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  • NZ Adventure
    Day12

    Bye Bye Wilderness & Comforts of Home

    July 12 in New Zealand

    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 😊😴    Read more

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  • NZ Adventure
    Day13

    Baked Beans & an Italian Stallion

    July 13 in New Zealand

    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)    Read more

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  • NZ Adventure
    Day11

    The Beginning of The End

    July 11 in New Zealand

    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.    Read more

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  • JenlixJenlix goes kiwi
    Day357

    Das Beste zum Schluss!

    July 10 in New Zealand

    Der vorletzte Tag mit Swetlana war nochmal ein richtiges Highlight. Wir haben das Native Bird Recovery Center in Whangarei besucht. Robert, der Inhaber hat uns circa eine Stunde lang dort beschäftigt, er hat uns die, zur Zeit dort lebenden Vögel, gezeigt und uns eine Menge schöner Geschichten erzählt. Unter anderem haben wir einen Albatross gesehen, einen sprechenden Tui, zahlreiche Tauben, einen Habicht uuuuuuuuuund wir haben Sparky den Kiwi kennengelernt! Robert hat ihn extra für uns aus dem Gehege genommen und wir konnten Sparky streicheln, ihm Würmer zu füttern und sogar auch Fotos auch Fotos machen. Kiwis sind flugunfähig, so gut wie blind und eigentlich auch nachtaktiv aber Sparky ist es schön gewöhnt auch mal tagsüber wach zu sein, da Robert auch mit ihm in Schulen fährt oder fliegt :D. Das war nochmal ein richtig schönes Erlebnis! Wir sind sehr dankbar für diese Erfahrung und hoffen, dass die freiwilligen Arbeiter weiterhin so einen guten Job machen und kranken Vögeln wieder auf die Flügel helfen können!
    Anschließend sind wir nach zu den glowworm caves in Waipu gefahren, wo wir einen kleinen Fußmarsch durch eine Tropfsteinhöhle gemacht haben. Zunächst war das schon sehr gruselig, weil es wirklich stockfinster in so einer Höhle ist und wir zudem noch in der Höhle liegenden Flüsse durchqueren mussten aber em Ende hat es sich wirklich gewöhnt. Nach einer ganzen Weile hatten sich die Augen an die Dunkelheit gewöhnt und wenn man dann nach oben geschaut hat, war es wie unterm Sternenhimmel, da überall Mückenlarven geleuchtet haben. Wunderschön und einzigartig!    Read more

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  • NZ Adventure
    Day3

    1 Day, 2 Vans, 3 Lakes

    July 3 in New Zealand

    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 ☺️    Read more

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  • NZ Adventure
    Day6

    Coronet Peak and...we can no longer walk

    July 6 in New Zealand

    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 ☺️    Read more

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  • NZ Adventure
    Day8

    Rainy day in Queenstown

    July 8 in New Zealand

    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

    ♥️ Jo    Read more

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  • NZ Adventure
    Day7

    Arrowtown Adventures, Landslides & Naps

    July 7 in New Zealand

    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 ☺️    Read more

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  • NZ Adventure
    Day5

    Over the Mountains

    July 5 in New Zealand

    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.

    ♥️ Jo    Read more

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You might also know this place by the following names:

New Zealand, Neuseeland, Seulandia Barô, Nieu-Seeland, Ziland Foforo, ኒው ዚላንድ, Nueva Zelanda, Nīwe Sǣland, نيوزيلاندا, ܢܝܘ ܙܝܠܢܕ, নিউজিলেণ্ড, Yeni Zelandiya, Яңы Зеландия, Neiseeland, Новая Зеландыя, Нова Зеландия, न्यूजीलैंड, Niusilan, Zelandi Koura, নিউজিল্যাণ্ড, ནིའུ་ཛི་ལན྄ཌ།, নিউজিল্যান্ড, Zeland-Nevez, Novi Zeland, Шэнэ Зеланд, Nova Zelanda, Sĭng-să̤-làng, Керла Зеланди, نیوزیلاند, Nova Zilanda, Yañı Zelandiya, Nový Zéland, Nowô Zelandzkô, Çĕнĕ Зеланди, Seland Newydd, Ny Zeeland, Zelandaya Newiye, 10.1073/pnas.0801507105, Nowoseelandska, ނިއުޒިލޭންޑު, ནིའུ་ཛི་ལེནཌ, New Zealand nutome, Νέα Ζηλανδία, Nov-Zelando, Uus Meremaa, Zeelanda Berria, زیلاند جدید, Nuwel Selannda, Uusi-Seelanti, Nýsæland, Nouvelle-Zélande, Novèla-Zèlande, Nei-Sialun, Nij-Seelân, An Nua-Shéalainn, Eni Zelandiya, Sealainn Nuadh, Nova Celandia, न्यूझीलंड, 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌾𐌹𐍃 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌽𐌳, ન્યુઝીલેન્ડ, Yn Teelynn Noa, Nuzilan, Néu Sî-làn, ניו זילנד, न्यूज़ीलैंड, Nouvèl Zelann, Új-Zéland, Նոր Զելանդիա, Nove Zelanda, Selandia Baru, Nov-Zeland, Baro a Selanda, Nova-Zelando, Nýja-Sjáland, Nuova Zelanda, ニュージーランド, zis. poi cnino, Selandia Anyar, ახალი ზელანდია, Jana Zelandiya, Ziland Tamaynut, ЩIэ Зилэнд, Nyuzilandi, Жаңа Зеландия, Nutaaq Zeeland, នូវែលហ្សេឡង់, ನ್ಯೂಜಿಲೆಂಡ್, 뉴질랜드, Джангы Зеландия, Выль Зеландия, Mordir Nowydh, Жаңы Зеландия, Nova Zelandia, Mueva Zelanda, Neiséiland, ЦӀийи Зеландия, Niyuziirandi, Nui-Zieland, Neuva Selanda, Növa Zelanda, Zelandɛ ya sika, ປະເທດນູແວນເຊລັງ, Naujoji Zelandija, Zelanda wa mumu, Jaunzēlande, 紐西蘭, Aotearoa, Нов Зеланд, ന്യൂസിലാന്‍റ്, Шинэ Зеланд, У Зеланди, နယူးဇီလန်, نیوزلند, Niu Djiran, Yancuīc Zetlālpan, Sin Jia̍t-lân-jia, Nòva Zëlanna, Niegseeland, न्युजिल्याण्ड, न्यु जिल्यान्द, Nieuw-Zeeland, Novi Selande, Nouvelle Zélande, Nòva Zelanda, ନ୍ୟୁଜିଲାଣ୍ଡ, Ног Зеланди, ਨਿਊਜ਼ੀਲੈਂਡ, Novèle-Zilinde, Nyuu Ziilan, Nowa Zelandia, Neuva Zelanda, نیوزی لینڈ, نیوزیلنډ, Nova Zelândia, Musuq Silanda, Nuvelizelandi, Noua Zeelandă, Новая Зеландия, Новый Зеланд, Nuveli Zelande, न्यूजिलैण्ड्, Саҥа Зеландия, Noa Zelanda, Nova Zilanna, Ođđa-Selánda, Finî Zelânde, Naujuojė Zelandėjė, නවසීලන්තය, Nova Zelandija, Niu Sila, Neyuusilaand, Zelanda e Re, Нови Зеланд, Nya Zeeland, Nowo Zylandyjo, நியூசிலாந்து, న్యుజిలేండ్, Зеландияи Нав, นิวซีแลนด์, Täze Zelandiýa, Nuʻusila, Niu Silan, Yeni Zelanda, Яңа Зеландия, يېڭى زېلاندىيە, Нова Зеландія, نیوزی ینڈ, Yangi Zelandiya, Nova Zełanda, Uz Zelandii, Nieuw-Zêeland, Nula-Seleäns, Nouve Zelande, Bag-o nga Zelanda, Seland-Gu-Bees, 新西兰, Шинзелендин Орн, ניו זילאנד, Orílẹ́ède ṣilandi Titun, Saen Saelanz, Nieuw-Zeêland, i-New Zealand

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