The biggest impression I get as we tour the south island is that it’s a place of incredible vistas. From the coasts to the mountains, no matter where you turn there seems to be wonderful views.
As I have mentioned previously, I have a thing for lighthouses, and when they are freshly painted it is a gorgeous thing. After 131 lives were lost during a ship wreck off Waipapa Point in 1881 the Waipapa Lighthouse was built. It has been solar powered since 1988.As a cyclone brushed the west coast of the island we got our first damp weather while camping in Tuatapere. After an evening and night of rain we awoke to what equated to a water bed under our tent. The good news was that the tent floor is absolutely water proof. Karen is standing by where the tent was. The back sleeping half was ok, but the front half of the tent was floating.
It continued to rain for the balance of the day which led to the decision to go with a B&B for the night to dry out. Yes, that officially makes us fair weather campers. I am OK with that.
The 111 metre long Cliften Suspension Bridge was an interesting stop in our sodden drive toward Wanaka.As we arrived in Wanaka we were able to book into a B&B for the night, unfortunately at that point the starter in our wonderful van, Stan, packed it in. We were dead in the water on this wet stretch of roadway.
Normally I would feel this was a lousy occurrence, however it turned out to be a great chain of events. Starting with a helpful lady from roadside assistance, then Alex from Wanaka Towing arrived. It is wonderful when you encounter people who are good. Alex, I believe is one of those people. He showed up in the rain and got our vehicle going, found a used starter for us, arrived at our B&B (which was in the next town) the next afternoon and installed the starter in the driveway. All for less than a roadside call out would have cost us in Canada. Customer service supreme, Thank you Alex.
The other plus to our unexpected delay was that we found out about massive road closures on the west coast due to high winds, downed trees, and landslides. Our fantastic B&B hosts were able to accommodate us for an extra night and we were able to spend an extra day enjoying the beauty of Lake Wanaka, Iron Mountain, and some excellent restaurants and pubs.Our amended itinerary took us past an area we had already seen. However, honestly, how can one complain about having to see this one more time? Mt. Cook and Lake Pukaki are truly awe-inspiring.We saw these backpackers by Lake Tekapo and were amazed at the solar panel attached to the top of one pack. Brilliant how technology can be modified for so many applications.Our humble abode in Ashburton enroute to the Banks Peninsula.Got one of the last tent sites at Duvauchelle on the Banks Peninsula. Just down the road from Akaroa, the centre of activity on the peninsula.The Banks Peninsula was formed from two volcanoes and makes for a very cool geologic region just outside of Christchurch. The harbour is large enough to host multiple cruise ships. If you look closely you can make out two cruise ships at anchor in the harbour. It is huge.The peninsula, and specifically, Akaroa are unique in that the French settled this region. So instead of the standard Maori names on everything, you encounter French on all the street and village names.
This was our last stop before heading to our next house sit near Culverden, north of Christchurch. Can’t wait to soak in more of this beautiful country.
Wow, from wet to wonderful…beautiful country 🙂
Yes indeed. The variety is amazing in both landscape and weather.
What a wonderful road trip, the blue water lake like this make me want to dip in 🙂
It has been a great trip so far. As for the dip in the water, you would want to brace yourself for that as it is glacial water and a bit chilly. lol.