Those pieces of Mt Cook salmon…beautiful! I cooked them up with a dob of butter, topped off with some sautéed red onion and capers finished in Sav Blanc (NZ of course), served with some fresh brocciflower (broccoli x cauliflower) and snow peas and finely chopped chives. Beast piece of salmon…ever! That’s a Brown Brothers 2009 Merlot in the glass courtesy of duty free. Not bad for a campervan meal!
Friday, 24 June – Geraldine. So here we are – our last day in the campervan. We’re now at Geraldine, a nice little town to the south of the Canterbury Plains and one we love as it was the first place we stayed on our 2007 trip. We’d like to live in Geraldine – come to think of it we’d love to live in many towns in NZ, but like most places there is little work unless you are a tradesman or self sufficient. But we have an idea…more on that later.
The day started with a crisp morning as there was ice on the grass, the recycle bins at the park were frozen shut, and the mountains in the distance had a dusting of snow overnight. I went to empty the grey water tank as we were leaving but it was frozen – generally a good sign it had dropped below zero overnight. First stop coffee at the Wrinkly Ram – we always try to get a fresh coffee to start the day. I can’t stand instant coffee as it’s so uncivilised! Twizel was just up the road so we took a look through the town. Quite a nice little town that obviously thrives on the local ski fields and tourism but due to the lack of snow it was dead. But it has potential, and forms part of our idea mentioned above – more on that later. Don’t get impatient…
Since we had time to burn we decided to take a side trip to Mt Cook Salmon Farm. It’s the highest salmon farm in the world, with the cleanest water in the world, and the biggest salmon in the world (ok, I made that last bit up). But it’s a great place and was featured on ABC’s The Cook and the Chef series. Harrison and I donned gloves and fed the salmon which was fun. Now these guys are big – I’d be quite happy to have one of these on my line, but instead we decided to buy some fresh salmon which is our dinner tonight. As a result of the self guided tour along the salmon pens, I now know why the water up here is so blue – as it’s glacier water (and very cold, too!) it has suspended ground glacial rock in it called glacier “flour”.
Next stop was the Mt John Observatory just down the road. The Univerity of Canterbury Department of Physics and Astronomy have a few big telescopes up here for gazing into the heavens. They also have a little cafe where you can grab and bite to eat and a hot coffee, but the best thing is the view. As you can see from the photos below, you couldn’t get a better view of the alps and Mt Cook. (It’s also where they filmed the “Plains of Rohan” in the Lord of the Rings)
And so now we are at Geraldine. Fresh Pacific salmon for dinner (not Atlantic!), a nice NZ Sav Blanc or two and a slow wind down to the end of our trip.
Don’t be fooled by the number of Kiwis coming across to Australia – there is a lot about NZ to love. The grass is greener (literally), the milk is creamier, the cows happier, the sheep woolier, the postage cheaper and houses are a steal! I think we’ll see a lot of those Kiwis returning home once they realise just how expensive it is to live in Australia.
So our idea? We’re going to open a micro-brewery in Twizel or somewhere similar. People love their beer over here and it’s easy to make. I think it’s a good idea and will take off…you can all come an visit and have one on the house. Only one though…
Thursday, 23 June – Omarama. After a last minute change of mind, we decided to head from Dunedin to Omarama rather than Oamaru as originally planned. The campervan park didn’t have the best of reviews in Oamaru so we decided to give it a miss. We went through Omarama on our way to Wanaka to see Frank and Janey so we knew what it was like. Omarama is the gliding capital of NZ but none are operating now due to the cold weather. It’s up in the high country – MacKenzie Country they call it here – after James MacKenzie, an 1850s sheep thief. We’re the only ones here at the moment and will probably be the only ones all night as there is still no snow.
The photo above is of the view from just behind our campervan – Mt Cook is in the background with a small stream in the foreground full of trout. We hired Harrison one of the pedal bikes which he rode around the park a few times before complaining of sore legs – at least it burnt a bit of energy!
The area around here is renowned for Merino sheep – the paddocks behind the park are full of sheep, as is most places you look in New Zealand. Apparently, at last count sheep outnumbered people 10:1. A lot of the clothing here is a blend of superfine merino wool (very expensive) and possum. I’m told it’s a blend that makes for warm clothing, but it’d want to be at the price they charge!
From here we’ll spend our last night in the campervan just up the road at Geraldine – we love Geraldine as we first visited it in 2007 and fell in love. It’s just one of those nice little country towns with a nice atmosphere, and the campervan park is very nice. We drove through Geraldine on our first day and there was only one other campervan there so it looks like we’ll be on our own again. We’ve been told by my brother to visit The Top Paddock, which apparently is a nice place for dinner. It’ll save us buying provisions for dinner tomorrow night at least.
There’s still no snow on the South Island which is causing concern for the locals. One weather forecaster, who has lived here all his life says he can’t remember a ‘late’ season like this. Last time we came through here the place was covered in snow but none of the mountains (apart from Mt Cook and the adjacent peaks) has snow. It’s made the headlines here with many of the snow field operators seeking assistance from the government to help pay the workers and keep them in NZ while everyone waits for snow.
Wednesday, 22 June – Dunedin. We caught the bus from outside the camper park and made our way to the city centre through the back streets and up and down many hills – Dunedin is probably the hilliest city I’ve been to. We hopped off the bus near the Cadbury Chocolate factory and were so excited that we’d found the visitor centre where the tours are held. You can only imagine how we felt when we got there and found it was closed for maintenance and reopens in 3 days! Disappointed! Now we know how the Griswalds felt when they got to Wally World to find it was closed.
After a short walk around the city and a coffee at Starbucks, we headed towards the Otago Museum. They have a new attraction which is an indoor butterfly house, complete with it’s own rainforest. We stepped inside from 5 degrees outside to 27 inside – quite a change and it made 27 feel hot! We had lunch at the Museum café and then headed back towards the centre of the city to find the bus home. A friendly bus driver helped us out and dropped us off right outside the front door of the camper park. After a short stroll down the street for some dinner and drinks, we were then home to the warmth of the van.
The campervan park is full of things for Harrison to do – each of the picnic tables is a game and he’s found a friend already. There are also a few cats that belong to the park and all are very friendly. One in particular is happy to hang around the campervan and follows Harrison around whenever he goes outside.
A cool wind has come in this afternoon and it must be direct from Antarctica! It’s still only 7 degrees outside but with the wind chill it must be at least 0. It’s predicted to stay for the evening and will drop tomorrow, but by then we’ll be on our way north as we slowly make our way back towards Christchurch where we have to drop the van off on Saturday afternoon.
Tuesday, 21 June – Dunedin. An uneventful day travelling nearly 4 hours to get to our new destination of Dunedin. We stopped for lunch at the little town of Lawrence where we heated up some nice roasted Tuscan tomato soup with toast by the side of the road. Upon arrival into Dunedin we went to what we thought was a nice campervan park, however upon closer inspection it turned out to be quite average. We headed back to another one we saw on the way into Dunedin which has turned out to be better. Harrison has made a friend and is busy playing around the park, and even a local cat has turned out to be friendly. So far we’ve found 4 very friendly cats – not only are New Zealanders friendly but it rubs off on their cats too.
Dunedin is built on many steep hills and I think we drove on just about all of them as we navigated the back streets between campervan parks. On one 120 degree sharp corner we were lucky to get the campervan around – the tyres spun but luckily being a diesel they found grip and we made it around. The steepest street in New Zealand is in Dunedin and for that reason we are taking the bus tomorrow as we go looking about the city. We intend to visit Speight’s Brewery and the Cadbury Chocolate factory, as well as a few other attractions before staying another night in the park.
Tomorrow we should have some photos of our day out with the weather looking good, at least by Dunedin standards.
Monday, 20 June – Queenstown. We reluctantly said goodbye to Arrowtown with one final cup of coffee and a stroll through town – it really is a nice little town, made all the more enjoyable by the residents pride and interest in their towns history. It would rival some of the gold rush towns in Victoria and probably be the best example of an original gold town in New Zealand. Queenstown is just a short 20 min drive from Arrowtown – one of the shortest trips we’ve done so far. We’ve been to Queenstown before (2007) but we picked up a brochure in Arrowtown for the Ice Arena in the centre of town and decided to give it a go. Julie and Harrison had a great time ice-skating and Harrison picked it up very quickly. I was official photographer as I was better use off the ice than on – I can’t skate at all so it was pointless me adding to laughs. Julie looked good on the ice (below) and it’s obvious she has talent (don’t tell her I said that though!).
We then headed into the centre of Queenstown and up to the gondola ride that takes you way up to the top of Bob’s Peak which offers spectacular views (below) of Queenstown. It was a beautiful day with hardly any clouds, but still no snow! We spoke to several shop owners in Queenstown and all were a little worried about how late the snow is. Even the artificial snow makers on the ski fields can’t make snow. The season officially starts this weekend but it’s going to be a fizzer unless there is a late flourish.
We decided not to go to the camper park we stayed at last time – it was quite noisy with all the activity that goes on in ski season, though there is hardly anyone in town at the moment. We’ve chosen another park not far from town that backs onto a little stream which is full of trout (below). It’s quite a quaint little place and Harrison has enjoyed feeding the fish bread. We’re not sure where we are off to next – it could be another day in Queenstown or a short drive to Cromwell up the road. Possibly even straight to Dunedin if the weather is good.
Sunday, 19 June – Arrowtown. We decided to stay in Arrowtown another day as we always said we’d visit again after having only an hour or so last time we were here. We headed up to the main street after an early breakfast and soon found the bakery, which served freshly cooked sausage rolls and coffee. Shortly after, and with full bellies, we started down one side of the street looking at the local shops. Most are very ‘touristy’ and sell very expensive merino based clothing, some mixed with possum wool to make an even warmer jumper. Most of the other shops sell local NZ jewellery and ugg boots.
After we’d had enough of shopping, we stopped at the local Information Centre for some news and weather. Julie headed back to the campervan soon after while Harrison and I went to explore the Arrow River which is where they filmed a scene from the Lords of the Rings. I found the spot while Harrison played in the river, successfully filling his snow boots with freezing water but having fun in the process.
It was time to head back to the van for lunch only to find that Julie felt like beer and chips so we headed back into town and found the Arrow Brewery. It’s a small microbrewery offering several different types of beer, all brewed on the premises. I was lucky enough to be invited out back by the head brewer once he saw me staring through the window. There he described the brewing process and even gave me a taste of toasted malt, local sourced from Christchurch. We ordered some prawn twisters and chips along with some of the beer – all very good and enjoyable in front of another fire!
We spent the afternoon in the van as the weather was closing in, which is now looking like producing snow on the mountains that surround us here in the park. There are only 4 other vans in the park so we pretty much have it to ourselves. It’s now raining softly and I can see the mountains in the distance are covered in cloud which are good signs for snow making.
Saturday, 18 June – Arrowtown. After a warm and refreshing sleep in Frank and Janey’s house, we woke to a foggy and cold morning, which promised snow. Frank did his daily walk up Mt Iron while we had breakfast and got ready to leave. Last time we were in Wanaka we visited Puzzling World and just had to visit again. Harrison didn’t remember the last time as he was so young, but I’m sure he enjoyed it this time! It’s a great place to visit and well worth it even if you don’t have kids – the big kids will enjoy it just as much!
We then headed to Wanaka itself for a walk around the town and a look along the lake. Wanaka is a small Queenstown that accommodates those skiers wanting a quieter existence than you’d get in Queenstown. The weather kept promising snow so we checked with the local information centre as to whether the Crown Range Rd over Cardrona was open, which it was. So off we went for a visit to the Cardrona Hotel, the oldest hotel in New Zealand. For those Lord of the Rings fans, the interior of the Cardrona Hotel was the inspiration for the Prancing Pony pub in The Fellowship of the Ring where the Hobbits met Strider. Legend has it that if you’re quiet you can sometimes see Strider smoking his pipe in the dark corner. We had quick beer while there in front of the fire; me a Cardrona Ale and Julie a Summit.
We continued over the range and down the other side where it twists and turns into Arrowtown. And doesn’t it twist and turn! Getting the campervan around some of the 1st gear hairpins takes patience. We’re now at Arrowtown which is an old gold mining town just outside of Queenstown. It’s like walking back in time along the main street – the old shops and buildings from the gold rush remain and have been restored to produce a small, quaint town very similar to those in western Victoria near Ballarat. And it’s another location that featured in the Lord of the Rings movie, this time the scene where Liv Tyler (Arwen) crosses the Ford of Bruinen to escape the Nazgul before the wall of water rushes down – the river she crosses is the Arrow River right near the town.
We’ll probably stay two nights here – even though Arrowtown is small, there’s lots to see and do and it’ll be an enjoyable day looking around the town and river. We’ll take some photos of the town and river tomorrow, so stay tuned.
Friday, 17th June – Fairlie. We awoke to a ‘crisp’ morning which we later found out from the camp site weather station was -6, a record for Fairlie which could herald the start of some snow. Up until now there hasn’t been any snow which is unusual for this time of year. While packing up the campervan, a moving mass caught my attention from the corner of my eye. From the campervan window, I could see a bunch of sheep’s heads bobbing past the low hedge that surrounded the park. The shepherds walking with them gave it away – it was a flock being moved from one side of town to the other via the main road (as you do in NZ). After some breakfast and a shower in the unheated shower block (remember it’s -6 outside!), we headed off and were on our way to Wanaka.
Our first stop was Lake Tekapo, an azure blue lake fed by the local snow melt (there was some snow on the mountains and Mt Cook nearby), where where had a nice cup of coffee and muffin. Harrison bought some postcards and posted one to his teacher and class back in Brisbane which hopefully they’ve receive by the end of next week. From Lake Tekapo the road travels through Lord of the Rings country where many of the open plain and mountainous scenes were filmed. Every time I see this country, either in real life or in photos, I can’t help but think of the movie. There couldn’t have been a better place to film the movies than New Zealand – the real Middle Earth.
For lunch we stopped at Tarras, home the famous sheep Shrek who recently died. If you haven’t heard of Shrek, Google him as there is a wealth of information on the Internet about his life as a celebrity sheep. We enjoyed a nice lunch at the Tarras Country Cafe in front of the open fire. My curry and parsnip soup was superb, and just what the Doctor (er…Julie) ordered for such a cold day. Julie’s toasted gourmet sandwich didn’t look too bad either, and Harrison’s home made chips (NZ potatoes of course!) were great. From there it was a short drive to Wanaka where we’d organised to stay with friends of ours from when we lived in Jabiru.
Frank and Janey have been in Wanaka for about 3 years after Frank was lucky enough to get a FIFO job in PNG which allowed him to fly out of Queenstown each shift. They’re based here as their twin daughters are world champion skiers and spend most of their on the slopes around Wanaka and Queenstown when they’re not in Canada or Europe – life’s tough, isn’t it! In the afternoon Frank, Harrison and I walked part way up Mt Iron, a local walking track that looks very popular from the amount of people that were out for a walk even though it was approaching 0 degrees. There’s not a lot of snow around Wanaka at the moment but apparently it’s coming either today or tomorrow which will make a lot of people happy. The town is full of people who look like they spend a lot of time in the snow – the skis and snowboards over their shoulders gave it away. You can’t put one past me I tell you!
We’re undecided where to go from here, or if we should even consider spending a few days around the local area. With snow coming, it’d be nice to be around so we can have a play. We’re keen to go to Arrowtown and also Franz Josef but they’re in opposite directions. I’m sure we’ll work it out today.
Thursday, 16 June – Fairlie. The day started rather early – in fact it started the night before when a 3.9 aftershock shock me awake. Every hour after than another aftershock kept me from drifting off, with the result of very little sleep. I now know how Cantabrians feel given the recent earthquakes and how they must be on edge for the next ‘big one’. GNS has predicated there is 30% chance of another 6.0+ earthquake in the next month – just what every wants to hear!
We were driven to the United depot by the hotel owners and were introduced to our campervan – a nice, near-new 4 berth Mercedes Premier. Mandy who looked after us was very good and attentive and went through everything we needed to know. We even got some more blankets which I’m sure we’ll need. After loading our gear into the campervan we were off. A few kilometres down the road we filled up the gas bottle (we’ll need the under floor gas heater tonight!) and did some shopping for food for the next few days. The price of food, beer and wine was amazing compared to Australia, and the variety is much greater. Bananas were $2.65\kg, sirloin steak was $18.95\kg and beer was $14.95 for 12 stubbies! The service was great and the store well stocked and very neat.
We then headed south across the Canterbury Plains to Geraldine where we had lunch at a road side stop a few kilometres from town. We stopped in town to take a look at the shops and bought a few postcards. At the local Bank of New Zealand we changed some money and then headed to Fairlie in Mackenzie Country which is our first camp stop. Along the way we played the ‘beep the horn at the sheep’ game – something we did on our first holiday to NZ in 2007, and it’s sure to always get a laugh as the sheep scatter from the roadside fence. Apologies to the farmers for stressing your sheep, but I just can’t resist.
NZ South Island 2011 