New Zealand

November - December 2016
  • Vander Wonders
A 31-day adventure by Vander Wonders Read more
  • Vander Wonders

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  • Milford sound cruise

    November 12, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    A magnificent last day in the Fjordlands Nasional Park. I consider myself extremely lucky to see Mitre Peak and the majestic awe-inspiring fjords on a postcard like day. Given the natural rainfall of 8-10 meters in this area of South Island I realize sunshine and blue skies is the exception rather than the rule. The rain has to fall at same point right?

    I go to nature to be soothed and healed and to put my senses in tune once more. Nothing humbles me more than to look up to the majestic mountains and enjoy the abundance of wildlife around here.

    I had natures facelift, when our boat cruised underneath a waterfall that is known (or what the Maori's and I believe😉) to take 10 years of anyone that is sprayed with the water.

    I am happy beyond believe to have been so close to nature the past few days. We expect so much from everything & everyone and then, when we find ourselves in complete remoteness we realize that its all perceptions created in our minds. Nature is pure and simple and whenever we need perspective the answers are right here.

    {Issy}
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  • Milford sound

    November 12, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Milford track day 5

    The cherry 🍒 on the cake so to speak, today we don't have to walk anywhere and we get to do a 2 hour cruise on the Milford sound and experience the majestic scenery of the surrounding mountains one last time before we head back to civilization (yes no cell phone coverage or wifi here).

    We saw some See lions (evening gowns, internal blog joke), bottle nose dolphins 🐬 and best of all we found a penguin 🐧! We were fortunate enough to spot a Fiordland Crested Penguin, there are only 2000 breeding pairs left in the wild of these little creatures.

    It was a perfect end to an unbelievable few days.

    I ran out of words to describe this beautiful place, all I can say is if anyone wants to come here I am happy to come join you again 😄!

    {Roedolf}
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  • #lovetorun

    November 13, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    I decided to juggle an Issy long run adventure, along the lake this morning, I can't think of a better way to say goodbye to Queenstown, the adventure capital of the South Island.

    I had the trial for myself most of the time... running free with a happy heart, surrounded by beauty. Thrilled when I randomly discovered the flowers I saw on postcards and ads about New Zealand.

    It's wonderful to know I don't have to worry about safety here. I had my phone with me but more to check out google maps in case I get lost.

    My quads slowed me down on the hills but I am forgiving, they covered quite some distance with the hike.

    Ps.
    ( It's great to travel in a first world country where you pop a local vodafone simcard in your phone & 2G fast data is included in the $29)
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  • Fergburger Queenstown

    November 13, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    A burger is a burger is a burger. Or not!

    When I first saw the queue going up the street to get into Fergburger, my first thought was how good can this really be?

    To put it into perspective, Isabel normally start moaning just when I mention Mac Donald's or KFC and this time was not much different until she took the first bite of this burger. As soon as she tasted it, she broke out in songs of praise for the flavor explosion in her mouth.

    Wow what a burger! #Westwoodtours

    {Roedolf}

    True story!! Ek raak nie sommer liries oor 'n takeaway nie. Die lang ry spreek boekdele oor die smake en popularitiet van die plek. 'n Westwood tour en Andre recommendation. Die burger was amazing, die pattie was alles. So vars en nie oily nie. Na 'n bietjie wag het ons burger gevat en op die beste spot langs die lake gaan eet. Ek was nie gou weer honger nie...

    A burger to die for🍔!!
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  • Lake Wanaka

    November 13, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Our road trip kicked off from Queenstown this afternoon. At our first stop we watched some crazies bungee at Kawarau Bridge, home of the world's first commercial bungee. Roedolf pulled in at a local farm ("padstal") we tasted some dried fruits, I'm amazed how yummy dried papaya is.

    Coffee time at Lake Wanaka, life is good with a double shot espresso. Enjoyed the small town vibe and Sunday afternoon buzz.

    I love our 1c flexibility so far. We got a brilliant car relocation deal from Queenstown to Christchurch. We are making our way up to Lake Tekapo where we plan to find a place to stay tonight. Open ended & random where the road takes us.

    Freestylin South Island

    {Issy}
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  • Earthquake

    November 14, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    We woke us at 12h15 from the Motel building shaking and it sounded like roof tiles moving. It lasted for about 30 seconds.

    My first thought was its got to be a earthquake, but does not feel that bad. Isabel originally thought there were people running on the roof above our room and she wanted to go and tell them off😜.

    Seconds after we saw on breakingnews.com that it was in fact an earthquake.

    Weird experience, it shows the power of the forces of nature. Wind, fire, water etc all very scary if it goes bad!

    On the flip side, we have seen the dramatic landscapes in the South Island which was all formed by some force of nature like water or ice and its just beautiful.

    {Roedolf}
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  • Banks Peninsula

    November 15, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    To kick of our Camper-van adventure we stopped of at Akarua, a beautiful, french, coastal town, east of Christchurch. We decided to go bare basic tonight and test the NZ's free campsites. I was in ecstasy with the picturesque picnic spot 50m from our camp spot.

    On our drive down we stopped at the local cheese farm. The balsamic vinegar& onion and the smoked Havarti seemed like a fine choice. Pinor noir from Nelson, a view and delicious cheese makes it a perfect way to start our tramping.

    {issy}
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  • Boat ramp Akarua

    November 16, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Our first night in the camper-van, we drove to Akarua and found a free camping spot for self contained vehicles (vehicles with running water and onboard toilet 🚽). It only had 6 spots and we were lucky enough to get one.

    There was public toilets about 500 meters away and a drinking water fountain but that was it, we learned quickly that free means you only really get a free legal place to park and sleep.

    We made the best of it by enjoying some wine and cheese, see Isabel's blog. And of course a braai with NZ lamb and veggies, food was amazing!

    Then we retired early and slept about 11 hours, clearly the bed in our camper is as comfortable as you going to get in a camper.

    {Roedolf}
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  • Around the mountain

    November 16, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Wake up climb a mountain crash. We were probably a bit over ambitious, with the route we picked, this morning. It was hell of an incline without zigzags. We were both huffing an puffing. It morally broke Roedolf that there were no mile markers on the track and I slipped about 6 times which was terrifying. Close to the top we both just crashed in the grass. Luckily i am still in one piece. The view over the lush green valley and town was beautiful. I am over steep hills for a bit.

    New Zealand is geared for tourism, even the tiniest place has an i-Site tourist information site which is funded by government. The lady at i-site suggested there suggested the hike for us- I doubt she has ever walked it herself.

    {Issy}
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