NZ - South Island

---

South Island - Happy campers!!!

We collected the camper (a truly camp Nissan “Vanette” which we have named Vanessa) in Christchurch and spent our first night at a fantastic campsite right next to miles of empty beach.

In Kaikoura we took an awesome trip whale watching, and were lucky enough to see 5 Sperm whales, all showing us their massive tails (the money shot!) as they headed down to the bottom of the sea. We also saw over 200 Dusky dolphins playing, they are renowned for their acrobatic skills and watching them show off doing somersaults and back flips was ace.

At Aoraki Mount Cook we did our first hefty walk to the Hooker glacier, and met two mad Chinese fellas who liked my cap and wanted to try it on so we had a little photo shoot!

On our way down the east coast we stopped off to see the Moeraki boulders - huge perfectly spherical stones on the beach that have fallen out of the cliffs as the sea has eroded them. Simon couldn’t resist a photo op.

The Otago Peninsula had amazing cliff top views and huge deserted beaches. We saw lots of seals, NZ sealions and a few little blue penguins coming back to the beach after a long day fishing out at sea.

Milford Sound (also known as SANDFLY HELL to those of us held prisoner in our own vans, staying at Lake Gunn - the nearest campsite - the night before our cruise).

At the beginning of the cruise around the sound, the weather was cloudy and raining, but the waterfalls this created for a few hours were well worth it. Soon after arriving we were really lucky as one of the wettest places on earth cleared up for the day and the sound was beautifully sunny. They also have an underwater observatory showing all the unique undersea life they have here - which was fab.

We managed to get tickets for the Marlborough wine festival in Blenheim, and had an awesome day chilling out in the sun with great food, drink and live music. A few days later we hired bikes and cycled to the wineries, having a wonderful time trying all of the local produce. We rode a fair way and both had major butt ache the next day!

Our last thing on the south island ‘to do’ list was visit the Abel Tasman national park. We walked the coastal path which took four days, staying in huts with very ‘cosy’ sleeping arrangements, basically 14 people in a room sleeping right next to each other. Nightmare for light sleeper’s, especially when an old lady is snoring like a prize wild boar inches away from your ear… The other ‘trampers’ were a real laugh and seeing the views and beautiful sandy coves made the lack of sleep and showers worth it. We took a water taxi back to the start, which was a lush finish.

---

Photos

Woodend Beach
Room to strech out.

The Kaikoura "money shot"
A sperm whale begins its descent to the bottom of the sea.

Comments

[Pete]

Wickney!
Now then traveller dudes - nice camera work! You've done NZ proud. Word.