Day 1-3 Saturday March 10 to Monday, March 12, 2018
Initially our trip began in San Fran, and we spent our 6 hour layover with craft beer and pho. But two days later, we arrived bright and early after a couple of days of travel and time travel through Cali. First stop? Camper van pick up from the company, Jucy. What an incredible way to see the country; wheels, kitchen, and bed all in one! James took on the task of driving, being that it was on the left and all, I thought I’d be a much better navigator ;)
We didn’t spend a lot of time in Auckland, just to a lookout tower and to get a photo for James’s photo scavenger hunt item (rocket), but headed south by noon to the glow worm caves of Waitomo. We did some black water rafting, meaning tubing dark caves, which was both spooky and remarkable. Once our headlamps were off, we were marvelled by the bioluminescent worms dangling from the cave ceiling. The guide later gave us the really skinny on the glowing bugs. The glow is actually the feces of the larva, which attracts its prey who later get caught in the web they create that dangles, and you can guess the rest! Later, the adults have a very short lifespan, mate, lay eggs, and die! Quite the Romeo and Juliet story ... I suppose. After warming up with soup, I drove a whopping 5km (the only driving all trip lol)to an ostrich farm to get up close and personal with those tall, tall feathery creatures. A rainy, sleepy drive east brought us to a town called Rotorua, known for its sulphuric lakes and Maori (native) culture. After scouring the town for a grocery store, we were pleased to find ‘Countdown’, a no-frills kind of supermarket, offering a wide selection for a camper’s kitchen and belly. I giggled when I noticed that Kiwis don’t always wear shoes, especially when it’s raining, like into grocery stores :) A struggle with the bed making in the back of the van, and how to store our bags was not the easiest in a downpour; but we snuggled in tightly with our bags at our feet for now, and were happy to have a place to call home for the night.
Day 4- Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Sunrise with black swans on a lake, what a great way to feel right at home on our first morning in the land down under. An iSite (info centre) offered up loads of information to keep us busy for the next couple of days. We wandered off to the sulphuric (and slightly stinky) lake in the middle of town. The lake constantly fogged up our sunglasses with mist, and we loved watching the water bubble with energy below the surface. We learned a bit about the Maori culture, and ate traditional food called hangi, meat, potatoes, and root vegetables cooked in stones in the ground. Another Maori FYI: During naka, their war dance, men’s eyes and tongues protrude as a gesture of defiance, also seen before kick off by the All Blacks rugby players. Further south at Waiotapu, we stopped to see more tectonic plates in action at the bubbling, boiling mud pools, geysers, and our favourite, a hot river to swim in! Suits on and one cool way to warm in nature with waterfalls at your fingertips. We couldn’t believe our eyes when we chanced upon Huka Falls, this incredible teal blue, wide river and rapid, stunning falls. We found most of the hidden gems were not always in guide books, but indicated lookout or points of interest signs on roadsides. Early to bed this evening, as we had a full day hike the following day.
Day 5- Wednesday March 14, 2018
Tongariro Alpine Volcanic Hike is dubbed New Zealand’s best day hike, and that it was. With 19.4km to cover, 1886m and 3 active volcanoes to marvel at, we started bright and early and encountered all 4 seasons. In fact, we would argue that New Zealand is the capital of 4 seasons in a day, depending on your elevation or Mother Nature. Summer began our journey, and hours later we encountered the strongest wind I’ve ever tried to walk through, and close to the summit, we were subject to winds and rain that were a force to be reckoned with. However, the views of the eerie emerald lake, and vivid blue waters at the summit were breathtaking. Six hours, 5 layers of clothes off and on, on and off, and some sore glutes, and with a celebratory fist bump we were off and running to the south end of the north island. We laid our head in a free campsite, made some yummy spaghetti and meatballs, wine, oh and James taught me how to fly his drone!
Day 6 - Thursday, March 15, 2018
Scuba dive day!! My first ever dive, but also, James’ 35th :) We suited up at a dive site named Dive Wellington, and saw Blue Moki, huge cray fish, and other fishes. I was so excited to finally be in open water, and more importantly to dive alongside my new dive buddy, James! The spot we dove in was called mermaid’s kitchen, and it was relatively warm, despite a cyclone just missing their island days prior. Post dive, we stretched out our hammies on a very steep and exceptionally windy Mount Victoria to overlook the beautiful Wellington harbour. A walk along the beach later revealed jellyfish washed up on shore. We were careful not to touch them, but examined their translucent and intriguing bodies. We quickly zipped though an informative museum, and found a quaint campsite for only $10 per person with a kitchen (bonus for doing dishes) and hot showers (a luxury only had every few days). #vanlife we like to call it.
Day 7- Friday, March 16, 2018
Farewell to the north island, and off to Picton via the Cook Strait, named after British explorer James Cook after discovering New Zealand in 1796. The highlight of the 3 hour journey was seeing a pod of dolphins swim alongside our ferry, a very happy moment for me. We took the incredibly windy, switch back roads though Marlborough Sounds along the Charlotte Drive and beautiful wine country. James and his (awesome) toy, the drone, took some amazing photos and video on a lookout over the fiords. We stayed north on the south island and laid our heads in Motueka, the gateway town to Abel Tasman National Park. The best part about travelling with our beloved, ‘VANtastic', was that we began to diverge from our original plans and stayed an extra day here. Finding free wifi (bonus!) we signed up for sea kayaking the following day, and rested our heads at a free park’s parking lot (bigger bonus!). We enjoyed watching local kids play their version of 3 man rugby and cricket in the park as we cooked up something yummy on our stovetop and sipped on local (boxed) wine. #campingonashoestring ;)
Day 8- Saturday, March 17, 2018
Luck ‘o the Irish Day! Of course I came prepared with clover necklaces to rock. Finally, an actual summer day in their autumn. We kayaked from about 9:30-3:30, and had the pleasure to meet the locals; a colony of SEALS sun basking on the rocks! They were so playful and clumsy, trying to get up on the wet, slippery rocks. Time for some beach RnR. Bagged lunch and 2 cat naps later, James flew his hella cool drone over the deserted beach, capturing photos and vids of two cool Canucks on the beach with lucky necklaces. After a day on the water, what could be better than a hot shower, a DELICIOUS homemade burger, and a beer? The answer is nothing, nothing is better than what’s listed above. Abbey Road, a delicious gourmet burger joint, made our St. Paddy’s day complete and filled our tummies just in time for a 4 hour drive south to Punakaiki. So, there’s a difference between freedom camping (self contained) and our beloved Vantastic, which is a regular soccer-mom van, converted into a campervan with fold down seats, storage, fridge, and stove top in the rear. We couldn’t camp just anywhere, as you could imagine, they don’t appreciate their land becoming our toilet; however, when you arrive well after sunset with the Southern Cross constellation glowing, and leave at 5:30am to avoid any troubles, sometimes, just sometimes you can sleep in a hidden parking lot to save a few bucks to later spend on cool activities.
Day 9- Sunday, March 18, 2018
We celebrated our 11 monthaversary (nerd alert) with the sunrise and oatmeal on a random picnic bench. Once Mr Golden Sun finally awoke at 7:15, we walked the Truman Trail (another unexpected hidden gem) to see water caverns, ferocious sea water spouting out holes in the rocks, and penguins (wahhh I wish, I never did spot one of those cuties). Just down the road we marvelled at the Pancake Rocks, tall, chimney shaped rocks with layers resembling pancakes which were formed during the ice age, and glacier waters form and reform the rock ledges. The real highlight of the day was hiking (aka tramping) the Robert Point Track to see Franz Josef glacier from a stunning vantage point. It was a 5 hour return tramp with all kinds of terrain: jungle, rocks, waterfalls, mud, and swing bridges. The view of the glacier ,as well as the massive rock ledge with several trickling waterfalls, was well worth the toil of the ascent. We took our time to bask in the beauty and inhale the fresh alpine air. Needing to make it to our campsite in daylight hours, we began our descent and eventually found ourselves ‘on the road again’ driving by Mount Cook (the tallest in NZ) and Fox Glacier; more ‘okay’, just ‘kinda cool’ views. Our Gillipies Beach campsite was well worth every New Zealand dollar, as we flew the drone, cooked, and ate quesadillas with views of these stunning natural wonders. The only downfall was that the draculas of the south (as they call it) sandflies, had a feast, leaving us with itchy legs, which incidentally was the worst ailment we encountered all trip!
Day 10-Monday, March 19, 2018
Our first full day of rain, but, good news is that it was our big day for driving! Incidentally, petrol was nearly double what we pay at home. We filled our tank at about $2.10/litre. James was a hero driving for 13 days straight, at times on this day I had to sing or open the window to not nod off (okay, maybe I did once lol). We had hoped to stop off at a Blue Pool River to jump into, a pic we’d seen on Instagram, but the weather man made the river bottom churned up and brown. Ah well, instead we made little castles with rocks near a cool waterfall, and found a heart shaped rock ha ha. We arrived to our resting spot 6 hours later and hit up good ole Maccas (McDs) for some wifi to figure our next few days out. As we drove into Queenstown we fell in love instantly. Firstly, it was cute to see a local pitch/community centre filled with their version of Timbit’s rugby, and cricket batting cages. Remarkable Mountains is certainly a perfect name for the mountain range that surrounds Queenstown, and they create an impressive backdrop for the Wakatipu lake that gives the town a picturesque image. We took Vantastic to 12 Mile Delta (which turned out to be our favourite campsite). It's situated on Lake Wakatipu, just outside of Queenstown and we had our own private beach to drink wine and talk about anything, everything, and nothing.
Day 11-Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Ahh, morning swim in the sunrise in lieu of a shower. The. Best. A slightly chilly lake made for a perfect wake up call and beautiful views to begin our day. We spent the day in our new favourite city with a small town, chill feel. We walked up the infamous Queenstown Hill 3 hour return walk, and saw insane views of the Remarkables and took ‘photoshop looking’ jump shots and we had ourselves a perfect spot to have lunch and watch the airplanes arrive and depart. Hanging in the town felt really homey, and we just basked in the street's busyness and people watched. We ended up staying at Moke Lake, near town, and took a 2 hour stroll around the lake, making friends with ducks and the warden (who kindly shared his garden grown plums and zucchini with us!) The 3 S’s-steak, swim, and outdoor shower and we chilled in the van playing cards having just escaped the evening rain shower.
Day 12- Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Rainy start to the day on our way south to Milford Sound meant we had to make our own fun. We stopped at Cascade Creek for a beech tree walk which was sheltered by a tree canopy; we both felt underwhelmed by the mossy tree scenery, until, we made friends! Feathery friends. We stopped to take photos by the creek and were pleasantly surprised to meet a couple of small, curious, grey creatures. We ended up coaxing them to sit on our shoe, and they followed us around for a little. A couple of cool falls along the way, Marian and Humboldt, and the rain scared enough people away that we took a wicked drone pic of us on a swing bridge. We stayed at a place called Gunn Hollyford camp, which was most unique because it was not part of the Department of Conservation, but a family owned camp. They had quirky signs everywhere, a little museum about when the camp first started, and stories about the original owner, Mr Gunn. A few games of cards and it was time to hit the hay for an early rise to Milford Sound.
Day 13- Thursday, March 22, 2018
We woke to a rainy morning, but little did we know that we were in luck for later that morning. Milford Sound, a section in southwestern NZ that is dubbed Fiordland as it’s where the Indo-Australian plate pushed up on the Pacific plate and created what is called the backbone of the southern island. It also happens to be the rainy capital of NZ, raining 200 days a year. As we drove west, the rained cleared and we enjoyed the scenic drive, stopping to see the explosive, rushing water of the Cleddau river through the rock bed. Lights out for 1.2km through he Homer Tunnel, which was built beginning in the 30’s with pick axes, and took 20 years to build during the depression and WWII. Finally this gateway was completed for cars to drive to the UNESCO site and ‘8th wonder of the world’ as it’s said to be the most beautiful place in NZ. Fiords take up 2.6 million hectares of the southern island, and trust me, the windy roads are a testament to how difficult it must have been to build roads and tunnel through the limestone and granite. The only real way to enjoy the full beauty of Milford Sound is via water. There is a pathway from mainland out to the Tasman Sea, which is the path explorers took into discover this section of NZ. The boat guide told us that it rains 90% of every tour he gives, so, lucky us! A windy, but dry cruise took us through the fingers of the fiords and allowed us to gaze at Mount Mitre (1,682m), a few playful seals, waterfalls galore, and specked granite and slate walls that was formed over 4 million years ago with trees oddly growing out on an angle. The mouth that led to the Tasman sea was picturesque and incredibly windy and unpredictable. Now that we’re both divers :) it was interesting to learn that within these fiords there is a 10-20cm layer of fresh water sitting atop the sea water. This is a result of the consistent rain and waterfall runoff. This means bottom dwellers actually live much shallower than in the ocean, meaning, if you could brave the cold waters, you could encounter creatures that are typically very hard to find. Wind burnt and full of happy, we left Milford Sound only to encounter another local! While waiting our turn outside of the Homer Tunnel, a group of kea birds mischievously hopped along the roadside, seeing what trouble they could get into. Keas are one of New Zealand’s national birds (next to the Kiwi of course). They are the world’s only alpine parrots, and they have a sneaky strut about them. Unfortunately these small, green, adorable birds are endangered, so the Kiwi people are very protective of them. Get this, we drove 1km through the tunnel and we encountered SNOW! Autumn on one side, winter on the other! The country of layering clothes! We stopped by a few cool lookouts and hikes at Mirror Lake and Mistletoe Lake, and ate some food truck Vietnamese bao in Te Anau...oh, and made our final purchase of Tim Tams, my new favourite biscuit! Hot showers amidst an alpaca farm was the perfect way to end a perfect day.
Day 14- Friday, March 23, 2018
We left before sunrise enroute back to Queenstown, which was perfect because we saw the sunrise over the outstanding drive through the Remarkables Mountain range and the ever so popular Devil’s Staircase viewpoint, this pano photo is making it into our living room decor! Alas! The day of our canyon swing! I have to admit, I saw this on Instagram months ago and knew immediately I wanted to do this 70m high swing with a 300m arc over incredible mountain scenery. But, I had to convince my partner in crime to ride tandem. He played it cool until I booked it one week into our trip, and then he was ‘hooked’! Ha ha. We drove out to Nevis via bus and the excitement and fright on the bus was palpable. We chose AJ Hackett company because he was badass, and in the 80s he made the world’s first bungee jump and went on to create a higher bungee drop, and the world’s biggest swing. Getting into the harness wasn’t so bad, even walking out on the swing bridge was okay. The easy going, sarcastic staff helped to create a distraction. In fact, most Kiwis have a sense of subtle humour. It wasn’t until our feet left the platform and we were suspended in the air, in tandem, smiling for photos to the cameras that I knew this was the calm before the storm. 5,4,3..actually there was no countdown, surprise drop! We left our breath at the top of the swing, and dropped, weightlessly into the arc, did a little twist at the bottom and laughed our butts off, raging with adrenaline as we swung back and forth like a pendulum. That high lasted a while as we laughed over our photos and video of the drop. We felt like our own little heroes, and returned to town on a high instantly posting our ‘bravery’ to social media ha ha! We spent the rest of the day walking, actually climbing, the Tiki Trail up a ridiculous incline that runs parallel with the gondola up Ben Lomard Mt. But the hour trek was worth every second for the views of the Remarkables surrounding the lake, and beautiful Queenstown (also, we are hoping there is a teacher and accountant shortage here...). Two delicious words: Ferg Burger. Anyone who’s been to Queenstown knows the magnitude of these words. A famous burger joint, selling a plethora of colossal burgers made with various meats and a myriad of toppings. Sweet Bambi for me! Venison with Brie, boysenberry, and plenty of goodness. James played it safe with the OG Ferg, and of course we exchanged bites onboard a very cool boat bar! BYO food and purchase sweet boozes with wicked views of various water sports on the go, and people watching galore on the pier. Back to our favourite campsite with the view and swimming opps at 12 Mile Delta, we reminisced about our amazing 2 weeks with the rest of our (boxed) wine in tea cups at the beach.
Day 15-Saturday, March 24, 2018
Early birds get the worms, or in this case, delicious meat pies at Mrs. Ferg! They were the perfect picnic lunch for our final day in paradise. We spent our morning watching the sunrise over Hayes Lake, and in our 3 hour jaunt found a hidden treasure created by local kiddos, a swing rope into the lake! A little too early to swim, and no garb, so we decided to come back in the afternoon. Off to Arrowtown, a cute, historical town known for its prominence during the time of the gold rush and Chinese settlement. Now, how could we spend 2 weeks in NZ and only drink boxed wine you ask? We did spend a bit of time at a locally famous vineyard and tasted pinot noirs (my favourite) and cheeses at Gibbston’s. Before our departure we needed one final thrill, back to the kids’ rope swing. It felt like a scene out of Sandlot, or some movie portraying kids in the 80s who made a kids’ club tree fort and swing-mostly because it said ‘Kids Only’ in all kid-like letters. Well, I work with kids, close enough, right? What a hoot it was swinging, and getting braver each time to start further and higher up. Now it was time for the long journey home. Queenstown to Auckland. Auckland to LA. LA to Toronto. Good thing time travel was on our side. We left Saturday late day and arrived home Sunday first thing. A quick hang out at Venice Beach watching the waves, skateboarders, busy boardwalk, and delicious cocktails was the perfect way to make the layover fly by.
Of course, we’re already planning our next campervan adventure! Stay tuned!
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