Five weeks in a motorhome

After five weeks and almost 6'000 kilometers our motorhoming in New Zealand has come to an end. We have handed big dirty (our motorhome) back to Maui and left for Australia.

All in all, it was a great experience. New Zealand is a country well suited for motorhomes and if you have a self contained unit there is an endless number of beautiful camping spots available. We have camped next to rivers and lakes, had lunch overlooking gorgeous valleys and gone for morning runs through native forests and along white sandy beaches.

Thanks again Peter for joining us during these five great weeks in New Zealand. We will see you again in Toronto.

Christchurch

A visit to Christchurch today is very different from a visit to Christchurch a few years ago. The city is sill scared from the terrible earthquakes that have hit the city and the central parts are still fenced off to the public. Temporary shopping malls have been built in containers outside the blocked zone and many people still live in temporary accommodation.

The scientists say that the aftershocks might continue for another 20-30 years. We had only been in the city for about 15 minutes when we felt the ground shake for the first time.

On our last full day in New Zealand before Peter left us we decided we needed a challenge and went to a place called Adrenaline Forest. It consisted of a number of obstacle courses set among trees. The first couple of courses were just a few meters above ground but the last course really tested our fears being situated about 25 meters above ground.

In Christchurch we said good bye to Peter who flew back to Canada before we boarded our plane heading for Sydney Australia.

West coast

After a beach day in Wanaka we started driving up the west coast of the south island. Our first destination was the famous Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers. The second destination was a camp site outside the town of Hokitika where we met up with our friends Selina and Henrik.

The drive from Wanaka to the glaciers provided another stretch of spectacular scenery as well as some close wildlife encounters. The vegetation along the west coast consists of thick rain forests. While driving the windy roads in the dark a penguins suddenly stepped out onto the road. Luckily he was crossing with caution so the encounter did not get too close.

The two glaciers are both impressive sites. They make their way from the top of the southern alps all the way down into the rain forest on sea level. Like most glaciers in the world today, these glaciers are currently shrinking. When observing the current vegetation below the glaciers it is possible to see the historical size of the glaciers.

It was great to meet up with Selina and Henrik in Hokitika. They are also traveling around New Zealand in a motor home and since the weather was on it's best behavior we could enjoy a nice BBQ outside.

Fiordland

New Zealand's largest national park is home to numerous fiords created by the last ice age. The park is covered with dense native forest and rugged mountains and the majority of it is completely inaccessible unless going on a ship.

We decided to take an overnight cruise through the fiord "Doubtful Sound". The steep mountains around the narrow fiord were covered in a heavy mist creating a real mysterious feel. Once in a while the mist would lift, revealing the scenery around us.

In the evening on the first day we left the ship for a kayaking trip along the dense shores. Gliding through this wilderness in complete silence made us feel very far from the rest of the world.

On the second day the scenery surrounding us was reflected on the calm water creating a perfect mirror effect. We felt like we were taken into a childrens ferry tale storybook.

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River boarding

Queenstown, the "adventure capital of the world" and the home of bungy jumping has become New Zealand's undisputed capital of adrenaline pumping activities.

New "sports" are constantly being invented and we decided to try an activity called river boarding. This exciting adventure is a boogie board version of white water rafting. We went down the turquoise colored waters through the steep canyons of the Kawerau river. Going down the rapids on a board really brings you face to face with the crashing white water. The challenge of the day was to catch and ride the standing wave in the middle of one of the rapids.

Between the fast rapids we were able to float along and enjoy the scenery, including bungy jumpers from a bridge above us and actual settings from the Lord of the Rings movie.

A definite must-do when visiting Queenstown!

Otago central rail trail

When the gold rush hit Otago people started to populate the remote and harsh inland parts of the province. This led to the need for increased transportation and the Otago rail way was built.

The trains stopped running here a long time ago and the former tracks have now been turned into bike trails. The bike trail starts in the small town of Clyde and takes 3-4 days to complete. We did not have enough time for a four day bike trip but we still had a great one day biking experience along the first part of the trail.

With our odometer reading 53kilometers at the of the day our sore bottoms were very happy that we only had time to complete the first leg of the journey

Gold mining

In the 1860's the gold rush hit central Otago on the south island of New Zealand. The first gold in New Zealand was found in the north island but it was in central Otago where most of the gold was found.

The gold rush in New Zealand was a continuation of the gold rush that had started in North America and then continued to Victoria in Australia. Once the easy accessible gold had run out the miners started looking for new grounds and moved on to New Zealand.

We visited an old gold field outside Cromwell that has now been turned into a museum. This field still contains gold and with the current gold price and modern machinery it would be profitable to start mining there again. The land is however a nature reserve today and there is no mining allowed.

As part of the visit to the museum we also got to try some gold panning of our own. The gold miner of the day was Erika who managed to find a small gold nugget at the bottom of her pan. Despite her excitement it was still not enough to travel for another year or for that matter pay for our dinner for the evening

Driving through New Zealand

The scenery along the roads in New Zealand is fantastic that even a full day of driving can be enjoyable. We have tried to allow ourselves enough time to take some scenic routes instead of always driving along the main highways. The scenic routes are usually well marked and have plenty of look out points along the way.

With all this fantastic scenery available right outside the car window it is not necessary to rush from tourist spot to tourist spot. It is enough to just take the nature in as it passes by.