When we finished our trip I stumbled on a useful list of the main campervan rental operators in New Zealand
(as of February 2012)
Alpha
Apollo
Backpacker
Britz
Maui
Explore More
Cheapa
Escape
Hippie
Jucy
Kea
Pacific Horizon
RoadRunner
Spaceships
Tui
United
Wendekreisen
Wicked
Wilderness
I was looking for a list like this before we went on our holidays, and I was unable to find one, so I thought it useful to post on the blog.
We went with Britz, which is one of the biggest operators. We were happy with both the campervan itself and the service we got. We had one issue with the campervan on the road (we discovered that one gas hob didn't work). We called up and got it fixed in the next town at a local garage, which was quickly turned around we thought. We were also able to add things at the Wellington office (we traveled from Auckland to Christchurch and wanted some warmer blankets). So all in all, it worked out well for us with Britz.
Britz, Maui and Backpackers belong to the same group (the age of the campervans is different)
måndag 27 februari 2012
söndag 26 februari 2012
Back to Auckland and onwards
The next day we flew out of Christchurch airport back to Auckland, and it was time to visit A&I and fill them in our holiday adventures. We met up for lunch at a wood fired pizza place. First pizza of our holidays, yum. After that we went to have a look around newmarket, where we found a very good tech book store, techbooks, where Henrik picked up Programming Reactive Extension and LINQ. Very nice surprise, not the type of book that you expect to be able to get anywhere except Amazon these days. Great bookstore that deserved to be supported. We also bought some gifts to bring home. In the end we went to the park near the Auckland museum, and napped while waiting to meet A&I again after they had finished work.
In the evening we went to watch A's brother, who competed in the summer open water swimming circuit race in the evening. Impressive and inspiring to see him and all the other athletes swimming in the sea with fairly big swells and far from shore. It made Henrik think about that it would be nice to learn to freestyle swim properly.
After that we went out for a nice meal at the Masala restaurant at Mission bay. We had had some home cooked Indian food on the trip (from jars that turned out a lot better than we had expected), but this curry meal was a proper restaurant cooked one, yum. We had cake as dessert at A&I's and then went to sleep, morning flight to catch back to HK, holidays are coming to an end....
lördag 25 februari 2012
Timaru, Peel Forest and Christchurch
We left Omauru and stopped pretty soon again in Timaru, a short
distance north. Timaru is a big port town, and you could notice that
the main focus was not tourism here. We cooked lunch in our van
(proven pasta recipe :-) and decided to head further north. Next stop
came up somewhat by chance. Selina was reading up in our DOC site book
for the south island and found a nice spot; Peel Forest. We got
excited because it looked like a good base for some hiking. The
weather was not playing ball this day for a change, we had a lot of
rain, which was more the exception on our trip luckily.
Getting to Peel Forest and setting up the van, we decided to not let
this stop us and went about finding some hiking tracks around the camp
site. We had some issues getting our bearings on the hiking map, but
once we found the walking path it turned out to be a really nice
forest walk with lots of native trees. We learned that there had been
a lot of woodcutting going on in the area, and we found some leftovers
from that, abandoned saw pits. We have now learned what a saw pit is,
amazing how hard people had to labor before the woodcutting got
mechanized.
The DOC site was situated on a big meadow, not too busy at all, and
still had great amenities. One of our best stopovers on the south
island, although the rain was tipping down for most of our time there.
We fell asleep to the sound of rain smattering on the roof of the
campervan, very relaxing and reminded Henrik of the camping holidays
of his youth.
The next day we defied the rain and decided to go for another hike in
the Peel Forest. We went to see the Acland Falls. Since it was both wet
and also fairly steep, the hike proved to be a little challenging.
Nothing too serious, but we were glad that we had brought our hiking
poles. The hike did not take very long. When we had finished we
decided to move on to Christchurch.
In Christchurch we decided to return to our proven concept, and found
a top 10 site that delivered as we had gotten used to expect by now.
We went in to have a look at Christchurch, and already more than a
year after the first big earhquake, it was a sombering view. The
central part was stil closed down, and we saw a lot of work being done
to demolish highrise buildings that had stood the earthquake but been
deemed dangerous and irreparable afterwards. In the evening, we
finished some leftovers in the van and decided to go out to catch a
movie. We watched the american version of The Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo. It was a good movie, althoug Henrik is not sure that it tops
the Swedish version that was produced for TV. The challenging part in
producing the movie is that the story line is so rich, that all
details cannot be included in the movie version, which makes some
parts of the film feel like unneccessary appendixes.
Our next day in Christchurch marked the end of a great section of our
holiday. We returned our camper van at the Christchurch Britz station,
and it was time to get the rucksacks on and start traveling on foot
instead. We were really lucky to find an empty cottage at our top 10
site, as Christchurch accomodation was booked out flat, by visiting
tourists, builders, and local people who had their homes rebuilt.
the RE:Start shopping mall in Christchurch, entirely built up by shipping containers.
Pirate mini golf in Christchurch
distance north. Timaru is a big port town, and you could notice that
the main focus was not tourism here. We cooked lunch in our van
(proven pasta recipe :-) and decided to head further north. Next stop
came up somewhat by chance. Selina was reading up in our DOC site book
for the south island and found a nice spot; Peel Forest. We got
excited because it looked like a good base for some hiking. The
weather was not playing ball this day for a change, we had a lot of
rain, which was more the exception on our trip luckily.
Getting to Peel Forest and setting up the van, we decided to not let
this stop us and went about finding some hiking tracks around the camp
site. We had some issues getting our bearings on the hiking map, but
once we found the walking path it turned out to be a really nice
forest walk with lots of native trees. We learned that there had been
a lot of woodcutting going on in the area, and we found some leftovers
from that, abandoned saw pits. We have now learned what a saw pit is,
amazing how hard people had to labor before the woodcutting got
mechanized.
The DOC site was situated on a big meadow, not too busy at all, and
still had great amenities. One of our best stopovers on the south
island, although the rain was tipping down for most of our time there.
We fell asleep to the sound of rain smattering on the roof of the
campervan, very relaxing and reminded Henrik of the camping holidays
of his youth.
The next day we defied the rain and decided to go for another hike in
the Peel Forest. We went to see the Acland Falls. Since it was both wet
and also fairly steep, the hike proved to be a little challenging.
Nothing too serious, but we were glad that we had brought our hiking
poles. The hike did not take very long. When we had finished we
decided to move on to Christchurch.
In Christchurch we decided to return to our proven concept, and found
a top 10 site that delivered as we had gotten used to expect by now.
We went in to have a look at Christchurch, and already more than a
year after the first big earhquake, it was a sombering view. The
central part was stil closed down, and we saw a lot of work being done
to demolish highrise buildings that had stood the earthquake but been
deemed dangerous and irreparable afterwards. In the evening, we
finished some leftovers in the van and decided to go out to catch a
movie. We watched the american version of The Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo. It was a good movie, althoug Henrik is not sure that it tops
the Swedish version that was produced for TV. The challenging part in
producing the movie is that the story line is so rich, that all
details cannot be included in the movie version, which makes some
parts of the film feel like unneccessary appendixes.
Our next day in Christchurch marked the end of a great section of our
holiday. We returned our camper van at the Christchurch Britz station,
and it was time to get the rucksacks on and start traveling on foot
instead. We were really lucky to find an empty cottage at our top 10
site, as Christchurch accomodation was booked out flat, by visiting
tourists, builders, and local people who had their homes rebuilt.
the RE:Start shopping mall in Christchurch, entirely built up by shipping containers.
Pirate mini golf in Christchurch
torsdag 23 februari 2012
Queenstown, Cromwell, Clyde and Oamaru
We came to Queenstown after a long day of driving. A highlight on the
way was the Puzzle World in Wanaka. We had a lot of fun there with the
maze, and also with the rooms with visual trickery.
We were lucky to have booked the campsite in advance, as it was a very
busy weekend in Queenstown with a concert by the Doobie Brothers.
As we came to Queenstown, it was already pretty late, but we wanted to
make the most of being in a city, so we decided to go out for a meal
in the evening. We did our research and found a restaurant to our
liking, Fishbone. It specialized in fish, and it had lots of Asian
patrons. We had a great chowder and good fish and lamb, definitely one
of the best meals out that we had in New Zealand.
The day after we had booked a Jucy Cruize trip for Milford Sound. It
is a quite long way from Queenstown to Milford, but we felt that we
were starting to run out of time, and we still really wanted to see
the fiord landscapes. The bus journey started at 0830 in the morning.
It was really nice to not have to drive on our own. We got to Milford
at around two o'clock and cruised on the sound for about two hours.
The nature on the bus ride, as well as the cruise was stunning. The
scenery is very dramatic with very steep mountains and waterfalls. It
really felt like we had come to the end of the world, quite a similar
feeling as you get when you go far up the valleys in Switzerland, like
Vals. After the nice cruise trip a long bus journey back awaited us.
We were really happy when we came back to Queenstown late that
evening. In retrospect it was not ideal to travel all the way from
Queenstown to the fiordlands, but since we were lucky with the weather
we definitely couldn't complain, and felt that the trip was worth it
all in all.
Our next day in Queenstown, we decided to spend time in Queenstown
itself. We started by going down to the arts and crafts markets, which
had lots of interesting items on offer, and provided a good
opportunity for people watching. After that we caught the skyline up
to the mountain top above Queenstown. Think Uetliberg and a little bit
higher, plus lots and lots of mountain bikers, and a luge, and you
have a fairly good picture on how it was. Up at the top we went for a
small walk, where we saw many paragliders. Some were taking it easy
and doing scenic viewing in tandems, while others where driving with
full adrenaline just above the treetops and then bomb dived down to
the landing zone in the town. Coming down from the mountain, we went
for a fergburger lunch. That was probably the most busy burger place
we ever have seen, and we had to wait for 20 minutes before the burger
was served. However, the food proved to be worth the wait. We shared a
really big tasty burger (we had the tropical swine). We did some more
viewing of the city and the shops, and then continued to our next
destination, Cromwell.
Cromwell was a big contrast to Queenstown. It is not very far away,
only xx kms inland, but a lot less busy from tourism. We checked in to
our campsite and went for a very windy run and had a look at
Cromwell's historical quarters. The campsite was a nice contrast to
the Queenstown one. In Queenstown the camper vans where parked almost
next to each other, whereas in Cromwell each wagon had a lot more
space to itself.
For the morning after, we had an activity booked that Henrik was
looking forward to a lot. We had rented bikes to go along the Otago
rail trail. The trail is an old railway, from which the tracks have
been removed. It makes for some great cycling conditions away from all
traffic and with "Wild West" landscape all around it. We got to Clyde
and picked up our bikes from the rental shop and got on our way. Soon
enough we arrived in Alexandra and decided to continue further. Before
reaching the next town we decided to turn back and head for Clyde
again. The heat and the sun were really strong on the trail, but we
were happy to be well prepared with big water bottles and lots of
sunscreen to slab on. In total we biked about 43 kms, and it was a
very enjoyable experience. Although we had done a considerable amount
of driving in similar landscapes, we felt that we were able to take it
in better on the bikes, and stop wherever we saw something that caught
our interest. Definitely worth recommending and something we would
like to do more of. It is possible to go for multi-day trips and get
the baggage forwarded between the lodgings on the way.
In the afternoon/evening, we decided to make a push and get to Oamaru
to watch the penguins come in for their nightly resting period. We
managed to get there, found our campsite and headed down to the beach
for the penguin viewing. Photography was strictly prohibited, so we
can't put any pictures on the blog, but it was really great to
experience the penguins and see them make their way ashore. The were
little blue penguins, just about 30 cms tall and weighing about one
kg. They were really cute, getting splashed ashore and waddling up the
beach to find the hatchings. As the official viewing had finished, we
were lucky to find two stragglers, that almost walked on top of our
shoes to their nests (they were not shy at all for humans as long as
everyone kept quiet and still).
Another quick, but really nice stop on the south island east coast was
Moeraki boulders. It is an interesting geological phenomenon, where
big round rock marbles are released onto the beach. Checking the
boulders out, we saw something even more interesting. In the bay, some
Hector's dolphins were playing. They were jumping and making flips,
and also, what was most fun to watch; they were surfing the waves to
get into shore. It was a really amazing experience seeing the dolphins
play. They seem to have so much in common with us humans.
way was the Puzzle World in Wanaka. We had a lot of fun there with the
maze, and also with the rooms with visual trickery.
We were lucky to have booked the campsite in advance, as it was a very
busy weekend in Queenstown with a concert by the Doobie Brothers.
As we came to Queenstown, it was already pretty late, but we wanted to
make the most of being in a city, so we decided to go out for a meal
in the evening. We did our research and found a restaurant to our
liking, Fishbone. It specialized in fish, and it had lots of Asian
patrons. We had a great chowder and good fish and lamb, definitely one
of the best meals out that we had in New Zealand.
The day after we had booked a Jucy Cruize trip for Milford Sound. It
is a quite long way from Queenstown to Milford, but we felt that we
were starting to run out of time, and we still really wanted to see
the fiord landscapes. The bus journey started at 0830 in the morning.
It was really nice to not have to drive on our own. We got to Milford
at around two o'clock and cruised on the sound for about two hours.
The nature on the bus ride, as well as the cruise was stunning. The
scenery is very dramatic with very steep mountains and waterfalls. It
really felt like we had come to the end of the world, quite a similar
feeling as you get when you go far up the valleys in Switzerland, like
Vals. After the nice cruise trip a long bus journey back awaited us.
We were really happy when we came back to Queenstown late that
evening. In retrospect it was not ideal to travel all the way from
Queenstown to the fiordlands, but since we were lucky with the weather
we definitely couldn't complain, and felt that the trip was worth it
all in all.
Our next day in Queenstown, we decided to spend time in Queenstown
itself. We started by going down to the arts and crafts markets, which
had lots of interesting items on offer, and provided a good
opportunity for people watching. After that we caught the skyline up
to the mountain top above Queenstown. Think Uetliberg and a little bit
higher, plus lots and lots of mountain bikers, and a luge, and you
have a fairly good picture on how it was. Up at the top we went for a
small walk, where we saw many paragliders. Some were taking it easy
and doing scenic viewing in tandems, while others where driving with
full adrenaline just above the treetops and then bomb dived down to
the landing zone in the town. Coming down from the mountain, we went
for a fergburger lunch. That was probably the most busy burger place
we ever have seen, and we had to wait for 20 minutes before the burger
was served. However, the food proved to be worth the wait. We shared a
really big tasty burger (we had the tropical swine). We did some more
viewing of the city and the shops, and then continued to our next
destination, Cromwell.
Cromwell was a big contrast to Queenstown. It is not very far away,
only xx kms inland, but a lot less busy from tourism. We checked in to
our campsite and went for a very windy run and had a look at
Cromwell's historical quarters. The campsite was a nice contrast to
the Queenstown one. In Queenstown the camper vans where parked almost
next to each other, whereas in Cromwell each wagon had a lot more
space to itself.
For the morning after, we had an activity booked that Henrik was
looking forward to a lot. We had rented bikes to go along the Otago
rail trail. The trail is an old railway, from which the tracks have
been removed. It makes for some great cycling conditions away from all
traffic and with "Wild West" landscape all around it. We got to Clyde
and picked up our bikes from the rental shop and got on our way. Soon
enough we arrived in Alexandra and decided to continue further. Before
reaching the next town we decided to turn back and head for Clyde
again. The heat and the sun were really strong on the trail, but we
were happy to be well prepared with big water bottles and lots of
sunscreen to slab on. In total we biked about 43 kms, and it was a
very enjoyable experience. Although we had done a considerable amount
of driving in similar landscapes, we felt that we were able to take it
in better on the bikes, and stop wherever we saw something that caught
our interest. Definitely worth recommending and something we would
like to do more of. It is possible to go for multi-day trips and get
the baggage forwarded between the lodgings on the way.
In the afternoon/evening, we decided to make a push and get to Oamaru
to watch the penguins come in for their nightly resting period. We
managed to get there, found our campsite and headed down to the beach
for the penguin viewing. Photography was strictly prohibited, so we
can't put any pictures on the blog, but it was really great to
experience the penguins and see them make their way ashore. The were
little blue penguins, just about 30 cms tall and weighing about one
kg. They were really cute, getting splashed ashore and waddling up the
beach to find the hatchings. As the official viewing had finished, we
were lucky to find two stragglers, that almost walked on top of our
shoes to their nests (they were not shy at all for humans as long as
everyone kept quiet and still).
Another quick, but really nice stop on the south island east coast was
Moeraki boulders. It is an interesting geological phenomenon, where
big round rock marbles are released onto the beach. Checking the
boulders out, we saw something even more interesting. In the bay, some
Hector's dolphins were playing. They were jumping and making flips,
and also, what was most fun to watch; they were surfing the waves to
get into shore. It was a really amazing experience seeing the dolphins
play. They seem to have so much in common with us humans.
onsdag 22 februari 2012
Meeting P&E in Hokitika
After two really good days it was time to move on from Abel Tasman.
A really nice coincidence for us was that our good friends P&E and Peter who just left Zurich are also traveling New Zealand at the same time as us. We had worked out that the paths of our campervans could cross now, and that the meeting point would be Hokitika.
Outside of Hokitika we found a really nice DOC camping site. These sites are provided by the NZ government and simpler than holiday parks, but often situated at really beautiful places in the wilderness. The place we went to is called Lake Mahinapua and was right by a really nice lake.
Meeting up with P&E was great, they have been away for about four months now and we got a really nice chance to catch up over barbecue and beers.
The day after we started with a run and a quick dip in the lake, great way to begin the day. After that we went for some sightseeing to a waterfall that was far out (in the literal sense), Dorothy falls.
After checking out the waterfalls and the lake, we headed in to town for some fish and chips. We tried Hoki (a New Zealand white fish) and also Whitebait at Porky's Takeaway. It was our first Fish and Chips meal in New Zealand and it was tasty and good value (good tip if you are looking for a cheap fast food that is not the regular grub from the big chains). After the Fish & Chips it was time to say goodbye to P&E and Peter as they needed to head across Arthur's Pass and we needed to keep going south.
All in all, a very nice 24 hours together in New Zealand.
Before leaving Hokitika we stocked up on food and set the sights on our chosen Franz Josef camp site. When we got to Franz Josef it was still pretty early, and we managed to walk up to the Glacier and have a look. Really impressive ice mass, and incredible how much it moves, melts and freezes.
A really nice coincidence for us was that our good friends P&E and Peter who just left Zurich are also traveling New Zealand at the same time as us. We had worked out that the paths of our campervans could cross now, and that the meeting point would be Hokitika.
Outside of Hokitika we found a really nice DOC camping site. These sites are provided by the NZ government and simpler than holiday parks, but often situated at really beautiful places in the wilderness. The place we went to is called Lake Mahinapua and was right by a really nice lake.
Meeting up with P&E was great, they have been away for about four months now and we got a really nice chance to catch up over barbecue and beers.
The day after we started with a run and a quick dip in the lake, great way to begin the day. After that we went for some sightseeing to a waterfall that was far out (in the literal sense), Dorothy falls.
After checking out the waterfalls and the lake, we headed in to town for some fish and chips. We tried Hoki (a New Zealand white fish) and also Whitebait at Porky's Takeaway. It was our first Fish and Chips meal in New Zealand and it was tasty and good value (good tip if you are looking for a cheap fast food that is not the regular grub from the big chains). After the Fish & Chips it was time to say goodbye to P&E and Peter as they needed to head across Arthur's Pass and we needed to keep going south.
All in all, a very nice 24 hours together in New Zealand.
Before leaving Hokitika we stocked up on food and set the sights on our chosen Franz Josef camp site. When we got to Franz Josef it was still pretty early, and we managed to walk up to the Glacier and have a look. Really impressive ice mass, and incredible how much it moves, melts and freezes.
måndag 20 februari 2012
Motueka - Abel Tasman - Far Out
After a lovely forest walk in Hanmer Springs we headed to Abel Tasman. We had heard from multiple sources that this is one of the top spots to visit when in New Zealand, and we must say that we were not disappointed.
We decided to head for Motueka and the choice fell on Top Ten for camping as many times before. Although all places have been good, we must say that this is one of the sites that we loved most so far, really friendly staff and great park facilities and great surroundings.
Our first day in Abel Tasman we decided to go for a combined hiking and kayaking trip with Kahu Kayaks. We started with about three hours walking out to Watering Cove in the Abel Tasman National Park. From there we kayaked back to Marahau, with some small stops on the way. We were pretty OK with the weather; On the hike out it drizzled a bit, but by the start of the kayaking it had stopped completely. Kayaking was good fun and on the morning after we discovered muscles that we thought that we didn't have :-).
Our next day, the second full day in Motueka started out a little tenser than our normal mornings. The reason for this, was that we had agreed on the previous night at the spa, to go and check out the Abel Tasman Skydive. Once getting there and after a lot of umming and erring, we decided to give it a go. Quite far out as the Kiwis would say (at least with the two of us as reference, we are surely not the biggest adrenaline junkies out there).
After having signed up there was a waiting time of two hours, that we spent buying food groceries and walking the Moutueka beach and asking ourselves what we had signed ourselves up for.
Far
Out.
When we came back to the air strip the preparations started pretty much immediately, which was good. The waiting time was the worst in general, too much time to wait wasn't doing our french nerves any favours.
Getting into the jumpsuit, Henrik got a bit taken by the reality of the whole thing, but he perked up again as we got outside and saw people landing (successfully). Our turn had come up, and we got in the plane and took off. The whole thing felt a bit surreal that we were going to leave a fully functioning plane, but it got a lot more real as the ladies who came up with us first got out at 13000 feet. After that we had a spacier cabin. We climbed another 3500 feet and had some sips of oxygen to strengthen us for the ride, and then it was time.
Sel got out first of the two of us and Henrik left last. "Felt like the right thing to do somehow having seen Selina getting out" Henrik said.
Somehow this event cannot be well described in words. Photos to come soon.
In summary, it is probably the most amazing activity that we have undertaken on our holidays so far (and will undertake).
Far Out.
Over and Out for this time :-).
We decided to head for Motueka and the choice fell on Top Ten for camping as many times before. Although all places have been good, we must say that this is one of the sites that we loved most so far, really friendly staff and great park facilities and great surroundings.
Our first day in Abel Tasman we decided to go for a combined hiking and kayaking trip with Kahu Kayaks. We started with about three hours walking out to Watering Cove in the Abel Tasman National Park. From there we kayaked back to Marahau, with some small stops on the way. We were pretty OK with the weather; On the hike out it drizzled a bit, but by the start of the kayaking it had stopped completely. Kayaking was good fun and on the morning after we discovered muscles that we thought that we didn't have :-).
Our next day, the second full day in Motueka started out a little tenser than our normal mornings. The reason for this, was that we had agreed on the previous night at the spa, to go and check out the Abel Tasman Skydive. Once getting there and after a lot of umming and erring, we decided to give it a go. Quite far out as the Kiwis would say (at least with the two of us as reference, we are surely not the biggest adrenaline junkies out there).
After having signed up there was a waiting time of two hours, that we spent buying food groceries and walking the Moutueka beach and asking ourselves what we had signed ourselves up for.
Far
Out.
When we came back to the air strip the preparations started pretty much immediately, which was good. The waiting time was the worst in general, too much time to wait wasn't doing our french nerves any favours.
Getting into the jumpsuit, Henrik got a bit taken by the reality of the whole thing, but he perked up again as we got outside and saw people landing (successfully). Our turn had come up, and we got in the plane and took off. The whole thing felt a bit surreal that we were going to leave a fully functioning plane, but it got a lot more real as the ladies who came up with us first got out at 13000 feet. After that we had a spacier cabin. We climbed another 3500 feet and had some sips of oxygen to strengthen us for the ride, and then it was time.
Sel got out first of the two of us and Henrik left last. "Felt like the right thing to do somehow having seen Selina getting out" Henrik said.
Somehow this event cannot be well described in words. Photos to come soon.
In summary, it is probably the most amazing activity that we have undertaken on our holidays so far (and will undertake).
Far Out.
Over and Out for this time :-).
onsdag 8 februari 2012
Kaikoura and Hanmer Springs
We have now come up to the middle of our holiday. Both Sel and I can't believe how quick it has gone. It is really nice to have two weeks left and still be in the middle of our holidays.
Arriving in Kaikorua we went with our trusted choice, booked ourselves in and headed down to check out the beach walk, Kaikorua peninsula walk. Unfortunately we did not have a map at hand so we decided to stop the walk half way and head back. We would have loved to do the whole thing, but instead we found something very interesting, seals!
We stopped the car and made a small walk out to the Kaikoura seal colony. Out there we saw many many New Zealand fur seals resting on the stony beach and napping to get ready for their evening/night hunting.
After that we went for a really yummy meal at Hislop's. All food was organic and we were especially impressed with the Seafood Chowder and the home made bread.
The day after started really early for us with one of our top events coming to New Zealand, swimming with the Dusky Dolphins at the Kaikoura Dolphin Encounter. We got dressed up in the neoprene and got on the bus to the South Bay where the dolphin boats set out from. We went out to meet the dolphins, and there were hundreds of them. We had expected to see a handful or maybe ten to twenty, but we think we saw about three hundred in the dolphin pod. Getting in the water snorkeling and having them within arms length's distance was a magical experience.
We were lucky to experience a relatively calm day (swells were small to moderate). It was still tough going for us at the end of the snorkeling sessions and on the boat on the way back suffering from seasickness.We had taken ginger capsules but still when getting to shore things were a bit shaky. All in all by no doubt it was a worthwhile experience and the dolphin encounter is one of our most memorable tourist outings in New Zealand so far.
After having lunch and recovering from our dolphin encounter, we decided to drive to Hanmer Springs. We really enjoyed the spa and are now happily parked up at the campsite.
tisdag 7 februari 2012
Wellington
Leaving the Hawke's Bay region, the camper van was pointed towards Wellington in the south of the North Island. We decided that we wanted to go for a different experience, and tried out Wellington's Premier Motorhome parking. It was a really cool experience. Think a parking lot in the center of the city with some simple facilities attached to it, everything within short walking distances away from it. It was like camping in the center of Zurich, or a much smaller version of London (we saw a lot of "suits" getting in and out of work, and were quietly wondering how we would be able to adapt to this life again after a month on the road :-))
We really made the most of our time in the city and decided to go for a movie in the evening, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. It was quite a complex movie, but we enjoyed watching it and were quite pleased that we had gotten the plot (at least roughly) afterwards.
The night at the WWMP was interesting. Wellington is famous/infamous for its rough weather, and we had wind gusts that managed to rock the camper van. However we both slept well for the circumstances and decided to start the next day with a run along the waterfront, which was both good and necessary exercise and a nice way of seeing more of Wellington.
The weather was not really playing ball, which made us decide to do a big museum visit to the Te Papa museum. We really enjoyed this museum, especially the guided introductory tour. Really good format which made it possible for us to go and discover the details that we were interested in in further depth. We also had a good time in the simulators and in the cafe, where Henrik got himself a big steak sandwich.
In the evening we moved on to the Wellington Top 10 holiday park. Even if we had liked our short city stint, we were happy to come back to a place with more amenities and quietness. Tomorrow our adventures continues on the South Island, where our first stop will be Kaikoura.
söndag 5 februari 2012
Taupo
We really enjoyed the fact that we came down to warmer weather in Taupo. We used a big and really nice Top Ten site that is situated outside the town. In the evening when we arrived, we decided to go and explore Taupo town although our legs were a bit tired after the Tongariro Crossing.
At first we explored the waterfront and ended up having dessert in a restaurant that felt a bit touristy and didn't convince us. Google places came to the rescue and we ended up for a drink at this much nicer restaurant, that we were really happy with.
The day after we stocked up on food for the van. It was really handy since Taupo had all the facilities that we wanted. After that we went to check out the Huka Prawn Park in Taupo, which was really good fun. We started with a tour of the place, where we learned a lot about how prawns get forward in life.
After that we decided that it was time for lunch, and we had a delicious meal. To us prawn farms had a bit bad connations (we have heard about mismanaged prawn farms in Asia that cause a lot of pollution). This prawn farm seemed to be managed in a very sustainable and convincing way. The staff always pointed out the good practices, for example that they always tried to minimize the amount of water that ran into the nearby river, and also cleaning the water with energy from the sun.
After prawn eating, it was time for prawn fishing, which was really cool. We were let into the farm with a fishing rod each and started to angle for prawns. This was easier said than done, and after about 45 minutes of effort we had ended up catching one prawn. However, we had great fun in the process, but it was probably one of the more expensive prawns that we have bought in a long time :-).
After the prawn farm we went to a honey shop, the Huka Honey hive, where we bought a couple of presents for people we meet on the trip and at home. It was really funny, because a couple of days after that, we read this article in the Swedish newspapers, and it is the very same honey that we bought. Talk about coincidences.
At first we explored the waterfront and ended up having dessert in a restaurant that felt a bit touristy and didn't convince us. Google places came to the rescue and we ended up for a drink at this much nicer restaurant, that we were really happy with.
The day after we stocked up on food for the van. It was really handy since Taupo had all the facilities that we wanted. After that we went to check out the Huka Prawn Park in Taupo, which was really good fun. We started with a tour of the place, where we learned a lot about how prawns get forward in life.
After that we decided that it was time for lunch, and we had a delicious meal. To us prawn farms had a bit bad connations (we have heard about mismanaged prawn farms in Asia that cause a lot of pollution). This prawn farm seemed to be managed in a very sustainable and convincing way. The staff always pointed out the good practices, for example that they always tried to minimize the amount of water that ran into the nearby river, and also cleaning the water with energy from the sun.
After prawn eating, it was time for prawn fishing, which was really cool. We were let into the farm with a fishing rod each and started to angle for prawns. This was easier said than done, and after about 45 minutes of effort we had ended up catching one prawn. However, we had great fun in the process, but it was probably one of the more expensive prawns that we have bought in a long time :-).
After the prawn farm we went to a honey shop, the Huka Honey hive, where we bought a couple of presents for people we meet on the trip and at home. It was really funny, because a couple of days after that, we read this article in the Swedish newspapers, and it is the very same honey that we bought. Talk about coincidences.
lördag 4 februari 2012
Napier and Hawke's Bay
After Taupo, it was time to head out to the coast again, which we looked forward to a lot. The trip went to Napier, a really picturesque sea side town on the east coast.
As we both enjoy Art Deco design, we were quick to join the Art Deco self guided walk that the art deco trust in Napier provides.
We had some trouble getting started, but once we found our bearings we enjoyed the tour throughout. The city is almost unbelievably well kept and constantly being renovated with consideration to the Art Deco heritage that it has. Really remarkable, and it felt like a step back into another era when we walked the streets.
After spending time in Napier we went to see an ex-colleague of Henrik's from work, who has founded a vineyard in Hawke's Bay. Really interesting and inspiring to see all the hard work that goes into setting it up. We also got to taste the wines, which we enjoyed a lot. After the wine tasting we went to C&S home in Havelock North, where we were invited for a very yummy meal accompanied with the first class wine from the vineyard. We really enjoyed the warm welcoming and being introduced into a New Zealand home, and hope that we one day get an opportunity to return the favour. It was great leaving the camper van for one night and sleeping in a conventional bed. We had a great time with S looking around their big garden, with chooks and loads of growing vegetables.
fredag 3 februari 2012
Tongariro Crossing
In our first week of the camper van holiday the things that we really looked forward to on the north island came in at a steady pace. After the adventures in Waitomo it was time to move on to Tongariro for allegedly one of the best walks in New Zealand, the Tongariro Crossing. We decided to come up already the day before the walk, and we got to experience what it is like to stay in a camper van in an alpine environment. The bus is quite large and has a lot of air to heat up inside it, and it is also made of metal which makes for a lot of heat transfer to the outside. All in all, it was a pretty cold experience and hats and gloves came out in the night to add extra heat.
ready to get going
On the way up (and for the rest of the hike as well) there were tons of people (hope some of the pictures below show it as well). We were hiking on a Saturday (31.01.2012) and that probably added somewhat to it, but weather and timing constraints permitted no other day than this one.
in front of Mount Doom on the way up
We were happy to get some good shots of mount doom already at the start of the hike. When we came up higher, the climate got significantly harsher with stronger wind chill, and we were glad to have all the equipment with us, especially the hiking poles. Coming up we got some more nice views over red crater, and after that we could start the flat part of the walk before the descent begun. As the walk is quite long, we felt our legs after finishing, but all in all we were happy to finish it in under 7 hours and making it to the first transit bus to head down to the camp site. Henrik was pretty keen to get out there to get a proper night's sleep somewhere warm, so we decided to set our sights on Taupo, a town nearby New Zealand's biggest lake.
onsdag 1 februari 2012
Waitomo Caves
Something that both Selina and I had heard good things about before coming to New Zealand is black water rafting. So after our trip to Rotorua, this was what was on the program for us. We decided to go for the black abyss tour and were really excited in the morning when we came to the starting point. We began with putting on some pretty thick neoprene, so we quickly understood that it might be cold down there in the holes. When we came to the holes we had to practice going down, and although the experience we had from climbing in Switzerland made this easier for us, it was still nice when we reached the bottom and could start the tour.
We saw many many glow worms in the cave and learned a lot about the environment from our guides. We also got to do some tubing and climbing, which we really enjoyed.
When we came up again to the ground surface, we noticed that almost the whole afternoon had passed. We had worked up a healthy appetite and decided to go for a meal at a restaurant that turned out to be an excellent choice, Huhu. We especially liked how they cooked the meat (Selina had lamb and Henrik had beef), most amazing meal we had in a restaurant in New Zealand (so far).
We saw many many glow worms in the cave and learned a lot about the environment from our guides. We also got to do some tubing and climbing, which we really enjoyed.
When we came up again to the ground surface, we noticed that almost the whole afternoon had passed. We had worked up a healthy appetite and decided to go for a meal at a restaurant that turned out to be an excellent choice, Huhu. We especially liked how they cooked the meat (Selina had lamb and Henrik had beef), most amazing meal we had in a restaurant in New Zealand (so far).
happy faces at the dining table.
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