01.12.2016

Willies lost a day! We were hundred percent sure November has got 31 days... Oh well... turned out we lost one. It just meant we couldn't chill as much in the places we got to like. We were recommended to go the Arthur's Pass way, rather than driving down the West Coast, but first, we wanted to see the Punakaiki rocks! They are pancake-like rock formations and blow holes, shaped by powerful waves. Truly impressive! And of course, we did fall into one of the touristy traps and had yummy bacon and banana pancakes in the local café! Plus the local beach was beautiful, so we had a little stroll. Afterwards, we followed Natasha and Andre's advice and drove down the Arthur's Pass. It was the most amazing scenic drive we did in New Zealand! For two hours, we were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by snow capped mountains, clear streams and beautiful lupins! We would have stopped every five minutes to take a photo and capture this fantastic scenery! Towards the end, we stopped at the lookout to enjoy the views and had a snack. We got surprised by the famous (and gorgeous!) kea parrots! We couldn't believe how close they let us to approach them and very soon we learned everything that was said in documentaries is true! They really are super clever and very cheeky! As Chris was trying to make his sandwiches at the back of our Misty, one of the parrots was clearly distracting us by messing about and letting us take photos, whereas the other two were trying to get closer to the car and probably nick some food! They are renowned for dismantling vehicles, thinking it's a great game! I was surprised how big they actually are, as on the screen they appeared to be much smaller. Anyway, after such a nice encounter, we carried on to our campsite - Lake Pearson. Once we got there, I shouted: "This is definitely my favourite campsite ever!," but Chris just laughed, thinking: "Just you wait for other places!" We parked right next to the water reflecting a beautiful mountain. In fact, we were in the valley from where we could see snow covered mountain tops all around us. It was sunny and I had a sudden urge to go for a swim. In the end, we both decided to do some exercise and then ran into the water. - Literally run into it, as if we had walked in slowely, we would have definitely changed our minds! It was so cold, a little dip was all we braved! The night in a camper was pretty chilly, but worth the scenery!

02.12.2016
In the morning, the weather was pretty cloudy and drizzly, and once again we were like: "Come on New Zealand, be kind!" Luckily, as we drove towards the lake Takapo, it gradually brightened up. We got there lunch time and, as soon as we saw the water, we ran towards it to take photos. It had the most amazing colour you can imagine - I have never seen such clear, turquoise lake before (feel like even the word "turquoise" doesn't do it justice). - And to make the whole picture even more mesmerising, there were lupins scattered everywhere. Their beautiful purple, lilac and creamy colours looked amazing against the blueness of the lake! We even found a go-pro-like camera there! After a stroll, we headed to the campsite near a smaller but still lovely lake. Chris heard that the fishing there is good, so first thing he did was getting a fishing licence! I spent my evening on reading and sipping my wine, so not too bad! Having heard that the area was great for star watching, we decided to stay up and wait until we could see the night sky. Most of the time, I spent in the car, wrapped up warm, but got outside eventually. The stars were beaitiful, but, despite the late hour, it still wasn't dark enough. We got ourselves absolutely freezing, chatting to people next door, so soon came back to Misty! The night was actually so cold, both of us fell asleep in our clothes, and I even kept my wooly hut on!