Circle the Volkswagens
Our time in the south is running out. We join up with a VW convoy heading to the 25th Nationals in Taupo. We sample some of the gorgeous wine of the Marlborough region. And Steve heads out to sea on a Whale watching trip,
Our time on the South Island was evaporating. Not only that but the 25th VW Nationals were calling and we had date in Kaikoura with a small convey that had started in Dunedin that morning.
Imagine the joy when our fellow VDub nuts explained that they had just been watching an awesome dolphin display. They had pulled over to take photos and video on the coast road just south of Kaikoura, nice. So much for heading out to sea on the Whale Watch trip (see previous post).
When the convoy hit the outskirts of Blenheim we veered off in search of refreshment. Being pushed along at a faster than normal speed was starting to take its toll. Not only on us but the Tardis as well, as we would find out later.
We stuck our noses in at Wither Hill Winery. This is a great spot to get a sample of the glorious wines the Marlborough region has to offer. We joined some young, heavily tattooed Scandinavians and their boyfriends for an excellent tasting.
Refreshed and rested we headed to Picton, gateway to the Sounds. Given that we had to be at the ferry at 5.30am we decided to spend our last night on the South Island at a backpackers. Not wanting to scare the other guests, Julie ventured in to scout it out. Some might say we are a little too old for a backpackers. But when travelling on a budget... Given the fact that they had run out of double rooms we ended up in a 2 bedroom flat, with no roommates, result! Advertised as being a little quirky, this an understatement. The padded loo seat just one of the quirks of this little gem.
The ferry ride was nice and smooth, so much so that Julie decided to chance it and join Steve rather than jumping on a plane.
Wildlife made an appearance as we left the Marlborough Sound in the form of half a dozen dolphins. Blink and you missed them as the darted in front of the ferry. Better late than never I guess.
As soon as we docked in Wellington we headed north to try and catch up with the convoy that had left close to an hour before us. It was only when we got half way to Taupo that we met up with the now much larger group of VDubbers.
We had the edge on most of the other Kombi's on the hills. That investment in a little extra horsepower and the Weber carburettor was doing its stuff. For a few fleeting km's we were actually headed the convoy!
Since Steve's girls were small they have played a game in the car to pass the time. This involved collecting points for spotting Beetle's/Kombi's and Mini's. Being the first to call out Kombi at the top of your voice earned you 5 points. We have continued this tradition hurtling around the South Island. Anybody playing the same game as the convoy went passed would have had a field day.
Arriving in Taupo just over 6 hours since we left Wellington left us both a bit stressed and niggily. That only got worse when we hit the local supermarket to find it busier than a middle eastern bazaar. There were almost fist fights over the hot cross buns and Easter eggs.
The campground was straight from a 1970's Volkswagen brochure. Beetle's and Kombi's of all colours as far as the eye could see. We hit it off straight away with our two Kombi owning neighbours, sharing a few beers and wines over the long weekend.
Taupo has some great walks and mountain bikes trails. We found one not far from the campground that took us down to the mighty Huka Falls. It was a pretty hard core track due to trail erosion and bikes going both ways. Only the quick reaction of somebody far younger than Steve avoided a nasty collision.
Saturday was the big day of the weekend. Almost four hundred cars on display. Most primped and polished within an inch of their lives. There are some stunning examples that get wheeled out for special occasions and this was a big one. We were pleased as punch when our neighbour from the campsite picked up second place in our category.
After 2,500 km's of smooth running around the South Island the Tardis decided to pack a sad. We had been at a BBQ with a group of friends including Jamie (Dr. Kombi) from Motorworks. We backed out of the drive only to grind to a halt not more than 10 metres away. Well if you are going to break down there's no better place. Jamie and the rest of the party descended, torches and sonic screwdrivers in hand. Forty minutes later and a quick lesson in hot wiring, we were on our way. Won't bore you with technical details, suffice to say a 40 year old van on low profile tyres on New Zealand roads is asking for trouble.
We headed back to Auckland to complete the circle, hot wiring along the way. A huge thank you to friends, Karen & Dave, Tania & Shane for letting us crash. Their spare rooms resembled the aftermath of a jumble sale as we culled our last few bits and pieces.
We spent our last weekend in Auckland catching up with family and friends. A huge thanks to all those who made it to our leaving bash, we had a wonderful evening, there was even birthday cake for one lucky girl.
We had a wonderful time touring round the South Island. It's a must for all Kiwi's and vistors from distant lands. We will do a quick wrap up including our personal highlights and how much we spent on the next post.
Next Stop Santiago, Chile.
Wonderful Wanaka
We arrive in Wanaka and could stay for ever. We are here mainly because we are doing our first ever house sit. Our charges are Mollie & Hettie, two gorgeous Springer Spaniels and Toby the cat.
After three weeks on the road we were keen to arrive in Wanaka for our first official house sit. But first here's a sneak peak of our home on wheels (before all the junk goes in).
A huge thank you to Glen (interior designer extraordinaire). Having a bed that is the full width of the van is a dream. Also to Jamie and the guys at Motorworks for kindly taking all our money to help keep the old girl running.
The drive down to Wanaka was one of best drives yet. We skirted down the West Coast, cut inland over the Haast Pass and then down the side of Lakes Wanaka and Hawea. Once again the weather was kind and the scenery lifted straight from a jigsaw puzzle.
Newbies at the house sitting game, we signed up to three sites and started to receive dozens of daily notifications. People wanting their house and pets looked after whilst away. The sitter gets to have a roof over their head for free and the pet owners save the kennel/cattery fees. Win, win.
Every now and again we get a new listing that just sounds fantastic. Like the one in Costa Rica for 12 months, no pets, just wanting somebody to keep the house safe and sound. Or the small Tuscan castle with two cute rescue dogs for 6 months. This could be a great way to keep our costs down as we travel, although competition is fierce.
Our first assignment was for a wonderful couple, Maggie and Andy. They have a great home just a short walk from the lake front. Our wards for the long weekend were Mollie & Hettie, two gorgeous springer spaniels and Toby, a cute and friendly cat. As soon as we walked in we all became firm friends. Maggie and Andy invited us to stay for dinner the night before they left so they could give us the run down. I think Andy just needed an excuse to open a bottle or two of wine.
We had the use of 'the dog car' for the weekend and soon fell into a relaxed routine of walking the dogs in the morning and evening. There are some fantastic walks around the edge of the lake. Plenty of opportunity to recharge the vitamin D levels with a soak in early morning sun. Unfortunately one of those walks left both dogs covered in hundreds of grass burrs. Julie spent a good hour combing each dogs and cleaning them up. Not sure Mollie was too impressed, she sulked the rest of the day.
We burnt some extra calories by walking to the top of Mt Iron for fabulous 360 degree view over the surrounding valleys. Diamond Lake also delivered stunning views rewarding us for the 3k uphill walk.
Other exercise highlights included, a bike trail that takes you around the lake front (we did about 15k of it). And the Dean's Bank Mountain Bike Trail, a 12k, grade 3 loop in nearby Albert Town. This adrenalin pumping ride was quite taxing at times.
If you are in Wanaka for a few days, then a visit to the wacky Paradiso Cinema is a must. We saw 'Wild', a film based on a true story of a young woman walking the Pacific Coast Trail in the States. The cinema seats are a mixture of sofas, airline seats, a Morris Minor back seat, all rather eclectic. The best came at the intermission. Yes folks a real intermission where they wait until the last person retakes their seat before restarting the movie. The smell acting as the Pied Piper as we queued for the delicious homemade cookies, they are to die for.
Wanaka is a fantastic place just to chill, we highly recommend Kai Whakapai as a place to have a coffee or iced tea and watch the world go by.
Driving around in the Kombi you get to meet some great people. Lots of folks have their own Kombi stories. Student adventures in Europe or kids thrown in the back of the van for another 12 hour journey through NZ. Often in supermarket car parks you get strangers coming up and wanting to chat. In fact, Julie came back to find me chatting to a rather attractive young woman drooling over…..yes you guessed it the Kombi.
Having finished our house sit we decided to stay in Wanaka for another day. We booked ourselves a scenic flight over to Milford Sound, complete with cruise. Imagine our joy as we rushed to the wee airport as the sun rose on another cloudless day. Eager pups we pulled up and jumped out, only to have our excitement squished as the weather over in the Sound had turned to custard.
It's hard to pick a favourite from all the wonderful places we have visited so far. But Wanaka is top of the list for both of us, the relaxed nature of the place and the outdoor lifestyle make it easy to fall in love with.
Next stop Otago & Fiordland.
The Wild West
After the sand flies comes the rugged beauty of the west coast. From drift wood beaches to might of the ocean to the majesty of glaciers
The Wild West
Having just survived the attack of the killer sandflies we headed for the wild west coast.
A cafe on route had album covers on the wall. This one is the first album that I remember having at home. Can't think of why it stuck out. Can you name the bands from the song titles (no Google!)? If you get more than 7 then you are on the wrong side of 50.
A quick visit to the iSite in Westport saw us heading further North to a quiet out of the way beach, Gentle Annie's. The campsite run by a wild and crazy French hippy dude. To be fair there wasn't much wild and crazy behaviour except for the gorgeous black labrador come dinner time.
The beach was another story. It's where driftwood for the entire word comes to rest. It looked like a scene from an epic battle, bodies slewn everywhere, only in this case it was wood of every shape and size.
Besides us there was one other couple (spookily a friend of a friend) and a handful of wekas (a quite rare native NZ flightless bird). If you every want to disappear off the edge of the world, this is the place to come.
When packing up there was a loud scream and Julie exited the van like a rocket. Sitting there shaking like a leaf was our new hitchhiker, a scared looking mouse.
Down the road was the end of the Old Ghost Road bike trail. An 85k track that takes you through some long forgotten gold mining towns. The towns now just inhibited by the odd ghost and some scary men in lycra. We tried to tackled the last 20km starting at the end and working our way up. Well that lasted until we hit a steep section that had a goat as warning to the gradient. We managed to get half way up the 400m climb before turning round an enjoying the tricky ride back down. The wild descent taking it's toll on our creaky joints.
With a quick stop to check out the seal colony outside of Westport we headed south. We had a date with a sunset and some rocks that someone had told us not to miss.
The west coast is truly wild at Punakaiki. Make sure you visit at high tide. The spectacular rock formations (Pancake Rocks) put on a wonderful show as the sea tries to batter them into submission. We also had a near perfect sunset, the sky ablaze with colour.
Franz Josef Glacier was our next stopping off point. After a long drive, a beer with our names on was calling. Not until Julie's beer arrived did we realise it was St Patrick's Day.
Early morning found us at Lake Matheson. On the right day with no cloud the lake is like a mirror. Stunning view of the Southern Alps and Mount Cook reflecting on the lake. Once the bus load of hyper active teenagers had moved on we almost had the place to ourselves.
We walked as close as we could to the terminus of Fox Glacier, warning signs everywhere spelling out the danger of falling ice. The signs still didn't stop two visitors being crushed by a falling chunk of ice after climbing over a fence a few years back. The wilder side of Mother Nature is always bubbling away just under the serene surface.
At Franz Josef Glacier we came across humps with bumps. Those crazy DOC (Department of Conservation) guys have totally worked out how to wreak a lowered Kombi. You put speed humps in and then insert rocks into the top of the humps. Mmmmm.
Lunch was a quiet romantic spot by Lake Mapourika. Well it was until bunch of guys (and a girl) turned up. Fueled by lunch time booze they proceed to set up a ramp at the end of the short wharf. Then they each took turns riding a bike off the end of the wharf into the rather chilly lake. Those wild and crazy kids.
a video of their escapades can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/steveford77?pnref=story
Next stop Wanaka for our first house sitting experience.
