Sorry for the long delay, but have been struggling to get enough time to write our blog whie we were on the road. However we are now back in Auckland, we have uploaded lots of photos and here is our adventure story from the south island.
We flew down to Christchurch on Monday 3rd August and were able to get a good view of the Marlborough sounds, a slight hint at what was to come. We picked up our campervan and found out we had been upgraded!!! To a new Mercedes, the only problem was it was automatic and I have never driven an automatic. I plunged myself in at the deep end and drove the first stint, after we had been shown how to empty the chemical toilet and fix the snow chains (comforting that they insisted we had them). Our first stop was obviously the supermarket to stock up on the essentials, teabags and toilet paper. Our campervan being over 7 metres long was never going to fit neatly into a parking space, so it was abandoned in a corner. (Starting mileage 42,752 km)
Finally we were on the road and heading north on the east coast to Kaikoura, famous for it's whale and seal watching. The coastline was stunning and many stops were needed to take photos (this was to become the norm whenever we drove), especially of the snow capped mountains and the beautiful blue sea. We had only been on the road a while when we had to stop for Pete to christen the chemical toilet, it was not a great experince apparently. Once we arrived at our campsite and I had parked the van perfectly, we decided to walk along the beach before it got dark, stopping on the way back for some fish chowder. Pete was set the task of making up the bed, it was of course met with a few swear words, while I stood laughing the kitchen. So all in all our first days drive and first night in the campervan had gone well.
Tuesday we woke up to the sun rising over the mountains and headed off early to drive to Nelson. I took the wheel again this morning and we carried on along the stunning shoreline, this time stopping so that Pete could take photos of the seals. We arrived in Blenheim where the famous Marlborough wine region is and after still not being fully recovered from ourlast wine tour, we decided to only visit the one vineyard, that being the famous Cloudy Bay (where Mum and Dads favourite Sav blanc comes from). The weather by now was raining and a rather grey day, so we were pleased when we got inside to find a nice warm fire. I then realised I had chosen the wrong day to dirve and could only taste 2 of the wines. Pete on the other tasted everything they had to try. After Blenheim we went through Picton and onto the Queen Charlotte Sound scenic road. We would learn over the next few days that the scenic roads, meant windy, steep and often scary roads. Even though it was a grey day, we could still appreciate the beauty of it and the little beaches and coves we drove past. We drove into Nelson where we were hoping to stay for the night. Manouvering a long vehicle around small town streets with lots of pedestrians was not enjoyable, I broke out into a sweat and went the wrong way, which resulted in me having to do a three point turn (remeber OVER 7 metres long), lots of people were waiting to go by, in the end I had a red face and sweaty armpits, but it did make me laugh (think a scene from top gear when they tried to 3 point turn in a caravan). After being unable to find a campsite, we headed North a bit further and found a lovely spot in Mapua, situated in the Tasman Bay. The spot we had was right on an estuary, over looking a dark forest. Once parked expertly by myself, we headed down for a walk along the beach, Pete skimming stones and me looking for shells. We headed back when it got dark, had some dinner and listened to the waves. I slept well, but Pete having been scared that we would get washed out to sea or get eaten by something scary living in the woods, didn't.
Wednesday morning, we woke to a beautiful sun rising over the sea (check out the pics).I decided to try out the shower, simply you had to turn on the gas, press a button and wait for 5/10 minutes. Fifteen minutes later it was not hot and I had to have a luke warm shower, it was not pleasant. Pete cleverly used the campsite showers, we refilled the water tank and emptied the waste water. Today Pete was driving and he had a rather ambitious drive ahead, as we wanted to make it down to Fox Glacier. Unfortunately because of our tight scedule we didn't make it to Cape Foulwind to have our photos taken by the sign, but luckily throughout our trip we would come across some more interesting ones (and encounter plenty of Foulwind). Now we were heading down the West coast, going through Greymouth, along the 6, passed some amazing mountain ranges (more stopping for photos), before finally arriving at Fox Glacier. Our first challenge was to get on a trip up there the next day and luckily we got the afternoon slot. So we found a campsite, Pete parked up (not so expertly) and we set up for the night.
Thursday morning we woke to the sun rising over snow capped mountains and hoped we would be in for a good day. Before our glacier walk, we decided to head to Lake Matheson, which reflects the mountains in the back ground, it was a nice walk, even better though was the fried breakfast we had in the cafe afterwards. Unfortunately the good weather was not to last. We arrived at the centre in town and were equipped with clothes, socks, boots and the all important crampons. When leaving to get in the bus, the drizzle started to come down. We set off walking and were only then informed about the 800 steps to get to the glacier. We had to cross two fast moving streams, across wet slippery stepping stones (my family will apprecitae my bad luck with such things!) luckily this time I did not fall in. Then up into the forest (it is raining slightly harder now), two older people had to drop out, because the steps were too much. We pushed on, by now rather wet, a few trecherous sections, of sheer drops and slippery rocks to cross, but 800 steps later, we made it to the side of the glacier. We picked up our Gandolf style walking stick, put on our crampons and stepped on the ice. It was an incredible thing to do, especially looking up and seeing this huge amount of ice and looking down the valley it has carved. We had about 45 minutes walking on the ice (the oldies having slowed us down on the way up), unfortunately with no trees to shelter us from the rain and got soaked through within minutes. We walked up and down the cool steps and went through a hole in the ice, it really felt like you were in another world. The walk down was much quicker and the pizza and chips we had that night were consumed within a matter of minutes. It was the best pizza we had ever had.
Friday morning and it was time for us to empty the chemical toilet. First we were shocked at how much it weighed and then how much it smelt, luckily there wasn't too strong a wind, but it was bad enough. Pete took the morning driving shift as we made our way down to Haast. We didn't stop as it wasn't lunchtime yet, but I took over the wheel and we headed along the Haast Pass. This was an amazing piece of road with mountain ranges on either side and the beautiful Lakes of Wanaka and Hawea coming into view, needless to say we stopped many many times to take photos. We had clear blue sky, the water was so many different shades and the snow on the moutains made it a favourite place and a great place to stop for lunch. We arrived in Wanaka and decided to stay the night. We walked along the lakeside as the sun was shining and we didn't even need our coats. We popped into the i site (amazing information centres where you can book trips etc) to book our horseride in Glenorchy for the next day, this being a Lord of Rings horseride (no hobbits or Orks luckily). We had had a fantastic day, not too much driving and the best scenary so far.
Saturday morning Pete was at the wheel and we headed to Queenstown, unfortunately because it was the weekend, it was packed, we only stopped to make ourselves some lunch before continuing to Glenorchy. The road to Glenorchy has some stunning views as you drive alongside Lake Wakatipu, this is really a no through road so unless you are going to Glenorchy, you wouldn't usually come across it, but it is well worth it. We had a great day again with blue sky and sunshine. When we arrived we checked into the only campsite there and walked to the lake before we went on our horseride. Pete's horse was called Murphy and mine was Sully, mine being number 2 in the pack and Pete's being way down the back. There was only 9 of us on the ride, inlcuding the two instructors so it was a nice size group as we walked through a place called Paradise (and it does live up to its name). We walked through the forest where Boromier was killed in the first film, we saw some of the mountains which were used in the lighting of the beacons, we saw the place where Isengard was and some of the places used in the film Wolverine (X-men). It was great to hear about the stories of what went on while filming and obviously the Lord of the Rings team is coming back this November to shoot The Hobbit, unfortunately Pete and I are too tall to be extras (I reckon you have a chance though Emma!). It was a really magical ride and I would recommend it to anyone. That night we decided to treat ourselves to a meal out (basically Pete didn't want to cook) and we had some vouchers for some free drinks, so we thought why not.
Sunday we woke up to another glorious day with blue sky and sunshine, so the drive back to Queenstown was fun. We decided to head up Bobs Peak, which overlooks the town, the lake and had great views of the Remarkables mountain range and Coronet Peak. We took a gondola ride up, had a walk around, refraind from going on the Luge, but I decided to go down in style and paraglide. It is certainly a weird feeling running off the side of a mountain, but once I was sat back and enjoying the half hour just gliding about. Obviously I asked for no fancy spins, knowing my stomach could not hold it and luckily he only did one. It was a great day to do it on with the weather being so clear. I met Pete back up the top of the Peak where we had fish and chips for lunch, before heading back down to the bottom. We had previously booked a trip on Milford Sound for Monday and becuase the road had been closed due to an Avalanche we weren't sure if it was on or not. We were told it would be, so that night we made our way to Te Anau the gateway to the Sound.
Monday morning and we climbed into our wedge shaped bus, it had glass panels above your head so you could see everything. The drive there was spectacular, we stopped at the mirror lakes for some cool photos, before heading into the area where the avalanche happened. They were still clearing the snow and it was piled about 3 metres high at the sides of the road, it was incredible to see and we understood why the road had been closed for so long. Unfortunately the good weather did not last and so by the time we boarded the boat it was grey and murky. It was a good boat trip though, with the driver getting the bow of the boat under waterfalls, seeing seals and of course Mitre Peak. That night it was time to empty the toilet again, Pete and I doing it together, which I feel only strengthened our relationship. We stayed in Te Anau that night, seeing as it was dark and late by the time we got back and had some not so good fish and chips for dinner.
Tuesday morning we found out that shortly after we left Milford Sound the day before, the road had been closed again due to more avalanches, so we were really lucky to get to see it and also make it out again. I took the wheel as we headed south to Invercargill, it was a grey day to start and so we drove through, went to Bluff and then carried on along the South coast. By lunchtime the sun was out and we were heading through picturesque rolling hills and alongside beautiful beaches. We stopped for lunch of baked beans and sausages and then Pete took over the driving to Nugget Point. I had seen Nugget Point on a postcard, which made me want to go there. Unfortunately it was down a rather windy, steep and bumpy track, but it was worth it. With a white lighthouse on top of a cliff and little nuggets of rock in the sea it was very picturesque. We carried on heading up the East coast and arrived in Dunedin, it lived up to its Scottish heritage and was cold and drizzling. We had yummy spaghetti bolognase and a nice glass of wine for dinner, followed by a chocolate fudge pudding.
Wednesday the weather was even worse, more rain and some fog so we decided to not walk around Dunedin, but head up to the Castle. It was certainly an interesting drive up there and I had my serious concerntrating face on. The castle was surrounded by fog and looked very Sherlock Holmes ish. We walked around and then had a very English cream tea by the fire in the ballroom. Back on the road and we stopped off at the Moeraki boulders, I found some beautiful shells on the beach and slipped over, obviously being a girl, I screamed and everyone saw me fall over. Luckily no major injury was done and I was fine to carry on driving. That night we stayed in Timaru, had a bit of road rage with an old lady in the supermarket car park, who thought she couldn't get by me and we lip read her saying f**ks sake. Pete held me back, so I couldn't get out the van and start a punch up. We headed back to the campsite, I did some awful parking and we had our last night in the campervan.
Thursday and we were up early, emptied the toilet for the last time (something we won't miss) and Pete drove us into Christchurch where we said goodbye to the campervan and catched our flight back to Auckland.
End mileage 45,233 km