Kiwis here we come

Our flight to Christchurch was delayed so we had to wait until the following day to collect our campervan! The following day happy with our van and excited to be on our way, we headed for the city, aware that it would be mostly closed following the earthquake. We both found it sad to see the whole centre cordened off. Along with a few other tourists we looked at the demolished buildings, from behind the safety fenses. The most damage was to the beautiful old buildings. Typical.

Demolished church in Christchurch

As we ventured further afield we discovered that our campervan had quite a significant leak under the sink so we had to return to Christchurch, luckily we weren't too far out of town. We changed vans which meant unpacking and transferring all our belongings to van No 2, which was a pain, but once completed we headed south through the flat Canterbury Plains. Nothing like the Canterbury of Liz's youth! The scenery was already great, with snow capped mountains to one side and the Pacific to the other. Our first stopping point was Dunedin, a very Scottish-feeling town. We later discovered that much of the South island has a feeling of Scotland as many Scots moved there over the years. We were surprised to see a Cadbury's factory there. We made a bee-line for their coffee shop, only to find there wasn't one :(

Van 1, 2 or 3?

Dunedin Railway Station

From the Otago Peninsula we got a great view of Dunedin. Taking the coastal road on the way up and the high road on our return to the city we got a fab views. When we arrived we pretended to be twitchers as we went to view the baby Albatross and Penguins which nest on the headland. Did you know that Albatross live to be 80, and spends it's first 7 years living at sea without ever setting foot on land, until they return to where they were born? Neither did we, but we do now!

Yello-eyed Penguin

Otago penisula at sunset

We then set off around the Caitlin Coast - the southern tip of the island, and learnt how big the island is and how low the speed limits are in the process. We stopped off at a few lovely spots along the way, visiting waterfalls, cliffs and beaches with crashing waves . We stumbled upon a particularly magical beach where semi-precious gemstones get washed up. Liz filled her pockets and mine with an assortment of colourful stones including red jasper. Eventually we arrived at our next destination, Te Anau.

Gemstone Beach

After a chill-out/planning day, we went to Milford Sound, the main attraction in the area. We braved the snow and ice to drive over the mountain pass from Te Anau along an amazing road. Once we arrived, we took a boat trip along this stunningly beautiful stretch of water, leading into the sea, with snow-capped mountains on either side and waterfalls along the way. We saw seals and a couple of penguins. The weather was beautiful too, so we got some cool pics. On the way back we stopped off at a few of the lakes, waterfalls and viewpoints, but there were almost too many to choose from. The biggest danger on the road was not the ice, but the amazing views at every turn and the risk of running over a kea. These are the world's only alpine parrot, which lives nowhere else, and seems to like nothing better than landing on camper vans and staring through the windows, hoping to get fed. But as requested, by the sinage, we didn't feed them, which was actually quite difficult as they were very social and cute!

Road to Milford Sound

Milford Sound

Tea at Milford Sound!

Breathing in the very fresh air of Milford Sound!

Our little friend the Kea on our campervan door!

Milford Sound

Reflections on our return journey

Snow was forecast the following day, so we decided to delay the next leg of our journey and go to the glow-worm caves instead. Big mistake! The glow worm caves were great (very dark, hundreds of glow-worms), but the snow didn't arrive until late in the day, and it was the worst snow-fall in New Zealand for 50 years. It was so bad it trapped us in Te Anau, with all roads in and out closed off. We tried to make the best of it the following day,driving to a deserted forest and going for a lovely walk . But on the way back disaster struck - I (Marc) pranged the van on a canopy overhanginging from a building. I was driving at about 1mph, but the canopy smashed through the side window of the van. Not cool and probably very expensive, especially as I'd declined the additional insurance! As it was late in the afternoon and no-one could get in or out of the town, there was nothing for it to spend a night in a chalet on the campsite.

Wibbly wobbly birdge!

The following day we headed to Queenstown, along yet another beautiful road, with snow chains on and the broken window taped up to keep out the cold. We finally made it to Queenstown, 2 days late after stopping to swap the van yet again. That was fun in an airport carpark with a foot of snow on the ground! It was a challenging couple of day but with Campervan No 3 we headed into Queenstown in hope of entertainment to cheer us up :) We weren't disappointed.

Typical coastal view

Queenstown is the capital of extreme sports, where bungy jumping was invented, and where there are hundreds of ways to scare yourself stupid. We opted for a couple of the more sedate options. (Don't be too disappointed, our more adventurous activities are coming in the next blog...!) We tried our hand at the luge, which sadly wasn't done on snow, but was done on a mountain-side track in go-karts without engines. You simply point these little trolleys downhill, and gravity does the rest. You only have to brake an steer. By our third run we were getting quite brave and competitive, so much so that we both nearly crashed. After that we decided to slow down...We rounded off the activity with hot chocolate at the top of the cable car and with the town and mountains draped in snow it was truly a magnificent view!

Queens town from the top!

Marc mentally preparing for the Luge

Luge track

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Us at the top overlooking Queenstown

We then had a quick stop to see the Kiwi - the bird which gives New Zealanders their nickname. It's rare, black and nocturnal, so there's little chance of seeing one in the wild, but we saw some at the bird-park in Queenstown in darkened rooms. They're a bit like black chickens with long beaks and legs so far back it looks like they should topple over. We were lucky enough to hear the female's elaborate call to her mate, which we were told doesn't happen that often.

A true Kiwi!

To sum up the first part of our New Zealand journey, I'd say we'd had some great fun and experiences, amazing scenery, interlaced with some real challenges thrown in to boot! But that's life, right? Life isn't all ha ha ha, hee hee hee!