New Zealand Photography travel

New Zealand Road Trip – Part 3

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.

Waipapa Point Lighthouse
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.
Rainy weather in Tuatapere
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.

Cliften Suspension Bridge
The 111 metre long Cliften Suspension Bridge was an interesting stop in our sodden drive toward Wanaka.
Stan's Breakdown
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.

Lake Wanaka from the townsite
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.
Lake Pukaki with Mt. Cook in the background
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.
Solar Powered Backpackers by Lake Tekapo
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.
Ashburton Campsite
Our humble abode in Ashburton enroute to the Banks Peninsula.
Akaroa Campsite
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.
Akaroa Harbour
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.
Akaroa Harbour with Akaroa
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.

Welcome to our travel blog. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to say, "I'm out of here?" Well we did, and in 2013 we made it a reality. We sold or gave away all of our possessions other than what fit in our luggage and we set off on an endless adventure. Part of our goal is to share our experiences with others and hopefully provide some information, motivation, or just a moments escape. The general idea was to look for a place that would be ideal to settle down in. However in the meantime it is about experiencing life in different countries amongst different cultures and learning how to understand and appreciate each other. A large part of our time is spent housesitting which provides an excellent opportunity to experience more of the "normal" neighbourhoods as opposed to the tourist locales. Though we make sure to enjoy those as well. So through plenty of photographs and a running commentary come and share with us our life on the road.

4 comments on “New Zealand Road Trip – Part 3

  1. Wow, from wet to wonderful…beautiful country 🙂

  2. 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.

Leave a Reply

%d