Enthusiasm was somewhat curbed though on Tuesday morning as we landed in Christchurch, after a middle of night three hour flight (where no sleep could be had) Added to that 'someone' had arranged our pick up from the airport for the next day, so we were waiting around for a while thinking 'wow Kiwis are really laid back' before realisation kicked in.
Eventually we made it to our accommodation for the night, Hakka Lodge. A lovely homely hostel filled with large sofas and friendly advice. We spent the day doing all there was to do in Christchurch, which wasn't much.
We'd heard about the earthquakes over the past few years in this city and the one very recently. But despite that we weren't prepared for devastation that still was left behind. Very little had been rebuilt over the years, instead all that we found we're gravel sites and closed off areas (including the cathedral which is due to be rebuilt) There were areas of activity though, the shops in the city centre were doing business out of ship containers and we still got to stroll along the Avon river to the botanic gardens.
The next day the real fun began, when we finally picked up our home for the next month. We arrived at 'Escape' the company we rented our camper-van from, full of glee mixed with doses of trepidation. Once we did the the paperwork, we got to pick our van, from a series of Toyota Hiace's sprayed with pretty pictures by the world graffiti champion. We settled on one with a dual personality (just like us) and a different design on each side, so here's introducing to the blog our camper, Gertie.
And that was it we were off, free to roam and escape to where we wanted...well once we'd shopped, faffed and filled up of course.
We hit the road, and went about 20ks to stop for lunch at the beach! Well we had to start somewhere. After that we cruised along waiting for the much talked about New Zealand scenery to hit us and for it to stop looking like rural Scotland. An hour in and it did, the snowy mountain rose up over the green hills, sheep and rocky terrain, yikes we're finally here in New Zealand we shouted.
The jaw dropping scenes haven't stopped since then and we know the photos we upload onto here just can't do the landscape justice, New Zealand is beyond words beautiful.
After a lot of cruising and photo stops it was time to pick our stop for the night. Now NZ is designed for camper-van travel and as you go along you have a choice to stay in a proper holiday park or a DOC (department of conservation) site, with various levels of facilities. For our first night we settled for relatively luxury in a holiday park on the edge of stunning Lake Tekapo. Unfortunately though when it came to dinner time there was a power cut, forcing us to begin our camper life straight away, cooking off our single gas stove by head touch light.
The next day we headed to Mt Cook, New Zealand's biggest! This time we stayed in a DOC site (this one even had some flushing loos) at the foot of the mountain.
Right now in NZ it's spring, the lambs are out, the skies are blue but it's still bloody freezing compared to the other countries we've been in. So you can imagine our surprise when we did out first tramp (a Kiwi term for hiking) around the mountains. Yes, we were unprepared in just trainers and thin jumpers and we quickly realised we need to invest in the infamous fleece. Despite the freeze in Mt Cook, it was well worth it to wake up to the cloud clearing over the top of the snowy mountains and hearing avalanches falling in the distance.
After those few days in relative remoteness we were ready for Queenstown. Coined as NZ's adventure capital. Even before reaching the town itself we'd managed to stop in the cheesery and vineyards of the Gibbston Valley and stood by watching at the worlds first bungy jump.
Queentown is a small town located against a huge lake and the snowy Remarkables. Its rammed to the brim with tourist offerings including chalet style pubs and yummy eateries (our favourite being Ferg burger with its enormous burgers)
To get in the swing of the activity driven attitude of this place we went on a jet boat trip through skippers canyon. Not only was the ride itself invigorating as the boat spun around narrowly missing rocks and the edges of the canyon but the trip to get there was an adrenaline rush in itself. As we went along the mountain edge being pointed out various film locations from Lord of the Rings. Later that day we tried our hand at Queentown's favourite, disc golf course. Essentially you play golf but with a frisbee around a permanent course in the gardens. We also found time to take the cable car to the top of a mountain for great views over Queenstown then speed back down again on the luge.
We no way exhausted all the activities there are to do in Queenstown, the adrenaline junkie in us would have loved to bungy, canyon swing or bike through the old gold mining tracks. But our conscious (aka boring side) told us to move on and seek out something more tranquil instead, so we did.
Threes hours later we were in the Fiordland National Park. Where we set up shop for the night in our most limited DOC site so far on the edge if Lake Gunn. After a night of heavy rain and sand flies we washed our faces in the lake and set off for Milford Sound. Arriving in time to get the first boat trip along the sound. Milford Sound is a bit like a snowy Halong Bay or a smaller Three Gorges or maybe it's just what it is, another beautiful NZ location. To top off our morning cruise with gushing waterfalls all around we saw a colony of fur seals basking in the rocks - so cute.
So now we are up to date and as we drive to our next destination (Wanika) who knows what Gertie and we are in for next.
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