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- Dia 1
- domingo, 1 de julho de 2018 09:59
- ⛅ 12 °C
- Altitude: 4 m
AustráliaAlexandra Canal33°56’22” S 151°9’58” E
Let the adventure begin

We are going on an adventure!!!!
It all started at 3am when the alarms went off, we reluctantly jumped out of bed excited for our adventure. Pitch black and freezing cold we finished packing our bags, squishing every last thing into them all ready and off we went to join James, Jess and Baby Hudson. We cruised down the M1 with Jesse at the helm (thanks Jesse) and a couple of hours and a speeding fine later we arrived at chilly Sydney international airport. The adventure had well and truly begun. We had some much needed coffee and food before boarding our Emirates A380 flight.
We’re ready for a quick flight across the ditch (or ‘detch’) to the snow capped mountains of New Zealand’s South Island.
Bring on the adventure, catchups with Luke & Nay Carroll, and maybe a mid morning nap because these eyes are closing on their own!
♥️ JoLeia mais
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- Dia 1
- domingo, 1 de julho de 2018 22:52
- ☁️ 10 °C
- Altitude: 33 m
Nova ZelândiaChristchurch International Airport43°29’20” S 172°32’22” E
We made it!

We are finally at our campsite for the night, we have been awake now for 20 hours and feeling very disheveled.
Our flight went smoothly, baby Hudson didn’t even make a peep. Emirates was a grand experience, we didn’t get to make the most of the services in the short 3 hour flight, but enjoyable none the less. We were in suspense as we waited for our bags, feeding our hungry tummies and making sure we were rugged up enough to take on the NZ weather. However, we walked out to a beautiful sunny day which felt warmer than Cooranbong. NZ pulled out the beautiful weather to greet us, much colder now.
The Wilderness shuttle picked us up and took us to our van hire place, where we were only stuck for 3 hours before we finally drove away with our two giant mobile homes ready to see the sites. Asher and James braved the enormous homes on wheels and did a great job...no incidents yet, although we have zero excess, so what’s a few scratches here and there. Care free 😁
First stop...Woolies, or what they call ‘Countdown’ with the Woolies branding. After we stocked our vans with goodies it was off to visit Luke and Nay. It was wonderful to hear their voices, give them big hugs and see where their new home was. We walked down to a local dinner spot which was delicious! Thanks so much guys for looking after us and feeding us. Perhaps the highlight was James’ ‘vegan’ meal, chicken parmigiana. 😂
Little Hudson met Luke and Nay for the first time, and I think they were a little clucky.
After an hours drive we have arrived at our first camping spot, all unpacked and eager to see what greets us in the daylight tomorrow.
♥️ JoLeia mais
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- Dia 2
- segunda-feira, 2 de julho de 2018
- ⛅ 6 °C
- Altitude: 726 m
Nova ZelândiaLake Tekapo43°59’24” S 170°30’5” E
Sleep-ins & Scenic bliss

Sunrise not until 8am; cold and rainy outside ..... conditions were perfect for a cosy morning of dosing! The alarm clocks were turned off and we snoozed to the sounds of rain on the roof of our cosy little (or rather big) vans. We woke, after catching up on some much needed sleep, in the beautiful Rakaia Gorge, 1hr southwest of Christchurch. It was wet, rainy and cold, but that didn’t deter us from jumping out of bed for a quick breaky of croissants & coffee followed by some wandering of this incredible gorge.
The incredible glacial water was so blue, yet crystal clear it ‘blue’ our minds. 😳 Surrounded by incredible pine forests and sheer cliffs, it was a perfect starting point for our scenic tour of NZ’s South Island. But with a late start to the day and the hours of daylight ticking by, we had to get on the road.
So get on the road we did, and wow was it amazing. As we made our way from Rakaia Gorge down to Geraldine and then on to Lake Tekapo, every bend in the road brought an audible ‘wow’ to our mouths. We drove through valleys of rolling green hills covered in white sheep, which slowly turned into huge mountain ranges covered in white snow. It was spectacular! Like nothing we’d really seen before. We couldn’t help but be utterly amazed at the scenery.
With a quick and delicious lunch stop and restock of groceries in Geraldine, it wasn’t long before we arrived at Lake Tekapo. But unfortunately our hopes of finding a lakeside freecamp at Tekapo were dashed as we were confronted with our worst fear on this trip.... No Camping signs.
So with the sun disappearing behind the ever darkening mountain ranges and the temperature plummeting, we frantically consulted our mapps (map apps). It wasn’t long before we found a beautiful spot, at the southern end of Lake Alexandrina. A smaller but equally as beautiful lake, 15 minutes away, along a winding dirt track. Our Wilderness motorhomes held up beautiful and we arrived with minutes of daylight to spare. Just enough time for Jo to capture the shot of the day with snow capped mountains reflecting off the perfectly still lake.
Lake Alexandrina in itself is an incredible place. Situated in the middle of the Mackenzie plains, it’s considered an oasis of life well known for it’s rainbow trout and salmon. In 1881, 10,000 trout were brought to the lake and when they were fully grown, the fishing commenced. Motorboats and Sailboats are prohibited on this spring fed lake, so row boats are the only way to really get your catch. To this day small clusters of fishing huts are located at each end of the lake and many small row boats litter the shore line. Perhaps we could manage to score some dinner for tomorrow night, who knows?
So with darkness finally upon us it was time for a feed, readings, Hudson cuddles, and bed. Thanks James & Jess for cooking up a storm and having us over.
Seriously excited for tomorrow’s adventures.
Asher ☺️Leia mais
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- Dia 3
- terça-feira, 3 de julho de 2018
- ⛅ 5 °C
- Altitude: 543 m
Nova ZelândiaLake Pukaki44°11’0” S 170°9’3” E
1 Day, 2 Vans, 3 Lakes

Today started at 5:30am for us with a chilly couples trip to the pit toilets, cause lets be honest, we were both scared of axe murderers. But with the temperature at -3 and a full moon lighting up the campsite, our 5:30am bathroom trip turned into a 5:30am icy puddle jumpy frenzy as Jo put her new gumboots to the ultimate test. But the freezing conditions got the better of us and we clambered back into bed only to wake a few hours later to Lake Alexandrina putting on a real sunrise show for us. It was just us and one other person in this eery place, surrounded by fishing huts and row boats. But it also meant we had front row seats to one of the most beautiful sunrises we’d ever seen! A perfect way to start the day and with a couple of showers, coffees and warm croissants later, we were back on the road to the small town of Tekapo. Where we headed for 'The Church of the Good Shepherd'.
This was a quaint old church situated at the southern end of Lake Tekapo. It is an extremely popular tourist destination but we got there just before opening time, which gained us access minutes before the bus loads of tourists arrived. We only managed to get a few snaps before we were over run by the larger groups of tourists. Apparently in the busier seasons they can get up to 4000 people there a day! Crazy!
After a bit of exploring and plenty of James' "little people" photos (Photos taken from extremely far away), we began our search for more coffee and a 360 degree view over Lake Tekapo. We found the coffee (and some cheesecake) along with our 360 degree view at the summit of Mount John in the form of an incredible cafe/observatory. Mount John has an elevation of 1,030 meters and is the home of the Mount John University Observatory, and offers such incredible views over the glistening blue lake and snow covered mountain ranges. We marvelled at the enormity of everything around us and spent quite sometime up here.
We then got back on the road and headed to a place called Twizel. Twizel is one of the main towns where we could buy groceries, refill our fresh water and best of all, dump our 'waste'. Dumping the waste proved to be quite simple yet unique for all of us. For James and I it was a becoming a man moment apparently, and we liked to think the girls were watching on in admiration, but sadly I don't think thats possible in a situation like that. We found the 'dump station' and did our business, so to speak, before getting back on the road. We doubled back about 10 minutes to another lake called Lake Pukaki. Lake Pukaki had raving reviews for it's freedom camping so it was decided we'd stay there tonight. And that we did. We set up camp and were able to break out the camp chairs and BBQ just in time for a beautiful sunny BBQ lunch outside.
It wasn't long before the cameras were back out and we began chasing the sunset across the lake. With a back drop of white capped mountains and crystal clear water, the sunset was absolutely incredible. But as the sun dropped, so did the temperature, and it wasn't long before we retired back to our little homes. It was butter chicken for dinner and this time we had James, Jess and little Hudson over. Then it was readings and a slide show of the days photography efforts before another couples bathroom trip and a slow climbed up our ladder into bed. The days have been short but still quite exhausting. Grateful for sunshine, waterproof boots and hand sanitiser after today.
Tomorrow we're taking on New Zealand's largest mountain, Mount Cook. Bring on the adventure and the possible chance of coffee at the top.
Asher ☺️Leia mais
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- Dia 4
- quarta-feira, 4 de julho de 2018 21:30
- ☁️ 4 °C
- Altitude: 284 m
Nova ZelândiaAlbert Town44°40’43” S 169°11’21” E
Mountains & Pushbike riders

It was a brisk morning this morning, an easterly wind freezing me to the bone as I braved the chill for a bacon & egg breaky. Brekky was delish and it wasn't long before we said our goodbyes to the beautiful Lake Pukaki and headed back to Twizel for a warm coffee, passing 2 push bike riders heading the other way. The Temperature was -2 degrees, at 10am. Cold.
Hudsy put us all to shame, winning the warmest dressed prize with his full body snowsuit. The rest of us, we froze. From Twizel we headed north again, this time taking the turn off for Mount Cook, once again passing our push bike friends heading in the same direction. A beautiful 40 minute drive up the opposite side of Lake Pukaki saw us to the Mount Cook Village. It was beautiful here, mounds of snow lining the road and towering, snow cover mountains all around us. We parked the vans and the kettle was on in an instant. Coffee, tea, and chocolate refuelled our cold bodies once again to brave the elements. We made a plan to hit up one of the many walking trails around the Mount Cook region. We stepped outside the warm vans, dressed to the nines in our huge jackets, only to be greeting by the beautiful warm sun. We can't keep up with the weather but man it's still delightful.
We set out along a still icy track that lead to one of the lakes at the base of Mount Cook, Mueller Lake. Mueller Lake was previously a 13 km glacier, but today it's lake feeds down into Lake Pukaki through a beautiful blue river littered with large grey boulders, a picturesque suspension bridge spanning it's banks. It was truly the spectacle of the day. We thought we'd lost James at one point, calling out his name only for him to pop up from a bush he'd been crouching in, trying to "get the right angle". His techniques are paying off though cause he's getting some amazing shots of this place. We spent several hours here, taking photos amongst the incredible terrain, and simply just exploring and admiring this place. Perhaps to long as we left our 2.5hr planned drive down to Albert Town slighty too late.
The drive south to Albert town took us through some amazing scenery. We headed back down the side of Lake Pukaki, once again passing our push bike riding buddies, who still had a long way to go until they reached Mount Cook (hopefully they made it!). We pit stopped at a small farming town called Omarama, refueled the vans and restocked the fridges before continuing South. We passed through Lindis Pass (not Linda's Pass), a beautiful country road sweeping between lush green mountains. Unfortunately the sun was almost gone at this point and we missed some pretty amazing opportunities, but none the less it was some stunning country side.
We made it to our campsite in Albert Town in the dark, hopefully the morning will bring some more stunning scenery, but for now it was a delicious, late night roast dinner at the Lynches and a semi early night.
Tomorrow is a catch-up morning and exploration of Wanaka.
Asher ☺️Leia mais
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- Dia 5
- quinta-feira, 5 de julho de 2018 21:47
- ☁️ 6 °C
- Altitude: 352 m
Nova ZelândiaQueenstown45°1’52” S 168°39’31” E
Over the Mountains

Today started with loud bangs on our motorhome door at 7:30am, Asher rushing to get off the bed, slipping and landing on the ladder (ouch), only to be greeted by the park ranger, not James or Jess in distress. We had paid to stay at our site by the lake, but in the dark we could not find the slip of paper to go on our dash to prove it. So early in the morning we were awoken to be questioned. Today was designated as sleep in and relax, so I was not happy to be woken so early. Still fighting to get rid of this flu, I spent the next couple of hours trying to get a bit more shut eye.
It was late rise at 11:00am with toasted croissants with Jam, thanks Asher! We showered, packed the van and we were off to explore the little town of Wanaka. To much delight, it was my turn to drive, I was very excited to get behind the wheel of our, what feels like a bus, and if I say so, I think I did a pretty good job. Don't worry school, if you need a new bus driver, I'm ready!!
Wanaka was beautiful, a quaint little town with a backdrop of a crystal clear blue lake and snow capped mountains. I am still in awe that people live with this as their day to day view, Morisset just doesn't deliver. We spent a bit of time walking around the cute little town, made the important stop at the bakery and the essential pharmacy stop for some cold and flu tablets then it was off the see 'the tree'.
It's called the 'Lone Tree of Lake Wanaka'. It is a solitary tree that has grown in Lake Wanaka which is backdropped by the beautiful Southern Alps...however in winter, it's a tree that has no leaves and the water level is so low you can walk to it. I must say I was rather underwhelmed, I have no doubt it would be beautiful in Summer when the lake is high and the green leaves contrast the blue lake.
After a few quick snaps of the tree, it was time to head to Queenstown. A lot of excitement to get to the main hub of the Island. We drove through the breathtaking Cardrona Valley. It was quiet an experience driving the van through the twists and turns up and down the mountainside. It's like nothing I have ever seen before. Driving through Queenstown really tested my driving skills. It's jammed packed with parked cars lining already narrow roads, so guiding the beast through the city, avoiding any kind of collision was a miracle. We decided to head for the local holiday park, which cost a bit of money for a powered site but it was worth it. Just a short walk down the hill and we were in the city centre of Queenstown but, more importantly, we were at the open doors of Fergburger!
We beat the huge queue by about half an hour and invested in some extremely large burgers. While we waited for our delicious meal, we crossed the road and purchased our lift passes for tomorrows ski field adventures at Coronet Peak, and then returned just in time to be handed a grease wrapped bundle of goodness. Talk about efficiency!
We walked our bag of delight a couple of streets down to the waters edge where we ate our burgers with the spectacular view. We took our time to stroll around the town, we might be heading out for a midnight snack, so many beautiful places, it would take weeks to truly explore the whole of Queenstown.
Back up the hill to our caravan park we went, only after our stop at the bakery with our delicious desserts, what a treat. Asher, James and I were off to find a hire place for our ski equipment for tomorrows adventure. We will be heading up to Coronet Peak for a days skiing, it will be an early morning for us tomorrow, but it will be greeted with much excitement.
Back to our caravan park for the night where we tucked into our bakery treats and played a game of Rummy, our first board game of the trip. We are looking forward to the unlimited warm showers tonight, no van shower for us. No complaints about the van facilities, but a warm, high pressure shower has been eagerly awaited.
Early to bed tonight, looking forward to our skiing adventures tomorrow, it has been a while, so who knows the condition we will all be in tomorrow night. We are loving the van life so far, wonderful adventures and looking forward to many more. I am holding Mum close to my heart exploring the place she was born.
♥️ JoLeia mais
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- Dia 5
- quinta-feira, 5 de julho de 2018 21:57
- ☁️ 5 °C
- Altitude: 353 m
Nova ZelândiaQueenstown45°1’56” S 168°39’15” E
Queenstown

Our first experience of Queenstown! Wondering the streets and Fergburger. ☺️
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- Dia 6
- sexta-feira, 6 de julho de 2018 21:02
- 🌧 7 °C
- Altitude: 349 m
Nova ZelândiaQueenstown45°1’54” S 168°39’17” E
Coronet Peak and...we can no longer walk

Today was an early rise at our extremely comfortable caravan park. The alarm went off at 6:30am and after a small snooze I lovingly shook Jo awake and it was adventure time. James joined us a few moments later and we hit the road, leaving Jess and Hudson to explore Queenstown. We were headed for Coronet Peak Ski Fields.
We left early in order to beat any traffic heading up to Coronet Peak, about 25 minutes out of Queenstown. And beat the traffic we did! We braved the darkness before sunrise (8am), the sleet, and the icy winding road and made it to the slopes before everyone but 5 people. But as James went searching for coffee and Jo and I ate our breaky while we waited for the slopes to open, we kind of lost track of time. We completely misjudge how long it would take us to get all our layers and gear on, and some us completely forgot how difficult ski boots are to walk in up an icy hill. So it wasn't until well after 8am, following a coffee stop and planning meeting, we were on the Meadow Express chairlift heading for the beginner green runs to get our confidence back.
We were greeted with incredible weather at the top of Coronet Peak, views of Queenstown and all the incredible surrounding mountains. It was such an incredible experience to be able to look out for miles around at the vastness of God's creation. New Zealand seems so small on a map but it's really absolutely huge, with such a variety of scenery. There was something about sliding down a mountain surrounded but such amazing things.
So a few easy runs later we were completely exhausted...... and it'd only been 30 minutes, a true testimony to our supreme unfitness. We pushed on, hitting the various slopes and runs that Coronet Peak had to offer. It had been a while since any of us had been to the snow, so it didn't take long for our feet and legs to start wearing down. I was the first to take a tumble and continued on to win the most amount of crashes for the day. I simply put it down to the snowboard vs ski argument and how it's "impossible to stack on skis". But it wasn't long before James hit the ice, and soon after Jo too.
We thoroughly enjoy our time at Coronet Peak. The slopes were a little steeper and unfamiliar to what we're used to back in Australia, but all in all it was a great time. We made sure we paced ourselves with plenty of rest stops but still to this moment our bodies are truly in a world of pain. We pushed to explore as much of the beautiful mountain we could, but soon heavy rain and terrible condition helped us make the call to get out fo there early and once again beat the traffic down the mountain.
After returning our gear back tot he hire shop, Jess and Hudsy greeted us when we arrived back at the campsite. They were full of energy..... we were not. But none the less, we were keen to get down into town for some dinner. We did a big clean up of our vans (which included some dumping and pumping) and made full use of the holiday park's hot, well-pressured showers. Warm and fresh, we set out for a rainy walk down to Queenstown. Jess, who had been exploring for the day, was our personal tour guide to all the best restaurants and dining experiences. After a bit of wondering and looking at menus we settled for a traditional Irish pub. It was perfect! Open fireplace, mood lighting, dark timber everywhere, perfectly cooked steak, and vibrant Irish atmosphere was all we needed to fill our bellies and warm ourselves. We spent sometime here, eating and chatting before it ended up getting a little warm inside and we set out down the streets for some Mrs Ferg Ice-cream, a branch off of Fergburger. Ice-cream, a temp of 5 degrees and the cold rainy night mean't it was back up the hill and into the vans for the night.
We decided to get a bit of laundry done so gathering our dirty clothes, towels, and a suspicious ziplock bag of laundry powder off Jess (don't know how she got that across the border), we set off in the rain once again to get the domestic duties checked off. Then it was back to the van and into bed for a movie night and perhaps a late night Fergbakery snack, who knows?
We're loving it so much here we've extended our stay at the holiday park so we can cram in more of what Queenstown has to offer.
Tomorrow we're recovering from today's activities and exploring some old historical towns around Queenstown. Nice and relaxing!
Asher ☺️Leia mais
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- Dia 7
- sábado, 7 de julho de 2018 19:36
- 🌙 7 °C
- Altitude: 420 m
Nova ZelândiaFirst Burn44°56’33” S 168°50’17” E
Arrowtown Adventures, Landslides & Naps

Today we slept in slightly, our legs feeling not too bad from the previous days snow adventures. James and I set out down he street on a coffee run. Some delicious coffee can be found across the road from Queenstown's Lakeview Holiday Park at a cosy little cafe called Bespoke Kitchen.
On return it was a quick pack up and we were on the beautiful road to the historical town of Arrowtown, about 30 minutes out of Queenstown. Arrowtown is a historic gold mining town situated on the banks of the Arrow River, surrounded by steep, rocky mountains. Gold was first discovered in the Arrow river back in 1862 and soon a large population of 7,000 miners moved to the area. There are many well preserved buildings built by European and Chinese Immigrants when the Arrowtown gold mining was at it's peak. There was something very 'English' about the town with its stone walls, green grass, and old stone cottages everywhere. We browsed the many different antique and collectable stores before settling in for coffee and scones at a nice cafe.
Jo and I paid a little visit to the tiny local library, Jo reminiscing to the days when her Mum would take her and her siblings to the local library back home when they were young kids and they'd borrow books and DVDs til their hearts content. Such amazing memories! ☺️
After much wandering of this amazing little town, we decided to head back toward Queenstown, this time continuing through the town and heading toward a place called Glenorchy. The 50 minute drive to Glenorchy is very renowned for its stunning road alongside Lake Wakatipu (the main Queenstown lake). We were blown away by a constant view of the water, surrounded by green forests. We stopped briefly at the pristine Wilson bay and continued on our way. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before we were greeted with orange flashing lights and signs telling us to turn around. Due to persistent rain these last few days the road to Glenorchy had been damaged in a landslide and was closed. Sadly our little adventure out of town had come to an end.
So we headed back to our delightful holiday park and settled in for the afternoon. Jo took full advantage of the extra time in the afternoon to catch up on some sleep (still trying to shake this flu) while James, Jess and Hudson set out for the Queenstown Gondola to the top of the Ben Lomond mountain, and I sort out a good coffee and an almond croissant.
The Gondola riders returned, Jo woke up from her sleep and I dragged her into town for dinner. After much wandering of the streets we found a cosy place and tucked in to some delicious food. The food culture here is really great, you don't have to go far to find good food. We're pretty sure we've put on even more weight, it's just too good!
We settled in for the night, ready for what ever tomorrow brings.
Asher ☺️Leia mais
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- Dia 8
- domingo, 8 de julho de 2018 21:53
- ⛅ 3 °C
- Altitude: 351 m
Nova ZelândiaQueenstown45°1’34” S 168°38’52” E
Rainy day in Queenstown

After not feeling too great yesterday and sleeping the afternoon away, Asher and I woke up and decided to spend another day in Queenstown to explore the city and ride the Gondola up the top of Ben Lomond mountain, we couldn't leave Queenstown without doing that, it just wouldn't be right. So we said farewell to James and Jess who went down south for the day to explore the sites and the beautiful scenery it offered.
We set off for the Gondola but couldn't walk past the cafe without stopping for Asher's morning coffee. After the coffee and brekky was consumed, we went up the mountain and I was very excited to see the beautiful view from the top. We hopped on and it was a short ride to the top with the view getting better and better as we went up, there was some shocking sites as we headed up, Asher and I turned in horror as we heard shrill screams and saw a girl fling herself off the side of the cliff head first...can you believe people pay for this experience? I must admit, I did have the urge to do it myself. Bungy jumping and the giant swing are some of the more adventurous activities NZ has to offer. Maybe next time.
The view from the top of the mountain was stunning, it was like nothing else, the beautiful blue lakes stretched out beneath the tall mountains and looking out of the city nestled in between. We enjoyed pointing our the landmarks from the top, the places we had walked, our Van and most astonishing, you could clearly make out the line at Fergburger, which still has a long line at every hour of the day. As we walked around the Mountain exploring the different look out spots, the rain had really set it. Walking around toasty warm in our jackets and scarves makes the rain a fun adventure.
After our wanderings we decided to head back to our van for morning tea and some board games. We are really settling into the van life. On a rainy day like today we appreciated the cosy warm van more than ever. After some games and a nap we decided to hit the town and pass the rainy afternoon away with a movie followed by dinner.
Before leaving Queenstown we needed to pump, dump and restock on water and gas, which took a little longer than we thought. Finally we were ready, bakery treats on board and we were off to meet Jess and James at our campsite for the night.
But wait.... James called from a Maccas nearby. With no wifi or phone reception they couldn't find the campsite we had agreed on that morning, and being low on fuel they made the good decision to come back to Queenstown. Thank goodness for Maccas free wifi cause were just about to head in the opposite direction to meet them.
So back to the holiday park in Queenstown for our last night before we start our journey back up to Christchurch tomorrow. We settled into our vans, heater on and bakery goods waiting, Jess and James joined us with their treats from the bakery and we had a lovely night catching up on our days and feeling very content with our current situation. Warm showers, toilets and power tonight, what a treat.
We are due back in Christchurch at 2pm on Thursday afternoon to return our vans. We are looking forward to exploring the west coast as we make our way back up and stopping at some more lookouts, quaint towns, bakeries and enjoying the scenic drives.
Looking forward to spending next weekend with Luke and Nay. xx
Special happy birthday to Dad! Hope you're having a wonderful day where you are on your holiday! Love you xx
♥️ JoLeia mais
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- Dia 9
- segunda-feira, 9 de julho de 2018 09:56
- 🌧 2 °C
- Altitude: 551 m
Nova ZelândiaThe Meg Creek44°52’53” S 169°0’14” E
Goodbye Queenstown, hellooo West Coast

Sadly today was the day we were leaving Queenstown. We absolutely loved this place and would highly recommend it if you’re ever planning on coming to New Zealand’s South Island. While we didn’t really do any of the crazy adrenaline activities here, we still thoroughly enjoyed the experience and atmosphere of the whole place. It’s sad to be going but there’s still so much of this island we need to explore before we hand back the keys to our Wilderness Motorhome.
It started with a morning run down to the Ferg for a couple of brekky burgers and coffee, a quick pack up, and restock of water and we were on our way. We were heading back north, aiming for the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island. That was going to be our route home to Christchurch.
We set out, up through the winding, misty roads of the Crown Ranges of Queenstown. As we approached the pinnacle of this beautiful mountain range we began noticing flashes of fresh white snow all around us, we hit the top, parked the van and jumped out into the soft white powder of freshly fallen snow. We spent some time here taking photos, building our first snowman (George), and of course, throwing snowballs. We took a great liking to our snowbaby George and dressed him appropriately, complete with glasses, gloves and a beanie, he even had a proper carrot nose. Best snowman to date! But we were soon saturated and freezing and had to say goodbye to our new little buddy. We jumped back into the vans and started down the other side of the mountains.
We stopped briefly for a coffee (or mulled wine for some) in the beautiful Cardrona Valley. This quaint little town was tiny but packed full history, complete with a musty but stunning old hotel and cute little school house. We could picture exactly what this little town would have been like back in the day.
We pushed north, passing back through Wanaka and Albert town heading toward the West Coast. It wasn’t long before the scenery around us changed from snowy mountains to beautiful, lush green, moss covered forests. With the rain falling all around us, this change of scenery brought on a new sense of awe. The dense forests surrounded the road, as we caught glimpses of rushing blue rivers and showering, white waterfalls. This was one of the nicest drive we’d done yet. We stopped at various river crossings and lookouts but, our prime stopping spot was the Blue Pools. The Blue Pools were located about 2 hours north west of Queenstown. We parked our van and set off on the 10 minute walked through the stunning forest to the blue pools. The blue pools consisted of two rivers joining together forming a deep section of water surrounded by smooth stone beaches. On a sunny day the pools look incredible blue, a result of light refracting through the crystal clear snow fed rivers. However, today it was quiet cloudy and the heavy rain had turned the water more of a green colour. None the less it was still an amazing experience. Walking along the board walks through the green forests was so out of this world, and as we crossed the suspension bridge over the blue pools we were again taken away by the beauty of this place.
We walked down to the waters edge and skimmed stones across to the other side. Many people had built stone stacks which seems to be the thing to do over here with so many flat, smooth rocks.
Soon the rain set in only more heavy and we made the trek back through the forest to our vans. We set off down the road for about 1km before finding our campsite for the night. We camped at a place called Cameron Flat which over looked the river below us.
From there it was a cheese board, red wine and a rainy game of ticket to ride before James cooked up a storm for dinner. Jo and I took advantage of the relaxing time to start watching The Hobbit, a perfect movie choice for our New Zealand adventure. Unfortunately our campsite was out of internet coverage so we were phone-less and internet-less for a night (not sure how some of us coped). But with full bellies and sleepy eyes we had no quarms in hitting the pillow for the night, ready to continue our road trip up the west coast tomorrow.
Asher ☺️Leia mais
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- Dia 9
- segunda-feira, 9 de julho de 2018 09:56
- 🌧 5 °C
- Altitude: 351 m
Nova ZelândiaMuddy Creek44°9’44” S 169°16’14” E
Blue Pools

Adventure to the Blue Pools.
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- Dia 10
- terça-feira, 10 de julho de 2018 08:02
- 🌙 5 °C
- Altitude: 10 m
Nova ZelândiaMaori Beach43°35’30” S 169°36’35” E
Big drives and death by walking

Well today was interesting. We had a lovely start to the morning, we woke up at Cameron Flat with the sun shining on all the snow capped mountains, it was beautiful to see after the torrential rain we had yesterday. We were hurried along, James was very keen to get going this morning after having no reception last night, which meant no wifi, he was very eager to get on the road to find the goods.
We are on our way up the west coast heading back to Christchurch. The coastal drive is blowing us away, first stop today was Thunder creek waterfall, a short 5 minute walk off the main road, and the name sure was fitting. You could hear the gushing water from the roadside. The air is still quite brisk and has a real bite to it. We went for the short walk to the waterfall and after a few snaps it was back to the vans to head through the Haast pass to get the morning coffee.
I had the fun experience of driving the bus today, when driving you don't get to take full advantage of the view, so I was glad Asher got a turn to relax and soak up the scenery. Driving through Haast Pass was beautiful, surrounded by mountains with water flowing down them.
We finally made it to the little town of Haast, and oh my that was small town living. Not much in the way of shops or even houses. We went into the local bar/restaurant for some coffee and was greeted by stag antlers hanging all over the roof and walls, most with the skulls still attached. Jess thought it had a very American feel to it, I imagine a bit like Texas. Asher had some coffee and cake but didn't recommend it, so off down the street to the local cafe we went for Jess and James. In about 1 minute we had seen all there was to see, had got supplies from the outrageously priced general store and it was back on the road.
Heading further up the coast we hit the beach, it was spectacular, so beautiful and clear. It was very inviting, but as soon as you stepped out of the warm van, the desire to swim was swept away very quickly. We stopped at Knights Head lookout, took in the fresh salty air and admired the view. We kept heading north for Fox glacier. The scenery is so beautiful, you can't help but pull over to take pictures, we are limited in our buses to the safe places we can pull over. But we found a beautiful spot at Bruce Bay beach and hopped out for a short stroll on the sand, or should I say rocks. Their beaches are not like ours, they are covered in rocks, all different sizes, but generally quite small. We had some fun building rock towers and collected some pure white stones. The rocks that you find through the forests, mountain side and on the beach are so different to ours. All their rocks are a mix of quarts, granite, jade and something that looks a bit like silver running through them. They are beautiful, I have collected a few to add to my baggage weight limit coming home.
We pushed on and finally arrived at the little town of Fox glacier, named after the…Fox glacier. It was a little town with not much to offer, so we stopped for some quick lunch and then we were off to the 'short and mostly flat walk' (described by Asher) to the glacier. I was a little hesitant, and not convinced it was going to be a leisurely stroll. Let me just start by saying...I was right.
We arrived at the carpark at the entrance to the walk and we had a quick glance at the signs. 1 hour return. No alarms going off yet. We saw on the sign that back in 1862 the glacier was so big that it reached all the way to the carpark. Now, it's a 30 minute hike away. We started walking. Still no alarms going off. There were little ups and downs in the path but still, what a lovely walk. So beautiful! The cliffs on the other-side of the river were amazing. We had to do a couple of river crossings. What fun we had jumping across the rocks to the other side. Yay! We started walking quite steeply downhill. Oh no! Alarm! We are going to have to walk back up this hill later. Back to flat. Yay this is a great, leisurely walk. After a couple of ups and downs we turn the corner and see a vertical stretch of hill that goes beyond what we can see! Big alarm bells! This glacier better be worth the pain about to occur. We got to the base of the vertical hill. Looking up was a daunting site. We were not very keen to start the walk up but, we pushed on! Keenly encouraged by James and Asher, Jess and I took on the mental battle and pushed ourselves up the hill, holding back tears as we turned corners only to see another stretch of rocky hill we would have to tackle. Finally, we got ourselves to the top of the mountain and were looking for the beautiful glacier. At first, we weren't too sure where is was because it was so small and so… so underwhelming. We were a tad disappointed by the slab of ice. However, turning around was the best view of all, looking back over the valley and the beautiful tall mountains with the sun shining through, was worth the pain. After taking lots of pictures and recovering from the trip up, it was time to head back down. The walk back was much more pleasant, taking in the scenery, stopping to collect quartz and jade stones, and enjoying a refreshing drink from the flowing rivers. All in all, the excursion wasn't so bad, but lets just say, thats the last hike for the trip, hopefully. I think a gym membership is very much needed to improve the fitness levels. Hahaha.
We pushed on and headed to the next town, Franz Josef, for some dinner and to buy the last of the supplies for our last night tomorrow. We pumped and dumped, filled up with water and made it to our campsite for tonight. We arrived in the dark, so look forward to what we will see in the morning. We are parked next to Lake Mapourika, just north of Franz Josef. Our time in the van is slowly coming to a close but, it has been such a great experience and we would highly recommend it.
Looking forward to our adventures through Arthurs-pass tomorrow.
♥️ JoLeia mais
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- Dia 10
- terça-feira, 10 de julho de 2018 16:00
- ⛅ 4 °C
- Altitude: 727 m
Nova ZelândiaGraham Stream42°56’31” S 171°33’47” E
The glacier walk

Lucky we have nice pictures to make the walk worth it! ☺️
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- Dia 11
- quarta-feira, 11 de julho de 2018 20:56
- 🌧 4 °C
- Altitude: 740 m
Nova ZelândiaMingha River42°59’16” S 171°35’14” E
The Beginning of The End

Today we woke with our cosy van situated on beautiful Lake Mapourika, 10 minutes north of Franz Josef Glacier township. We ate our Nutri Grain, drank coffee and mosied on down to the waters edge in the drizzling rain. We said good morning to some other campers who’d been fishing with what seemed like no luck, packed up our van and hit the road with James, Jess and Hudsy on our tail. We cruised the 10 minutes back into town for a nice coffee and a bit of wifi so we could upload our blog posts from the last couple of days.
From there we once again hit the road going north, continuing up the west coast. We drove for a good hour before turning off down a little side road that supposedly led to some natural hot springs. But as the the road turned to dirt, then loose gravel, then simply just large pot holes filled with water, our hope of relaxing in some delightful hot pools quickly diminished. Soon the road came to a complete dead end save for a small walking trail teat led on. I jumped out of the van and went to investigate, only to be greeted by large rocks and a rushing river instead of the supposed soft sand and warm gentle stream. Clearly the last few days of rain have had a huge impact on New Zealand’s rivers. So with the hot springs crossed off our list but not achieved, we tracked back along the goat trail and back onto the main road. We pointed our noses at the small gold mining town of Ross.
Ross was supposedly the largest gold mining town on the West Coast. We spent a little bit of time here, admiring the very well kept miners cottage and tiny old gaol. Something they do very well over he is maintain so much of their history. There were hundreds of old photographs, instruments and things of just day to day living from back then. It really takes you back to that time when you can walk into an entire cottage fitted out as it would have been back then Complete with an old stove, a dining room and even annelid piano. Quite amazing. We explored the history of the town a little before pressing on the a much larger town, Hokitika.
Hokitika is one of the larger towns on the west coast. We stopped here for lunch and explored the many different shops on offer. IN particular they had a fantastic glass blowing shop where you could watch the glass benders creating their world of art. It was so mesmerising to watch the piping hot, glowing glass turn into something incredible in their hands. Jo confessed to frequently watching youtube clips on glass blowing, turns out she's got a hidden admiration for the art. We could have stood there and watched them all day, but we had to keep moving. We stopped in at a large jade shop where once again you could watch the masons carve the beautiful green stones into incredible works of art. We admired an incredible 1.5 tonne, $200,000 jade lounge before heading out of town, stopping to pump and dump as we went.
From there we continue our journey north and then west toward Arthurs Pass. With Jo at the helm I was completely free to admire the amazing scenery as we started heading up into Arthur's Pass. As we drove the mountains seemed to close in on us as the valley got tighter. The road got steeper and the temperature got lower as we climbed ever higher up into the snow capped mountains. We drove along sheer cliffs with waterfalls going over our heads. The gorge below us roared with the recent rainfall converging as it found it's way down he mountain.
We pulled into a small lookout that looked back down the gorge we'd just climbed. It was beautiful but here we also found the infamous Kea birds, the parrots of the mountain. These birds were pretty large parrot looking birds with sharp curved beaks. They are renowned for nibbling on the rubber tires of cars and sure enough as soon as we pulled up they were looking for their next fix of rubber. Our tires thankfully were not on the menu as one bird instead opted for the rubber seal on our van door before being chases away. We chatted to a friendly local for a while before heading on through Arthur's Pass. We arrived at our final freedom campsite 15 minutes later and set up camp as the rain set in. The weather forecast says fresh snow through the night so we're hoping we'll be waking to a winter wonderland tomorrow but we'll see what happens.
It was burritos for our final dinner in the vans tonight followed by a quick trip back into reception to upload our blogs and catch up on the daily instagram feed ☺️
We're sad to be saying goodbye to our Wilderness motorhomes tomorrow afternoon. It's been an incredible experience and the best way to see as much of the sights as possible. We highly recommend Wilderness to anyone planning a road trip around New Zealand, they've been a treat! We just wish we had longer! 😩
Looking forward to catching up with Luke & Nay for the coming weekend though. I'm sure they've got lots more to show us.Leia mais
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- Dia 12
- quinta-feira, 12 de julho de 2018 23:59
- 🌙 3 °C
- Altitude: 14 m
Nova ZelândiaMerivale43°30’40” S 172°37’26” E
Bye Bye Wilderness & Comforts of Home

Today we woke to sounds of a heavy freight train roaring past our van! Our final freedom campsite in Arthur’s Pass was unfortunately situated across the road from the main train line that wound through the mountains. But still, the amazing forest around us and gentle patter of rain on the roof was amazing! Could get used to waking up like this every day. But sadly our time in our home on wheels was coming to an end. Today was the day we had to hand back the keys.😩 But, we still had a few hours before we had to do that!
We got up, did our usual morning routines and headed back up the mountains of Arthur’s Pass toward the incredible bridge of “Death’s Corner” stopping for coffee at the collage on our way. Deaths Corner road bridge spanned through the huge gorge at a very impressive angle. We got the classic shot of this bridge, James got attacked by a Kea bird, and we headed on back down the pass.
Luke and Nay had given us a list of cool things to check out on our way back to Christchurch. This included the amazing Cave Stream, a long cave with a flowing river running through it. You could actually walk from one end to the other if you were keen enough to get wet. We, however, were not, so we pressed on!
We were racing against the clock to get back to Christchurch with enough time to sort out the vans before dropping them back, so we had to admire Luke’s next suggestion of the Castle Hill Rocks from the car as we flew by at 100kmph. We did, however, pull over for one last stop before town... The Famous Sheffield Pie Shop... how could we not?!
Pies on board (including some frozen ones for Luke & Nay) we made tracks for Christchurch.
We arrived back at Luke & Nay’s and it was time to put our houses (on wheels) in order. We didn’t realise how much stuff we’d brought before we started stuffing it back into suitcases. It was a wild 20 minutes of packing and unloading before we headed back out to pump, dumped, and refuel one last time.
It wasn’t long before we rolled our relatively tidy vans back into the Wilderness depot. It was sadly time to say goodbye to our beautiful vans! They did their final checks, we did our surveys and then they shouted us a taxi back to the house. Until next time Wilderness. 👌🏻
We grabbed coffee at the local shops before settling in at the house. We commented on the spacious lounge room and how nice it was after a couple of weeks in the close quarters of the van. We stretched out and relaxed while we waiting for Luke & Nay to get home from work. It was great to see them again when they did get home. They whipped up some delicious wild venison and veggie burgers, coupled with a nice bottle of red, and followed by some amazing chocolate mousse. What a treat!
Wasn’t long before we’d had our catch ups, drunk our late night cups of tea and all disappeared to bed.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures with our local tour guides but for now, it’s time to soak up the comforts of a warm, spacious, and stationary home 😊😴Leia mais
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- Dia 13
- sexta-feira, 13 de julho de 2018 20:46
- 🌙 1 °C
- Altitude: 15 m
Nova ZelândiaMerivale43°30’39” S 172°37’27” E
Baked Beans & an Italian Stallion

We spent the night on a comfy air mattress in Luke & Nay's cosy lounge room last night. We woke to the hustling and bustling of Lukey in the kitchen, whipping up his famous baked beans (famous?). I got up and started brewing a bit of coffee as slowly, one by one everyone else walked bleary eyed into he kitchen. Jo shocked us all by showing face in the kitchen quite early before we realised she was just passing through to get back to her bed from the bathroom! 😂
But soon the smell of Luke's beans and the rest of his yummy breakfast lured her back in. We feasted on a delicious gourmet brekky before getting ready for the day. Firstly we had to sort out another set of wheels. We hired a rental car online before Luke dropped us to pick it up. We had a great chat to the car rental ladies before setting off to pick up the girls.
We loaded the girls and Hudson into the cars and we were off on the road once again. We were aiming for the amazing Hanmer Springs. About 1.5 hours later we arrived in the beautiful old town at the base of the mountain ranges, just North-West of Christchurch. Luke and Nay were dying to take us on a a pretty big hike, but Luke, previously reading about the events which took place at the Fox Glacier, decided against it. It was in the best interest of us all. 😂
We did however tackle a substantial hill climb when we arrived in Hanmer Springs. We set off up Conical Hill, an amazing track that wound up the mountain through incredible pine forests. Luke managed to steal the good camera off James to try re-ignite his old photography skills, much to James' dismay he had to go without taking a photo for some time while we climbed. We managed the trek with ease and the view at the top paid of. We could see all over Hanmer Springs and then back over toward the snow capped ranges behind us. We never grow tired of these incredible views here!
After several attempts at a group photo it was back down to town to explore and find coffee. Unfortunately due to a bit of a late start to the day we were racing the sun and had to head back to Christchurch. We would have spent much more time in Hanmer Springs if we had the time but perhaps next time.
We made it back to Christchurch and relaxing for a bit before heading out to dinner just down he road. Luke & Nay had booked a table at an amazing Italian restaurant just new there house. We walked in and instantly felt like we were in another country. The hustle and bustle of happy diners greeted us as well as a large Italian man who threw his hands in the air in greeting "Ciao Bella!" We were directed to our table and continued to be entertained but this character of a man. Hudson seemed to attract bit of attention from waiters and diners alike, making us the centre of attention int he restaurant.😂 We ordered some incredible authentic food and James & Jess reminisced to the days they visited Italy. Our Italian stallion friend was never faraway with a new cheeky comment about how the ladies loved his thick accent, much to the girls delight!
We spent the night feasting on delicious food and wine, catching up, and enjoying the odd but hilarious interruptions from our larger than life friend. With full bellies and content hearts we walked back to the house to relax in front of the warm fire and sip on cups of tea before bed.
Tomorrow our personal tour guides are taking us to some farmers markets and showing us around Akoroa, but for now it's time to sleep away this Italian food.
Asher
(More photos to come)Leia mais