We started out in Auckland, staying our first night in NZ with our friends Danny and Jaime, who have just moved to NZ for a 2 year stay. The next morning we picked up our Spaceship campervan, which we are calling home for a month, and headed south. A quick description of "Leo," our van: it's barely big enough for us to sleep in, it has a pull-out two-burner stove, plenty of food storage underneath the bed, and best of all a DVD player.
Ryan bought a surfboard in Hamilton, and we made our way to Rotorua, home of adventure sports and thermal hot springs. We went to the Wai-O-Topu Thermal Park and saw Lady Knox Geyser and crazy thermal pools.
Next, we were off to Gisborne, where Ryan was able to put his surfboard to use a few times, at Wainui Beach. A Saturday farmer's market in Gisborne replenished our supply of strawberries, kiwi fruit, bread, and wine (tough selection!).
Napier, in the Hawke's Bay wine region, was the next place to visit. Here we were able to taste some of New Zealands famed Sauvignon Blancs and Chardonnays. An added bonus is that most "cellar doors" offer complimentary tastings, which fits well with our budget! We also tried olive oils dipped in dukkah, which is a blend of nuts and spices, and is quite yummy.We finally made our way down to Wellington, and found an interesting place to stay the night. Battle Hill Regional Park was deserted, rainy, and full of sheep and their lambs. A generous ranger, after collecting our fee, brought us a dozen fresh-from-the-hen's-nest eggs, still warm when we put them in our cooler. Those would make a good breakfast! We then took the Bluebridge Ferry across the strait to Picton on the South Island. A few nights later, after some more rainy and windy drives, we found ourselves face to face with the Franz Josef Glacier, which starts in the snowy mountains and ends near a rainforested area by the sea. We "tramped" (hiked) to the terminal face, which was amazing considering we were actually touching a glacier.
Yesterday we stopped quickly at the Fox Glacier, then drove to Lake Wanaka, where we scheduled a skydive for today. Unfortunately, this morning brought gray skies and very windy weather, and skydiving was cancelled. We decided not to stick around and wait for clear weather, and instead headed to Queenstown, the extreme sports capitol of the world. We entered the Central Otago wine region, so we stopped for some Sunday afternoon wine tastings, trying the Pinot Noirs, which don't compare to California's!Milford Sound is our next destination, then back up the East Coast. One thing we've noticed here, the people are very friendly. Besides the ranger giving us the eggs, a lady at a petrol station handed us a coupon for a few dollars off our gas. We don't think that's ever happened to us in the States.
Quiz: This picture shows a:a) grape vine
b) kiwi vine
The answer will be revealed in our next blog!And finally, R.I.P. Cheech, our little hamster who died right after we left on this journey.
Until next time, cheers!
1 comment:
Make sure to hit up Raglan along the east coast of the north island. I think it's a KIWI vine. Sam and I dig the minivan! Write down some of those wines so that those of us in the states can enjoy some southern hemisphere vino.
Post a Comment