New Zealand 2019

3 weeks in a camper van as a little family of 3. Read more

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New Zealand 2019
Waikawa Holiday park
February 5, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 15 °C
We survived the boat ride! Undocking (is that a word?) Was really quick and then we were on our way. Most holiday parks close their reception desk at 6pm so we drove straight to ours to make sure we could still get in (we could!). Then we drove back to town to pick up a pizza since I was starving post seasickness, and then back to our campsite.
These campsites were huge and grassy and separated by hedges so it felt like we had privacy. We were right beside the bathrooms so some people walked through our campsite which was kind of rude and offputting, but overall this was a great place to be. In the morning a dog came by and that made Florence's day.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Karaka Point
February 6, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Our first hike on the south island was actually our backup hike. We had no intention of doing it but realized the hike we had planned on was 3 hours long and we hadn't that amount of time. So we chose to go to Karaka Point and it was spectacular. Florence had fun learning to skip rocks with Jason and because it was a public holiday (Waitangi Day) the lake was very busy with lots of boats to look at. Along the hike the cicadas were almost deafening they were so loud.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Moa Brewery
February 6, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
This brewery didn't make our top list of breweries to hit up originally so I'm not sure how we ended up here. I am so glad we did. They had a great festival type vibe going on with music being played and people sitting on the deck and lawn with kids and dogs. There was a food truck and all the staff were fantastic with Florence, giving her high fives and helping her spot butterflies, so we ended up buying some chips from them to share while we had a flight. The chips and homemade tomato sauce were great, the beers were great, the staff were great. It was just a wonderful introduction to the Malborough area.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
The Vines Village
February 6, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
The Vines Village is known for having tons of local producers of crafts and food and drink on site and so we had to stop. We checked out the winery, brewery, ice cream shop and craft store. Everything shares one patio and then has a playground and toys for kids so it was a great place for all of us to enjoy.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Havelock and the Mussel Pot
February 6, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
This stop was all for me - a famous mussel restaurant! I had grilled mussels that were outstanding, done three different ways. Florence and Jason both survived and found things they wanted to eat too.
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New Zealand 2019
Guinea Pig Village
February 6, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
So this place advertises as a guinea pig village...how could we not go? It is $2 per adult and they give you free food for the guinea pigs. It was super cute and hilarious and Florence's reaction was everything I was dreaming of.
Also- incredible marketing decision by them. I would never have stopped at their store but we had to go in to get guinea pig food. Then I saw the postcards, and then we found a couple of local products and then suddenly we were giving them all our money.

Florence's reaction in the videos reminds me of the character in Despicable Me that screams "it's so fluffy I could die"Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Family farmlet
February 6, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
This was the most lovely place to stay. Just 5 minutes out of Russell/15 from Nelson, Jill and Ian are retired Salvation Army officers that retired to this area. They have 4 acres and a small farm and were exceedingly kind and welcoming. We spent ages chatting with them and learning about the area and their animals and butterflies. Florence insisted on giving Ian hugs whenever she could. We spent too much time exploring the Nelson area and ended up with only pizza hut open for dinner so we ate pizza in the dark. And then Florence was so overtired she couldn't fall asleep and kept popping up in the windows going "hi guys!". I was also tired and found it so hilarious I was crying from laughing.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Tahunanui Beach
February 6, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Once settled at our campable overnight spot we headed back up towards Nelson to explore this beach. Florence was distraught about being so close to the water so we didn't stay long.
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New Zealand 2019
The Workshop
February 6, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
We stopped by this little brewery to refresh. It was all fine. Florence was being very silly.
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New Zealand 2019
Tapawera refuelling for Jasmine
February 7, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
We spent the morning at a hop farm - Jason got a tour and loved it while I hung out in the van with Florence. She was supposed to nap, but did not and was just overly goofy and wired. Within minutes of driving after the tour was done she was passed out. We had to stop in Tapawera for more coffee and a sweet caramel cookie bar because I was already done for the day. We also went to a community run op shop (second hand store) to pick up a blanket for Florence and some new toys for this part of the trip.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Hope Saddle Lookout
February 7, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
We got out here for a very quick lookout while Florence slept. There were a ton of wasps so we very very quickly jumped back in our car.
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New Zealand 2019
Gowanbridge pulloff
February 7, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Florence was awake and cranky so we pulled over to stretch our legs. We went for a short walk but were unable to find the river we could hear. There were a lot of sandflies and wasps so we really did not try very hard. It was just nice to get some fresh air.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Monteith's Brewery
February 7, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
An institution in NZ. Large brewery with beers that are very much made to be exactly as described by their style. It was also the registration point for a triathalon so it was quite busy. We had a flight and got the heck out of there.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Woodstock Brewery
February 7, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
A brand new brewery/bar in the area that we happened upon. It was their first flight ever and I think the first time they had poured one of the beers. The beers were good, the food was great and Florence loved running back and forth on the benches.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Shining Stars Holiday Park
February 7, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
Oh man. I was so excited for this holiday park. It is directly across from the Hokitika Glow Worm Dell and I was really looking forward to seeing them again. I had completely missed that they were right near water and had a little farm zoo. It was just the most perfect spot for our family. The kitchen and outdoors space was wonderful and we had a really magical night together.

Jason made us steaks and salad that were all delicious. We changed Florence into pajamas and went for an evening stroll. First to the beach to watch the sunset, then playground and zoo, then glow worms. It was just an incredible time together exploring this little patch of NZ.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Glow Worm Dell
February 7, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 14 °C
Ahhhh! This was everything I dreamed of. I would now 100% recommend people come just to this resort and do the glow worm walk on their own rather than the Waitomo Caves. It was spectacular and Florence spoke in a whisper and all the other tourists respected the area too so no one was using flash cameras or yelling and we just got to see some really amazing glow worms.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Hokitika
February 8, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 14 °C
Since it was a late night we let ourselves sleep in and started our day with a search for coffee in Hokitika. We ended up at the Stella Cafe and watching their baristas work was similar to watching artista create. Their drinks were beautiful (except ours which were takeout). We had the chance to see the beach and some of the town and I would be interested in spending more time there next time.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Franz Josef
February 8, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 11 °C
Franz Josef glacier! We hiked to Peter's pool and did the part of the hike to the glacier that was open. It was cool and a pretty flat and easy walk for both of these.
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New Zealand 2019
Fox Glacier
February 8, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Fox Glacier hikes were longer than we could commit to with Florence, so we just went to see things at a lookout.
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New Zealand 2019
Fox Glacier Holiday Park
February 8, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Following the glaciers we were supposed to carry on to a freedom camping site an hour or so out of town. I was cranky and tired. Florence was squirrely and wired. Jason made the suggestion we get a site in Fox Glacier and that was that. We picked up some fries and garlic bread to add to the food we had in our fridge and just stopped for the day. It was exactly what we needed. Our hope was that we could all get to sleep early and then drive through the mountains at sunrise, but Florence had a hard sleep with lots of nightmares and screaming "I scared" so that didn't happen. It was still the right decision. Love on this day certainly looked like throwing the itinerary to the side and taking time to just be.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Splashing
February 8, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
The highlight of Florence's trip - this holiday park had puddles! She splashed around for almost an hour, happy as could be.
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New Zealand 2019
Bruce Bay
February 9, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
After a late start we pulled over here to make breakfast and get a lovely picture. One of the worst mistakes of the trip, we paid for this picture with litres of blood, sacrificed to the sandflies (basically black flies but more ferocious). Florence thought us trying to kill bugs was HILARIOUS and giggled for ages about it.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Lavender farm
February 9, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
Too early to check in to our holiday park, we pulled into this lavender farm. Everything smelled great and the plants basically vibrated with bees. It was amazing. We got lavender ice creams after running around outside.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Wanaka Holiday Park
February 9, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
This holiday park was just in front of the famous beach, we could nearly see the instagram tree from where we were. It was a busy park with a huge playground geared more towards older kids. When we arrived Florence fell asleep so Jason and I treated ourselves to a little charcuterie style snack while we plotted our last week of vacation.Read more
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New Zealand 2019
Foodtruck dinner
February 9, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
We visited a little square that had a few foodtrucks including the NZ famous Burrito Craft. Florence and Jaaon ordered burritos and I ordered Bao buns and dumplings from another truck. Once we had everything we took our food to a brewery to eat. My food was excellent, Jason's was spicy and Florence did great with her burrito.Read more
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