains rising straight out of the water and numerous waterfalls. A sound is river eroded, this is glacier eroded.
Unusually it was a clear sunny day with great visibility. The setting is breathtaking, even
I Don't Believe it !!
Would you park this close? I was even annoyed at the white car caught a glimpse of a dolphin.
Definate highlight of our journey
Can't help but notice that in New Zealand they pack a lot of sheep into one field.
Aberdonians would love it here.
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liz mcdonald
non-member comment
catching up
Hi Johnnie, just received e'mail with web address so i am able to catch up again on your travels. N.Z. looks amazing beautiful scenery and looks so clear. See what you mean with the parking a bit close for comfort, what a cheek! Hope Eileen has gotten over her cold had it myself last week so know how she feels. You are both looking great. Take it you have heard the gers are doing well, Matt and David are over the moon. David has not heard anything since applying for brigade but i suppose they would have had thousands of applications. His friend Gerard McAlpine (Big Gerrys son) started his training in Gullane 2 weeks ago but he had been waiting 2 years to get accepted. Anyways take care both of you and will be in touch again soon. Love Liz x