We arrived in Christchurch and drove west across the island through our first mountain pass and then headed south along the coast. It is all temperate rain forest, which is beautiful but WET. It made for treacherous driving along narrow roads and one-lane bridges in our big campervan.
On the flipside, there were waterfalls all over the place. Everywhere we looked there were beautiful cascades of water coming down the mountains. We took tons of pictures before we realized that the waterfalls were around every corner in the road.
This was our first glimpse of glacier activity. The brilliant blue water is from glacial sediment in the water that makes it look artificial.
We walked as close as we could get to the base of Fox glacier but needed a guide to go any further. It was still a beautiful sight since I'd never seen a glacier before.
Beware: falling people and rocks
Alex was fascinated by the chunks of ice. I thought it was pretty cool that there were huge blocks of ice floating down the river in front of us because we were at really low altitude for that sort of thing.
The west coast is really isolated and there is only one major road, so I was surprised that nearly every bridge was one lane meaning one side has to yield to the other. After a few days of driving we realized that there isn't much traffic so it didn't make much difference.
Our second day of driving in the rain was still pretty but rather uneventful. I was beginning to wonder if the campervan was a brilliant idea or huge mistake until we pulled into a rest stop for a break and I made the kids noodles while Matt napped. At that moment I fell in love with the "house-car", as Ben lovingly called it. And a big thanks to Matt for doing ALL the driving since it was a standard transmission and I never learned to drive a stick shift.
This was a big plus, too! The kids slept so well with all the road noise.
At the end of day 2, we started to head inland again towards Wanaka and the skies finally cleared a bit. We began to see some of the beautiful vistas we'd been looking forward to.
There is so much water in New Zealand! Lakes, rivers, streams, beaches...it was gorgeous.
We stopped in Wanaka for dinner and a break at a wonderful playground. The kids fed and chased some ducks while we all enjoyed the crisp air and scenery.
We spent the night in Queenstown and then started our journey to Milford Sound on day 3. We finally saw some blue skies! We also saw sheep everywhere. Someone told me there are more sheep than people in NZ and I totally believe it.
We drove past this amazing field and had to back up and park. It was unbelievable...if I had to picture heaven, this is how I would describe it. There was even a sweet smell in the air from the wildflowers.
We walked down into the flowers and spent some time enjoying the moment.
The mountain lupin is like bluebonnets on steriods in a rainbow of colors. Amazing!
The kids thought is was a maze made just for them and chased each other around laughing.
"Check this out!"
Another couple followed us into the field and took some pictures for us.
Just beautiful. Even the showers passing over the mountains were lovely.
Getting close to the snow on another mountain pass.
Finally at the highest point before heading down into fiordland and Milford Sound, which is a dead end with 2 campgrounds, 1 cafe, a cruise terminal, and breathtaking scenery.
We got out and let the kids enjoy the freezing air and the snow.
More waterfalls at every turn!
Alex was more fascinated with the snow than the ice and would probably still be playing there now if we hadn't pulled him away. It was his first time to see snow.
The tunnel through the mountain was also one way and regulated only by a stoplight at 15-minute intervals.
We played with the kea parrots while we waited for the light to change. These birds are really smart and we'd been warned to keep an eye on them. They work in pairs - one distracts while the other steals wiper blades off your car. We saw them in action but on someone else's car, thank goodness.
We had a wonderful night camping at the Milford Lodge and even saw glow worms after it got dark. The next morning we had hoped to see some more clear skies and take a helicopter tour but the weather had moved back in overnight and it actually snowed at higher elevations. Instead we took a cruise on the sound. Ben obviously wasn't enjoying the cold weather.
This is the famous view of Mitre Peak and typical weather for a region that gets over 22 feet of rain each year.
Again, the rain made for some spectacular waterfalls which only last about 24 hours after each downpour. And we were fortunate that it didn't rain much during our cruise.
Another waterfall pouring out of a glacial valley.
3 sisters waterfalls
We spotted several fur seals along the way.
On our drive back up towards the tunnel we got great views of the fresh snowfall.
More beautiful scenery on the drier side of the mountains.
Yep, beautiful scenery everywhere!
(couldn't resist this one)
We spent the night in Queenstown again and enjoyed some wonderful seafood and local wine at a little place right on the lake.
The campervan was terrific because we had everything we needed all the time. Matt and I always showered at the campgrounds but Alex still prefers baths and we made do. He didn't seem to mind the size of this bathtub.
Even better was the kids' bed over the cab of the truck. We chose this particular model because it had a safety net so we could toss the kids up there and lock them in for the night. Some nights they'd pass out immediately and other nights they played for hours.
Leaving Queenstown driving toward Mt. Cook we began to see some of the gorgeous rivers and stopped at this one to watch the bungee jumpers. And no, we didn't even think of joining them!
A lovely gorge with Chard Farm Winery on the left. We enjoyed their wines and also stopped at a cheese factory to gorge ourselves.
It amazed me how driving just 10-15km sometimes would put us in an entirely new landscape. We passed several places were Lord of the Rings scenes had been filmed, including this one. Don't know which one but they were dotted on our map. We declined the tour where you put on the full costumes and reenact battle scenes.
Want to see more? The best is yet to come...keep reading the next post!
