New Zealand - home of hobbits, sheep and middle earth? I didn‘t really know much about this country, so I decided to embark on a roadtrip and find out.
Kia Ora! In order to see as much as possible during the two weeks I had allocated for New Zealand I opted again for a campervan. Checking the weather forecast I was aware that a spell of winter had come back to New Zealand and therefore I had picked up some warm clothes in the winter sale in Perth. I took an overnight flight from Perth via Melbourne to Queenstown, where I picked up my home on wheels for the next two weeks.
Queenstown
Disembarking the plane in Queenstown was like stepping into a picture book with the snow topped mountain backdrop.
After buying supplies at the local supermarket I parked my campervan at Queenstown Lakeview Holiday Park and then went out to explore the town.
Queenstown is actually quite touristy and seems to be very popular with Chinese tourists.
The lakefront view is absolutely stunning! After taking a stroll up and down there and also through Queenstown I hopped onto the Skyline Gondola that would take me to the top of Bob’s Peak where I enjoyed a spectacular 220-degree panorama view of Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown and the surrounding mountains.
Lake Wakatipu is actually 77 km long and 5 km at its widest and has an average temperature of just 11.5 degrees - try swimming in that one!
In order to catch up on some much needed sleep after the overnight flight, I didn’t get on to the road till just after 11 o’clock the next day.
Lake Tekapo
My destination for the day was Lake Tekapo where I arrived by mid afternoon.
On the way to Lake Tekapo I passed through the town of Cromwell - not a place I had ever heard of before, but nevertheless a place where you may have actually (indirectly) shopped from: Cromwell’s nickname is “Fruit Bowl of New Zealand” due to the patches upon patches of orchards bursting with produce (mainly apples and pears which are also exported). The giant fruit sculptures at the entrance of the town are definitely hard to miss! So next time you’re buying an apple and its country of origin is New Zealand chances are pretty good, that it may have been harvested in this area.
The road took me along the Southern Alpes and also passed by Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Due to my later start to the day, the plan was to return to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park early the following day and to go for a hike on one of the trails.
Lake Tekapo as well as a few other lakes on the way (Lake Ruataniwha and Lake Pukaki) all feature the same bright turquoise blue colouration which is created by rock flour from the surrounding glaciers. Rock from those glaciers is ground into a fine dust on the journey down towards the lakes and when suspended in the water causes that magnificent turquoise blue!
Lake Tekapo Motels & Holiday Park - my stop for the night - was situated directly at the shore of the lake and was also located very close to Tekapo Springs where I got to sit in 38 degrees warm water with a stunning view, topped off with an excellent Swedish massage.
The area around Lake Tekapo is part of a UNESCO Dark Sky Reserve, which makes it a perfect spot for star gazing. This is achieved by strictly controlling light pollution of any kind in the area. Even the streetlights have a little shield on top, to avoid any white light from shining skywards.
Although it was a little cloudy I was still able to see an enormous amount of stars.
Mount Cook/Aoraki
Getting up very early next day (before sunrise) I made my way to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park and witnessed a pretty spectacular sunrise that made the mountains almost glow...
Unfortunately the closer I got to Mount Cook (with 3724 m the highest mountain of New Zealand) the weather got progressively worse. By the time I had arrived at the visitor information centre, it was foggy, cold and raining - not the best conditions when you’re about to embark on a mountain hike!
A stop at the visitor information center that, amongst other things hosted a very educational exhibition about the history of mountain climbing at Mount Cook, also entailed a collection of commemoration books, listing each person that died in an attempt to conquer Mount Cook. Skipping through these book and learning about all those souls lost was a very humbling experience and made me think about embarking on a hike in adverse conditions... in the end I decided to just go on a short exploration hike, that would take around 40 minutes and could be done in most weather conditions.
On the way to my next campsite I made a quick photo stop at the Church of the Good Shepherd. Due to its location right on the shore of Lake Tekapo and framed by the Southern Alpes it has become one of the most photographed icons in New Zealand. Built in 1935 the church has been home to thousands of weddings and has seen more than its fair share of visitors. The window behind the alter offers a spectacular view of the mountains!
Arriving at the lovely town of Geraldine (Geraldine TOP 10 Holiday Parks) - there was actually a dash of spring in the air! I just had to take a few pictures of the cherry trees there in full blossom (if you are a cherry blossom addict like me, then you should most definitely click here).
I took a walk through the town, stopped at a small art gallery and - after looking at the program of the day - decided to watch the latest Downton Abbey movie at the tiny Geraldine Cinema - it actually reminded me a bit of the small cinema of my hometown some 30 years ago...
Christchurch was next up on my itinerary. I had mixed feelings going there due to the devastating earthquakes that had struck the city in September 2010 and then again in February 2011. Due to the 2010 earthquake (magnitude 7.1) the infrastructure and buildings were already weakened and therefore the 2011 quake, although „only“ lasting 10 seconds (magnitude 6.3), caused severe damage and almost flattened out entire parts of the city, killing 185 people. Subsequently Christchurch has seen a quite substantial population loss and fell from second to third most populous area in New Zealand (1st Auckland, 2nd Wellington).
Before exploring the city center I visited the Canterbury Museum and joined a very educational one hour guided tour there where I learned about the history of settlers in New Zealand (Māori as well as European), the (extinct) wildlife including the concept of gigantism as well as today’s challenges facing the preservation of the unique island wildlife.
In downtown city center the damage caused by the earthquake is still omnipresent, particularly at historic buildings that have not been restored yet. One of the sad landmarks is the Christchurch Cathedral right in the heart of the city centre.
As a temporary place of worship the Christchurch Transitional Cathedral was opened in 2013. It was designed by the Japanese architect Shingeru Ban using cardboard tubes for the structural elements which is why it is today mainly known as „Cardboard Cathedral“. Other materials used include shipping containers (forming the walls), concrete slab (foundation), some timber and polycarbon (roof).
Opposite the Cardboard Cathedral the art installation”185 empty white chairs” can be found representing, reflecting and remembering the 185 people killed in the 2011 earthquake.
Street art is dotted around the city center and actively encouraged by the city council to fill spaces that after the destruction of the earthquake would otherwise have remained empty.
Kaikoura
Heading further up north I was bound for Kaikoura, a small coastal town known for its seal colonies and the highly recommended “Green Dolphin” Restaurant.
Whilst driving along the coastline looking for the seals I stumbled across a sign advertising daily sheep shearing. Given that I was in THE sheep country (there are approximately 40 million sheep in NZ, but only about 4.5 million people...) I thought it almost my duty to watch how it is actually done.
Before the lucky sheep of the day was relieved of its woolly coat, I was tasked by the farmer to bottle feed a little 3 week old lamb - that was almost too much white fluffy cuteness to bear!
The sheep shearing was quite interesting, the job took the farmer about four minutes, he called it the “tourist slow motion shearing”. Apparently professional sheep shearers are done in a quarter of that time!
Afterwards I continued my hunt for seals and was finally successful, finding this guy here enjoying a little sunshine...
After checking in at the Kaikoura TOP10 Holiday Park, it was already time for the Green Dolphin Restaurant. I can tell you,the raving reviews about this place were not exaggerating - it was a truly delicious mouthwatering experience.
Blenheim
Blenheim was my last stop on the South Island (Blenheim TOP 10 Holiday Park) and its close proximity to Picton (where the Interislander Ferry to the North Island departs from) made it the perfekt overnight location.
Slowly the temperatures were rising a bit which also meant that I was approaching my first NZ winetasting spot. The region around Blenheim - Marlborough - is the largest wine growing region in NZ and is mostly known for its world-renown Sauvignon blanc.
We visited four wineries and also a champagne maker as well as a small chocolate manufacturer.
My ferry from Picton to Wellington left the next morning at 9:45am - the journey takes about 4 hours...
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