Hello

Hope everyone is well. OK, so we are not actually there yet, but are in the gateway to Fjordland which looks very similar.

We left Christchurch on the Saturday in our campervan. It's really cool and plenty big enough for two hobbits such as ourselves. We got the keys about 12 and promptly got lost on our way to find the supermarket to stock up on supplies. The main supermarket around is called Woolworths, (similar in style and quality), and we actually ended up at their supply depot desperately following a huge sign. Failing to negotiate a bulk order discount we had to retrace our steps (not the last time) and head back. We found the enormous retail park that we somehow managed to miss first time and spent more money on food etc than I had planned on spending the entire time we were here. Ah well. At least we can eat well. We then followed Kelvin's, our man at Ara Rental's, advice and headed south. We made it to a place called Omauru about 5 in search of penguins, seals and dolphins. In the information centre we found out the blue penguins are now apparently charging $17 to see them come ashore (a bit cheeky as surely they have to come anyway) whereas the yellow eyed penguins hadn't obviously caught on yet. The bay where you view them was a really wild, windswept place and pretty cold. The first thing we saw was a beached Hector Dolphin which was a bit distressing but after several attempts it managed to find it's way out to sea. We saw seals and penguins very close up so was worth the trip. We then had our first camping crisis in looking for a place to actually camp (well, park really). We'd decided to 'free camp' as much as possible as we didn't want to pay for campsites and it would only be the two of us smelling each other so no problems there. It's not as easy as it seems as in reserve areas you aren't allowed to camp so just looking for a place by the side of the road took about 3 hours. We found a nice place in the countryside about 9pm near some sheep so everyone was happy. We cooked some dinner and then had a freak out about 12pm when we heard crunching footsteps on the road but then couldn't see anything with our headlights. Sat back in the van and formulated a plan. Armed with a frying pan and a saucepan, (pocket knife hidden in back pocket in case all goes really pear-shaped), we decided to take on our stranger. Unfortunately he/she/it had run away. Kiwi wuss.

Second day was also not quite a 100% success story. We headed further south to Dunedin which is quite a big city and not really the wilds of the countryside our van demands. We decided to have a shower in the local swimming pool and buy a solar shower which I filled in the pool (well, not literally but almost as embarassing). Anyway, that broke before I got it back in the van. Great. The shop was closed so our first solar shower was binned. Having had enough of Dunedin we then headed for more penguins, saw less penguins and an even more cold, windswept place. So much for the NZ summer. The penguin place was also a reserve so no camping there either. Aaagh. Wandered around more and found a really nice spot by a lake just pulled off the road. Had a lovely lamb dinner and all sweet. The countryside around was still not wild enough, although very beautiful, so we hit the road again.

The third day saw us diverting through Catlin forest as we thought it might be a nice place to see. It was pretty nice as forests go, but on a gravel track for 40 km which means slower progress if we don't want to pay for broken windows. Also, quite bizarre forest in that there didn't seem anywhere to actually get in. Signs all around just seemed to say who owned which part. Strange. No picnic anyhow. We drove on to Te Anau and then the scenery started to get really fantastic. Open roads leading to snow capped peaks really promise the extraordinary and Te Anau doesn't dissapoint. It's an enormous lake surrounded by mountains. We found a great campsite run by the DOC which was right in the forest by the beach of the lake. We met one of the DOC guys who told us the water in the entire lake was safe to drink so we had all the water we could want (previously a problem when we only have a 12 litre supply in the van). We also had a wash in the lake (it had been a while). Very cold in the water, but lovely and refreshing.

The following morning we set off to explore and did a grueling 7 hour trek to a viewpoint 1000m in the mountains. It was pretty steep and hard going but the views at the top were amazing. We had never seen mountainous country like this and it was unbelievable. On the way it did feel like we were crawling to Mount Doom and we even saw a picture of Gollum in the tree on the way. We rewarded ourselves with a fully paid up, electricity supplied campsite and even had a go in the hot tub to ease our weary limbs.

This is a really incredible landscape and I think it is just beginning. We are on our way to Milford Sound in the heart of Fjordland and then have plans for the Glaciers, more mountains and some whale watching/dolphin swimming on the way to the beach (there is always a beach). On the other hand you may be pleased to hear it is only 17 degrees here and cloudy, but we are hoping it won't last.

Take care

Will be in touch

love Paul and Betty.