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After turning in my camper van in Christchurch I checked in to my airport hotel and jumped on the bus to head down to the botanical garden to see if the roses were in bloom (recall when I was there a month ago, they were not). Well a month makes a difference in the life of a rose in the spring, because when I got to the rose garden it was a… Read More
My next stop after Dunedin, Oamaru, was less than a two hour drive so I was not in a hurry to depart early. My first stop was only 30 minutes north of Dunedin, the Orokonui Ecosanctuary, a reserve that was created to house threatened native species and habitats. New Zealand has (had) a large number of species of flightless birds and the invasion of possums, rats, and ferrets, who eat the eggs… Read More
The drive from Te Anau to Curio Bay felt much longer than the advertised three hours even accounting for the stops I made along the way. I think one of the reasons was the fact that there was not a direct route and I was winding around on what passes for backroads in New Zealand. The scenery was beautiful though (as it has been everywhere) and I pulled off when I could… Read More
In the extreme southwest part of the South Island lies some beautiful, but remote, natural wonders. It is a landscape of fjords (sounds), mountains, rivers, waterfalls and dramatic scenery. I have long wanted to visit this area of the world. When I was in New Zealand in 1990, our trip to Milford Sound got cancelled due to weather, which is a common happenstance for an area that gets anywhere between 21-33 feet… Read More
It was still raining when I got up to leave Fox Glacier, but luckily when I checked the road conditions the Haast Pass was open. Yay me! I did not have to spend a lot of time backtracking north to a different pass to get to Wanaka, my final stop for the day. I was pleased to discover that 30 minutes south of. Fox Glacier blue skies magically appeared and the drive… Read More
It was no longer raining when I left Hotikika and I took advantage of that fact to stop by the Tree Top Walk, just a few kilometers south of town, to explore what kind of views the elevated walkway boasted. The attraction included a 450m long canopy walkway 15m above the forest floor. They also installed a zipline from the 47m tower at the center of the walkway for those who really… Read More
Surprisingly, despite the rain yesterday and the ferocity of the river, when I woke in the morning the water level had gone down a couple of feet and the river, while still moving fast, was not as scary as the day previously. I quickly checked the road conditions and was happy to discover that the road to the west coast was completely open- no detour required! After a few early morning meetings… Read More
In my continuing counter-clockwise exploration of the South Island, I departed Picton and headed west and then north for a long drive up to the very farthest one can get in the northwest corner, Wharariki Beach. My research identified a campground just off the beach and I booked it for two nights, anticipating I would want to relax after the five plus hour drive it would take to get there. I took… Read More
After successfully dumping the campervan’s waste water and filling up with fresh water (first time!), I headed north out of Kaikoura towards my next stop, Picton, in the Marlborough region on the northeast coast of the South Island. The drive is a bit over two hours but I was in no hurry- there were a lot of interesting places to stop on my way up the coast. Highway 1, heading north out… Read More
My first night in the camper van was very cozy, especially given that it rained most of the night. I was snug under my warm comforter listening to the rain hit the roof of the van and being thankful that I was not in a tent! Eventually the rhythmic thrumming of the rain lulled me to sleep but when I woke up on Tuesday morning it was to discover that it was… Read More
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