New Zealand by Campervan!

After Oz it was on to it's neighbour and rival, New Zealand.Delighted to catch up and stay with Eleanora and Marco who I met on my travels in Laos and who recently moved to NZ in search of a better quality of life.My 1st night in Auckland was spent on the town celebrating the birthday of Eleanora´s colleague.How else would I start a new adventure, only by having a good taste of the local beer.My visit was brief, a stroll around the city and a visit to Skakespear Regional Park.

It was off to the airport to collect the campervan (eventually christened Jucy and loved like a loyal friend) and pick up Jenn (My good oul´ Yankie traveling buddy!)who was flying in from Sydney and joining me in a 3 week escapade. We hit the road to Rotorua on the Bay of Plenty to hook up with Hannah (My good oul' drinking buddy from Delhi) who was celebrating her 30th Birthday (with plenty of bubbles) with cousins in Te Puke. After the bubbles wore off we paid a visit to Rotorua and The Maori Buried Village, where Mt Tarawera erupted and destroyed many years ago. We put the foot down and head north on the North island to Cape Reinga, the Northernwestern most point of New Zealand and where The Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea meet. We done a day tour and drove the 90 mile beach where we went sandboarding. A tip for sandboarding, never put your hands out while hurling yourself down a sand dune! A tourist learnt the hard way and broke their collarbone...with such an injury your days as a backpacker are numbered!

Heading south once again, we popped into Hell's Gate, a mud volcano consisting of dark boiling mud and sulphur baths. After the stench got too much we joined Hannah and her cousins once again in Okere falls, went fishing on Rotoiti Lake, enjoyed the hot thermal pools and sobering dips in the freezing lake! A huge thanks goes out to Lol, Mark & Paddy for making us feel very welcome and showing us a fantastic time on the North Island...SWEET AS!! ;-)
On our way to Wellington we stopped at Waitomo Caves to try our hand at some Black Water Rafting. What you basically do here is, you put your bottom in an inflated inner tube of an old truck tire and you throw yourself off waterfalls in a very dark underground cave whilst admiring the Glow Worms above and trying not to think about the repulsive eels slidering below...YEEEEK!!! After recovering from the chill we were off to Wellington to catch some of the city sights before taking the ferry across to the South Island. Sights visited were The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the city´s beautiful Botanical gardens, Mount Victoria Lookout with a great panoramic view of the city, Karori Sanctuary an interesting conservation project) in the hope of spotting a Kiwi...no such luck on the day!! We did however catch a glimpse of a frog native to New Zealand called Pepeketua, these tiny little fellows you would miss with a blink of the eye!

Up before the crack of dawn, we drove Jucy on the ferry and crossed to Picton on the South Island. A quick visit to the wine region of Blenheim where we stopped off a Allan Scott's vineyard and indulged a little. After which was a long and sobering spin down the west coast to Fox Glacier, a very windy and twisty route with countless one way bridges over scary cliff drops...I thought we´d never get there!!! It was worth the pain though...fitted with crampons and accompanied by guides with ice picks we climbed the glacier the next day..another chilling yet amazing adventure!!!

Next up was the adventure capital, Queenstown. After a fresh dump of snow I spent 1 great day on the slopes of Cardrona improving my turns or should I say performing my notorious wipe outs!! I missed my good ski buddies that day...calling 21 on your own ain't no fun ;-)
It was also in Queenstown where I was a little reckless by performing a Bungy Jump AND a Tandem skydive on the same day. The Original AJ Hackett Bungy with a 43m drop was ok but I much more enjoyed the 15000ft jump with NZSkydive from a tiny flying tin can over some stunning scenery...freefalling is a fantastic sensation also. From Queenstown we also took a day tour to Milford Sound where we cruised along the waters and were in awe of the towering rock faces, dolphins and seals.

Across the South Island and through it's stunning landscapes to the East coast and to the town of Dunedin, a Scottish Settlement. We cruised with Jucy (The fridge in serious need of a good cleaning at this stage) along the Penisula and wandered among sheep through the countryside. What followed was a well deserved visit to Speights Brewery where we had a free bar and could pour your own...Ivan would have sent the place into liquidation! Our last stop was Christchurch where we just hung about and met up with Hannah once again for a few jars. We did manage to take a spin out to Akaora, a French settlement and rent a kayak for the day..am beginning to get the hang of this rowing malarky...thanks to Jenn!!!

After 3 incredible action packed weeks, Jenn and I were sad to say farewell to Jucy and to one another. Where did the time go??? New Zealand is just a stunning country, I could see myself being quite content living this slow pace yet adventurous lifestyle.. the whole trip was, as the Kiwis say themselves...SWEET AS!!!

Pix @ New Zealand Album