Manapouri to Lake Dunston – 13th Feb

We left Manapouri for Lowburn. This was a large campground next to the large clean Lake Dunston. We met some friendly New Zealanders who suggested we walk The Hooker Trail at Mount Cook which is what we decided to do the following day.

Milford Sound – 12th Feb

We had a short drive up to Milford Sound from the campsite. It’s worth booking online before you go and there are multiple sightseeing boats which all seem to do a similar thing. Parking can be expensive at $10/hr at the car park close to the quay so we parked at a car park which […]

Te Anua and leave for Milford Sound – 11th Feb

Today we did a seaplane trip over Doubtful Sound and The Alps. The plane leaves from Te Anua and there are different trips that you can do. We chose the 40 minute flight which takes you over The Alps to Doubtful Sound and the surrounding area. We went with Wingsandwater and had a really enjoyable […]

Te Anua – 10th Feb

We visited the Te Anau Glowworm caves which were really interesting. There is a short boat ride around some islands and then we arrived at the quay. The tour was run by RealNZ; we had a short walk into the cave and then we carried on by boat in complete silence. The glowworms were very […]

Queenstown to Te Anua – 9th Feb

We left Kingston Campsite to go to Te Anua. This was a shorter trip than those before and we arrived at Lake View Holiday Park in the early afternoon. Lunch was a legendary New Zealand pie from Mike’s Pie shop which was delicious and we spent some time wandering around Te Anua. We wanted to […]

Wanaka to Queenstown – 8th Feb

Another scenic drive from Wanaka to Queenstown where we stayed at Kingston Campsite on Lake Wakatipu. We really enjoyed the vitality and beauty of Queenstown. We loaded up with some more supplies and then took a well earned rest swimming in the lake at the campground. Lake Wanaka Lake Hawea View from the van Free […]

Otto McDonald to Wanaka – 7th Feb

Again, a beautiful journey along windy and steep roads to get to Wanaka. On the way, we passed Franz-Josef and Fox glaciers and given that the parking for Fox glacier was just off the highway, we stopped there. We took a walk along Fox Glacier Valley up towards the glacier which offers good views. There […]

Punakaiki via West Coast Highway to Lake Mapourika – 6th Feb

We took a walk through the local forest and then started our next leg to Lake Mapourika along the West Coast Highway. We passed through some stunning scenery and made it to Otto McDonald campground on the lake by mid afternoon. Again, a lovely lake surrounded by beautiful scenery so we had another warm swim. […]

Moana to Punakaiki – 5th Feb

Lake Brumner is a warm lake due to the lake fauna which is dark and so absorbs the heat from the sun. We had a refreshing swim and then packed up to hit the road. We headed north to the blow holes and Pancake rocks of Punakaki, We stayed at our first Freedom Campground, ie; […]

Christchurch to Moana- 4th Feb

We had booked a motor home whilst in the UK, about 2 months in advance. We should have booked it perhaps 6 months in advance as they are very popular and choice becomes restrictive. We went with Britz who are based at the airport and they provided a Fiat Laika Cosmo. There was a long […]