South Island Road trip

We got a flight into Christchurch on the 13Th and picked up the car from just outside the airport. Tom and I had booked tickets to watch the All blacks versus the French in Dunedin which is about 360 kilometers from Christchurch. We'd parked about a 15 minutes walk in a small park. We'd picked up the some beer on the way down so had a few when we were strolling to the stadium. We had good seats but soon noticed that the south island is way colder than the north island. We were supporting the All Blacks but as you may or may not be aware the dam french won. We ended up walking into town and going for a few drinks with this rather random fellow. We stayed with them for a while and after Tom had taken the mans very very cool looking hat we headed of into the night. We stopped from a bite to eat and another drink as we walked up the hill back to the van. I slept like a baby because i was steaming drunk. The next morning we got and took in the glorious view over Dunedin before going to get some breakfast and heading off to the swimming pool for a swim and a shower. The swim was a really good way to get over the hang over and when we got back into the changing rooms the whole french team walked in. A few people had autographs but Tom and I didn't bother. When your standing next to Sebastian Chabel you realise that he's even bigger in real life than he is when you watch him smashing people up on the rugby field. We left and grabbed some lunch before going to Otago peninsula to sleep. Tom and i both got up early the next day and went and watched the sunrise over the sea which was absolutely stunning. Tom cooked breakfast and we left to go to Te Anua on the west coast which is the closest town to the Milford sound where we were going to go on the cruise around the sound. We got to Te Anua and quickly realised that it had as much to offer in the way of activities as walking around a grave yard. We decide to carry onto to Milford which was about another 120 kilometers. We arrived just before dark so Tom cooked me tea again before we watched and film in the van and bedded down for the night.
I booked us onto the cruise the next morning and it was a glorious day. The cruise is about an hour and a half and we saw the waterfalls, seals and a mountain called Mitre peak which rises over a mile straight from the sea. A very impressive and beautiful place, if you ever in NZ you should definitely make the effort and go. When we drove out of the sound and headed back towards Queenstown we soon realised that last night it had snow pretty hard. Yes the photo of me standing in the snow is just outside Milford and i am wearing flip flops and shorts, not the brightest button. We got up to Queens town and i was freezing cold so we decided to stay in a hostel to freshen up and have a night away from the van.
The next morning we got up and checked out and headed up to Wanaka which is the second largest lake in NZ. Again we we're mega lucky with the weather so I went for a walk around the lake and just out listening to the water lap against the shore. NZ is such a picturesque place, you could take millions of photo which i have to a degree. After a few hours in Wanaka we continued north up the west coast towards the glaciers and a small town called Haast. We stopped for tea in Haast and popped into the towns supermarket which is, a restaurant, a bar, an inter net cafe and a supermarket ( i was pretty impressed with this). We got to Fox glacier and made the bed and went to sleep.
The next morning was cold, really really cold to the point where there was ice on the inside of the windows. I couldn't believe it. Tom and i walked to a few view points around the glacier taking photos and larking about until we decided to continue north to Franz Joseph glacier. We did pretty much the same thing as the fox glacier but when we got back from the walk to the terminal face of the glacier (which moves a massive 40 cm a day!) we decide to stop and get a bit more civilised so we had tea and crumpets! After the brunch we continued up the coast towards picton stopping a little town to have a look a wildlife center and to feed eels that were about 110 years old. Eels are horrible, it was fun feeding them but seeing them all slithering and swimming over each other was gross. We also saw a kiwi which was a high light because there are less than 25,000 left in the wild because cats, dogs and ferrets. I think they are the craziest birds I've ever seen, evolution hasn't been kind to these birds. We left the wildlife center and stopped to watch the sunset on the cliffs before bedding down in a car park on the top of the cliffs.
The next morning we went back to the pancake rocks and blow holes just south of where we had stayed the night before. Pancake rocks are essentially layers of rocks that are packed really tight together making them look like a stack of pancakes. We drove for a good few hours until we got to a little town on the north coast. We had hot dogs for tea and stayed at Patons rock which was an amazingly beautiful place to camp.
Day 8 (the day of danger and a near death experience) and half way through the road trip, we went to a springs which has the clearest water in the southern hemisphere and that was not understatement you could see from one side of the spring to the other using a upside down periscope. We decided to stay another night and do a bike ride over the mountains. We'd booked into a hostel because we'd need a good nights sleep after this leisurely bike ride that we had planned. we rented the bikes and booked the buss to take us to the start of the Rameka track. The track began really easy, a 40 or so minutes ride up a hill followed by a easy but nice cruise down a dirt road to the Hamama hole which was extremely deep and very scary when you walking on icy rocks to see over the edge. I'd imagine it must have been 100 meters deep. We cycled back up the track and stopped at a frozen lake to try and smash the ice which didn't happen but we had a dam good time trying. We got back to the track and started heading up the hill in the opposite direction when we bumped in Bernie and Mark. Bernie and Mark must have been about forty and as soon as I had started to talk to them they made out that if we didn't follow them down a track there would be a good chance that we would be spending the night up this mountain and i was only in shorts and t-shirt. I obviously panicked and followed the guys down a track. They were flying ahead of Tom and I and the urgency of the situation to get of the mountain began to swirl around my head and i got worried, very worried. The track we rode down was about a foot wide with a drop off to the left that was a minimum of 6 foot at all times. At one point Tom fell down the back but he was fine if not a little shaken up. It took about an hour and a half to get out of the forest and the sun had set and it was beginning to get dark. The get back to there car it was a 6 kilometer ride down another dirt road and by this time i was freezing cold. In the end we got safely back to the car and back to the village. Bernie and Mark had a good laugh of our lack of preparation, knowledge and skill of what we were doing. They told us that the difficulty of the track we'd just completed was a 3 out of 5. we dropped the bikes back and left there company, great guys in all fairness. The said we would have been another 3 or so hours on the mountain if they hadn't followed them. Good bless you boys.
We had a few beers that evening and watched the All blacks beat the French. I won a free jug of beer in the pub for predicting the score. I left like a baby that night but my knees and bum were killing that evening and the next few days.
Tom and I left the next morning and headed east to Nelson to stay in another hostel and get some stuff done. The Green Monkey was a small but really well managed hostel, they bloke who owned it was a great guy and even put his welsh shirt on to make Tom and I feel at home. We had a bumper meal and an early night. When we left town the next day we stopped at the center of NZ and the place where the first game of rugby was played in NZ, i think it was 1840. Today we started our journey south to get back to Queenstown. We ended up booking into a hostel on the coast called the dusky lodge where we partook in a stop of deep sea fishing. The boat was small and the swell was considerably larger but it was still fun. I'm not sure what we were catching but I do know that we caught loads of fish. A couple of Albatrosses bobbed about within a meter of the boat and on the way back to land we say dolphins which was just amazing. The captain of the boat (Nubs) gave us a cray fish which supposedly coast about 70 dollars but when Tom and I cooked it, neither of us rated it that highly that we'd pay 70 cents for for the thing. We left the hostel the day after the fishing adventure and headed inland to Hanmer Springs. The springs are basically a lot of pools that range in temperature from 36 to 41 degrees. However they do all have one thing in common. They STINK of sulphur which as you can imagine gets rather wearing after an hour or so. We continued down towards Christchurch and stayed just outside the city limits because its easier to find somewhere to sleep. The next morning we drove into Christchurch and wondered around the city looking in bookshops and looking for a cinema to watch Angels and Demons (which i thought was a great film). We had a drink in the biggest sports bar in NZ. We used the Internet and worked out that all the hostels in Queenstown had no rooms because the Friday would be the start of the winter festival. We worked out that we would had to go back to Queenstown to do the bungey jump that we had a BOGOF for. We drove from Christchurch towards Queenstown and stopped when we got too tired to drive anymore. We got into Queenstown and drove around looking for somewhere to stay as the car had to be back in 2 days. We found somewhere after a about 15 minutes of looking and booked in for the following 3 nights. We wondered into Queenstown from the car park and booked our bungy jump. Tom and i Stayed in the car that night. I went for a few beers with another couple that planned on staying in the same car park as Tom and I. I can't remember there names but they were great and they took me to a few places around Queenstown. Not sure what time i got back to the van but i do know the next day i woke up with a horrible case of man flu. The next few days have been just chilling out and exploring Queenstown, the van got back safe and sound.

All Blacks Verses France in Dunedin

Sunrise at the Otago peninsula

Mitre Peak at the Milford Sound

The snow fall we had whilst camping at the Milford sound

View across the lake in Wanaka

Franz Joseph glacier

Tea and crumpets at the glacier

The eels Tom and I feed

Another romantic sunset

Pancake rocks and the blowholes

The springs with the clearest water in the southern hemisphere

Tom after his little fall down the back while we were mountain biking

Tom and the Cray fish before cooking

North Island Road trip

We picked the car up in Auckland at about 11. We got the essentials which is obviously beer and food before heading off to the north, our route was travel north along the west coast, see the most northerly tip of the north island then travel south trying to stick to the east coast until we get to the bay of islands.
The van
The van we rented from juicy is a Toyota. Below are some photos of the van. It's got a sink, a small gas cooker, a fridge or hi-tech cool box and a DVD player! Can you believe it? A DVD player in a camper van, technology these days hey. The beds are formed buy pulling out a few boards and moving pillows, actually it's very comfy and very cosy, because lets face it, it's winter in NZ and is bloody cold at nights.

First place we stopped was Sullivan's bay, it was an awesome clear day and it wasn't very far outside Auckland. We walked along the beach and took a few photos before jumping back in the car and making our way to our next stop which was Dargville where we planned to stay on the beach. We slept on the beach i didn't sleep that well the first night, not because i was uncomfortable simply because i was dreaming of the car getting washed away with Tom and i in it and how in gods name we were going to explain it to the rental company. Anyway, we got up and packed the van away and made our way towards Kawai lake about an hours drive from the beach, when we arrived the lakes looked amazing. It was a gorgeous day so we decide to have bacon and egg sandwiches by the lake. We went for a walk after brekkie and took a few more photos before jumping back into the car and driving towards the Kauri forest which has native trees that grow about 50 meters (150 feet) tall but the grow about 13 meters (39 feet) in girth! When we drive down pretty much any road in NZ you see more birds of prey than you could shake a stick at. On the second day we saw a bird of a prey (i think it was an falcon) trying to eat road kill of the road. When i stopped and tried to get my camera out my pocket it flew away trying to take whatever it was eating away with it. I was so amazed, a very beautiful bird whatever it was. After leaving the forest and heading north towards Cape Regina we got a fairy which saved us about 150 kilometers We got to Cape Regina just after dark because we the last 20 k's were unsealed roads which is always a giggle when it's dark and your sliding all over the road.

We awoke on day three and the weather had turned slightly, it was a little overcast but not cold so i couldn't complain. We walked down to the light house and looked out to see before getting back to the van and heading south towards the giant sands dunes which were about 30 kilometers away. I walked up them while Tom sat in the car because it was raining. It took a lot of effort to walk to the top as they must be a least 30 meters (100 feet) tall. It was definitely worth the walk because the view from the top was amazing. I jumped back in the car and we drove south towards the Bay of Islands. On the way we stopped at Haruru falls to see the water falls and they were rather cool.

When we got to the Bay of Islands went and had a bacon and egg sandwiches near a forestry which was a nice view to see as the sun went down. We went down the the water front and made the beds and watched a DVD before getting moved on by a security and going to bed.
Day four and we moved to hostel to have a shower and a relax in the spa. After a session in the spa we went out to book a fishing trip which was going to be a red snapper trip. We meet the boat captain and the four other people before heading out for four hours. We drove out between the islands for about an hour before putting the lines in. I've never fished anywhere so good in all my life. I've time the road got down the 24 meter drop i had a bite and had to reel it back either with the desired result or a bait less line. Tom caught the first keeper followed by me. I mentioned before that i am the unluckiest person when it comes to stuff like this. However fishing is the exception. I had the most luck at the first spot getting one keeper and catching four that where too small. After an hour we moved spot where it kicked off! The six of us caught about another eight or so red snapper as well as some Australian trout. Then me James Ryan had a bite, a big bite. The reel began to run away from me and there was nothing i could do about it. The captain Andrew came over and taught me how to "fight" a fish without letting him get away or snapping the line. After fighting for about 30 minutes or so i managed to bring the beast to the surface. It was a ............ SHARK!!!! A six foot Bronze whaler shark. I know what your thinking, yes i am amazing. Nah only joking. Before Andrew could get a hook in him so we could all take a few photos he turned and snapped the line. I was shaking and also amazed that i was so lucky. When we got back to shore Andrew gutted the fish and we went to the fish and chip shop to get our catch battered and have a few to chips to finish it off.
We awoke the next morning and again headed south to the Bay of Plenty. We had to make a de-tour north because i was navigating and we missed hot water beach (10). We slept there and the next morning we went down where everyone were digging holes to get to the hot water that flowed from under the beach. People were making holes in the sand and lying in them while fishing and enjoying the beautiful weather. We had a paddle in someone elses pool then made our way towards cathedral cove which was an arch rock-formation in the cliff. We walked along the beach and took a few photos before leaving. The last stop of the day was Manguni. Manguni was a sand spit with a mountain at the end of it. We stayed and had some fish and chips which was the Red snapper from the boat trip which was awesome and very tasty. We stayed very close to the beach which was nice.

The next morning we ventured up the mountain, it was a beautifully clear day so we took so good photos from the top. The accent took about half an hour and below is a photo of just how worth it was. After we strolled back down the mountain we had a bit of road side brekkie in a free bbq area before heading off towards Rotorua. The drive to Rotorua was about an hour and it must have been roughly three o'clock when we arrived. We went to the visitor center to get some leaflets and choose to go luging with a gonadal ride which was about10 minutes outside of town. We drove over and booked to do the gondola with three rides on the luge. The gondola wasn't that exciting as you can image but it did provide us a moment to get our bearings as well as being able to view Lake Taupo in the late afternoon when the sun was low in the sky. When we got to the top of the Gondola ride we grabbed our helmets and strolled towards the starting area for the luge. We did three in total, Tom won the first and i won the second and third. The third was a white wash but i haven't laughed so much in a while. Most excellent fun. Tom drove us back into town and we stopped next to the lake to have some hot dogs for tea and a chill out. We were listening to the Micheal Jackson number one album when all of a sudden the lights went out and the music stopped. We'd run out of battery and you can't bump start an automatic because you can't get the dam thing out of park. We'd worked out that earlier that morning I'd found a lighter plug on the floor and plugged it in and it must have sucked the battery dry. After about half an hour and a miracle the car started so we went for a drive to the hot pools and then went for a beer in an Irish bar where we watched the Lions reply. That nights sleep was rather uncomfortable as we experienced out first frost.
We awoke early the next morning as you can imagine and headed back to the information center to book the next activity. Zorbing was next on the schedule, Zorbing is basically getting inside an eleven foot high beach ball with a smaller beach ball inside it and filling in a quarter full with water then going down a fairly steep hill. A great laugh as you can imagine. Tom and I had a go in separate Zorbs for our first run, the guys there gave us a free second run and we both decide to go in the same one and play fight all the way down the hill. It ended in tears because Tom head butted my knee so i couldn't walk properly after that so he had to drive. We pottered around town doing some of the less fun things about traveling (laundry) before heading back to the pub we went in last night to watch the lions again. After watching the lions cream the Lions we headed towards Taupo, we stopped at Huka waterfalls which was nice, the water fall drop isn't that impressive, but the amount of water that drops the seven or so meters is. Two Olympic swimming pools a second (350 cubic meters per second. We also stopped at a scenic view point to look at the snow covered mountains (which are mount Doom in Lord of the Rings) before going to Taupo to cook tea and settle down with a cup of coco and watching a film in bed!
We both slept really well that night, we went to the tourist information center to get some leaflets on stuff to do in the area. We choose crater of the moon, it's an hour walk around a board walk where everything is either hot, steaming or bubbling. A rather cool experience, there is lots of volcanic activity around the lake Taupo area. The weather started to turn for the worse, we planned to visit the bee museum to try lots of free bee products, wines, honeys and fudges. We left Taupo and again headed south towards Wellington. We got as far as National Park which is a village and stayed in a hostel as it was very cold and we decided to have a night away from the van.
As you can imagine sleeping in a proper bed is great. We had a shower before hitting the road again, we weren't sure where we going to stop today we thought we'd drive until we got bored and camp wherever or whenever that happened. We stopped in Palmerston North to have a look at the rugby museum. The museum was amazing, the amount of welsh stuff they had in there was unbelievable. The museum had a Welsh players Great Britian jersey from 1904. The lady that was looking after the place was really helpful, she rang a local brewery for us and booked us onto the next tour which was at two o'clock. We thanked the lady and left to attend the Tui brewery tour. In the price was the following three free drinks and a free beer glass. We had a lager before going on the tour. The tour took us through the whole plant. Tom and I both ate raw hops which was disgusting but we were promised a free beer if we did. We got back to the bar and had our three free drinks before getting another free drink for opening a jar of beetroot. We weren't sure where we were staying so we drove a little further until we decided that we would just drive until we got into Wellington. After driving for about three hours we arrived at a city which wasn't labeled. We drove around to try and find someone to give us directions to Wellington. We pulled up to a group of late thirty's and i leaned out of the window of the van and asked "excuse me, do you know how to get to Wellington?" They replied, "Your in Wellington" ah. I kindly said thank you before telling Tom to get me out of there as they were still staring at me in amazement that i could be in the city center and still manage not to know where i was. Tom just sat there, looking at me with this stupid grin on his face. So, Tom was staring at me, the group of people were staring at me and I felt like a really idiot. After about two minutes i put the car in drive and made him drive. We laughed all the way down the road before leaving the center of Wellington and finding somewhere to camp in the suburbs.

We went back to Wellington the next day and had a look around the city, i must say it's very stunning city. We walked around a few shops before going to do something normal. We went to watch a film in the cinema, poor film in the end but I won't mention what it was. We had a beer then went back to the camp spot and had a fairly early night.
Today, today has been a good day. We drove into Wellington and drove to the top of Mount Victoria which they used as the shire in Lord of the Rings. Again it's been a fabulous day. We left Wellington and headed north along the west coast heading back towards Auckland. We've stopped for the night in Manganui. Again in a hostel so Tom can cook me a bumper meal. Red Thai curry with vegetable fried rice and it smells awesome. I'm glad he enjoys cooking because I'm no good at all!
THe next day we checked out of the hostel and headed north up to New Plymouth where we had lunch and went for a swim and sauna session. Not a great deal happened that day as we were just making up the k's. We did stay on the cliff above a really famous surfing beach where you can ride a wave for some ridiculous like half an hour.
The second but last day we drove all the way into Auckland to have a few beers and enjoy our last night with the camper van. We stayed in another really nice spot before dropping the car of the next morning. Total K's covered for the north Island 3103.

The van

Sullivans bay


Kawai lake

Kauri tree

Cape Regina

The view from the top of the giant sand sunes

Hot water beach

Tom and I in the Bay of islands

View off the top of mount Manguni

Oldest Great Britian rugby jersey outside of the UK (1904)

The view atop of mount Wellington