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In A Campervan Down By The River (Cont.)

March 24, 2016 By Lauren 7 Comments

We’ve been extremely fortunate with weather on our RTW trip, but our luck ran out in New Zealand. The bad news was that it rained on each of the last five days of our South Island circuit. But the good news is that New Zealand still looks fantastic in the rain. The “Misty Mountains” track of our Lord of the Rings soundtrack was particularly fitting.

The ever-present mist we found in the last half of our NZ trip

Thankfully, we managed to time our three-hour trek though Hooker Valley during the only stretch of sunshine on one day. But unfortunately, our diversion to Lake Tekapo to see some of the world’s best stargazing skies was for naught thanks to a thick layer of clouds at night.

Lindis Pass through the mountains into the island’s interior
The jaw-dropping drive up to Hooker Valley with Mt Cook in the distance

New Zealand I-60

Lake Pukaki is brilliantly blue thanks to “glacial flour” or extremely fine rock particles from the glaciers that feed it
Near the start of the Hooker Valley track and one of three swing bridges you’ll find along the way
These bridges were super cool… except when a certain someone thought it was funny to shake them while I was walking
The hike isn’t challenging, just long, but the view of the valley, river, and glaciers offers one of the best effort/reward tradeoffs
Like this
And this
And this great one showing Mt Cook (the highest mountain in NZ) in the background
There’s even a raised platform at some points for your trekking comfort
The end of our hike… Mt Cook and the glacier lake
The water was freezing and had chunks of ice floating in it
Enjoying a well-earned view…
… while this southern gentleman brushed up on his rock skipping
Pretending (not well) to be in a Murad Osmann photo (see the real thing here)
The Hooker Valley track was definitely one of the best things we did in New Zealand
Sadly, my plan to have our walk capped by the perfect star-filled evening at Lake Tekapo, which is in the heart of the Dark Sky Reserve, was thwarted by the clouds
Back up plan? Get the rain gear (and wine) out
Our consolation prize? Fresh-caught salmon for breakfast
And this fantastic picture too

After our adventures in the central part of the country, we headed up the west coast to see some of New Zealand’s most rugged scenery. In some places, the wind from the Tasman Sea comes in so strongly that the trees along the coast look like they are bent over backwards. The rain, wind, and sandflies were particularly vexing here though, so we hurried north into what is known as “Glacier Country.” Franz Josef and Fox are two of the best-known glaciers in New Zealand, and I had a chance to visit both during my last visit. Due to a combination of time, money, and weather, we decided to just view the glaciers from a distance on this trip and save the hiking (or heli hiking, which involves taking a helicopter high up the glacier then doing the hike) for next time.

Franz Josef Glacier, one of three glaciers in the world that descend into a temperate rainforest zone
Glaciers to the right
Farms to the left
Happy cows live in Glacier Country
The windswept west coast
We could have explored this beach for hours
But sadly the wind, rain, and sandflies didn’t cooperate
But the fish and chips at Porky’s in Hokitika was warm and toasty

As we exited the wild west cost and Glacier Country, we made our way into the gorgeous northern part of New Zealand that is best known for long stretches of scenic sounds and rugged coastline. In Nelson, we had one of our best seafood dinners on the trip, which allowed us to try New Zealand’s famous Bluff oysters, reputed to be the best in the world. The winding road between Nelson and Picton along the breathtakingly beautiful Marlborough Sound is called the Queen Charlotte Drive. We stopped about a dozen times along the 40-km drive as the view kept getting better and better.

Our seafood feast in Nelson
The view of the sounds from the road
One of many picture stops on the Queen Charlotte Drive

Marlborough in the northeastern corner of the South Island is internationally known for its wine, specifically Sauvignon Blanc. We spent a night in wine country and visited a handful of wineries while we were there. Most of the wineries offered free tastings of many excellent wines, although nothing came close to beating the value we found in Macedonia (or even South Africa thanks to the plummeting Rand).

The green hills and purple mountains of Marlborough
And sometimes red barns and silver fermenters as well
We liked all the wines at Wither Hills
And the wine at Giesen might have been our favorite
But the story was even better: three brothers came as backpackers from Germany to New Zealand 35 years ago, decided to start a winery, and never left
We’re slowly checking off the world’s major wine regions
New Zealand’s most famous varietal
But it wasn’t all wine in Marlborough… we found an authentic pub to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a pint
And the pub was home to the cutest cat, which we named Guinness

The drive down along the east cost from Blenheim to Christchurch completed our circuit. But just when we thought all the adventure was behind us, we began passing colony after colony of seals right next to the road. We were able to pull over and come quite close to many seals right off the highway, but the absolute best part was when we found the Ohau stream, which is known as a refuge to little baby seals when their mothers go off to hunt. These babies make their way from the ocean up the stream and spend the day frolicking in the water and playing in the waterfall. Chris and I thought we had it made spending our days traveling the world… but let me tell you, these little guys have the life.

The east coast of New Zealand seemed equally wild at times
Thankfully, Archimedes was up for the challenge
Nin’s Bin dishes out the freshest crayfish lobster
Hello, seal colony!
There was seriously a seal right next to me when we stopped for a photo opp
Ohau stream is a refuge for baby seals while their mothers are off hunting
During certain times of the year, you can find hundreds here
We only saw about ten
The walk would have been worth it for this stream and waterfall alone
But watching these baby seals frolic carefree in the water earned this spot a top ranking in our book

Last but not least was our day spent in Christchurch, the largest city in the South Island. In February 2011, Christchurch was devastated by an earthquake that killed 185 people and demolished most of its historic city center. In 2012, I visited just a year and a half after the quake and found most of the downtown still fenced off and in rubble. Sadly, much of the downtown is still that way nearly four years later when Chris and I returned. The city has come up with a few wonderful initiatives to rebuild—such as an outdoor market housed in shipping containers and a cathedral made from cardboard—but I was still surprised at how much was still in ruin today. Pretty much the entire city center is now under construction, and it will be fascinating to visit again in 10 years and see the change.

The effects of the earthquake are still seen over five years later
But new signs of innovative and growth signal hope
Like the Re:START market that was created out of colorful shipping containers
Christchurch Cathedral was hit pretty hard
The “Cardboard Cathedral” was created as a transitional cathedral for the historic one that was ruined
The beautiful stained glass and cardboard cylinders inside
Pedro’s House of Lamb does only two things (lamb and potatoes), but oh does it do them well
Suspense before the big reveal
A thing of beauty

We spent our last night with Archimedes in true New Zealand style: eating next to our campervan with slow-cooked lamb and red wine. As we reflected on the trip, Chris and I both agreed that—even in the rain—New Zealand is magnificent.

Filed Under: Adventures Tagged With: New Zealand, Oceania

Comments

  1. Karen Huckabone says

    March 24, 2016 at 8:55 am

    Once again your pictures look like paintings and your writing makes me feel like I was actually there.

    Love you both!

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      March 24, 2016 at 11:56 am

      Thanks, Ren!

      Reply
  2. Lindsey says

    March 24, 2016 at 9:36 am

    I am so jealous. What’s the largest campervan they have for a future Adams migliore trip?

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      March 24, 2016 at 11:56 am

      I KNOW! Exactly what I was thinking

      Reply
  3. DB says

    March 24, 2016 at 10:16 am

    I swear I can see Smaug in one of those pictures.

    And I hope there was a reenactment of the rope bridge scene from Temple of Doom!

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      March 24, 2016 at 11:56 am

      Oh you know there was!

      Reply
  4. Sara says

    April 1, 2016 at 11:12 pm

    NZ looks and sounds awesome!

    Reply

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