After spending a brief time in New Zealand final yr, something inner me yearned for me to go back. I’d best visited the North Island. However, I knew the South Island had many herbal gemstones expecting me to discover. I’d already planned in my head that the handiest way became to look at New Zealand in all its glory was by making a huge avenue trip. Usually, a journey like that is better with others; however, I had no-one to sign up for me at the time. That’s nothing new; typically, all through my travels, I’ve continually made the trips solo, assembly humans in the manner to my destination. Yet this time, matters grew to become out a touch one of a kind. I’d been speaking approximately on my tentative travels to New Zealand with a newly determined buddy, Mitchie, from the Philippines. I put it out there and asked for her to enroll in me.
To my pride, her answer turned into yes.
After we hired a campervan via an organization called Mode Car and Camper Rentals from Auckland, our adventure started. Our cozy camper became the catalyst for our journey. A two-berth Toyota Estima included all of the camping and cooking equipment we wished.
It turned into wintertime in New Zealand, so warm clothes had been necessary. We made our adventure directly south, taking in all of the perspectives along the way. Despite being from North-East England, I was taken aback that I gasped in exhilaration at the snow-capped peaks within Tongariro National Park appearing inside the distance. I’m no stranger to mountains and a bloodless climate, but this turned into actually breathtaking. We both had been bowled over on how fantastically innocent they appeared out of nowhere.
If you’ve ever seen the movie Lord of the Rings, Mount Tongariro is called ‘Mount Doom.’ The views were high-quality and went on for miles as we continuously stopped to get a better idea. Unfortunately, the climate prohibited us from going hiking, and even a few roads were blocked off because of the weather. After all, it was wintertime in New Zealand.
Making a beeline instantly to Wellington, at the North Island’s tip, our predominant purpose changed into to power the South Island. We munched on all flavors of pies and a few feta spinach dip. Forget fish n chips or adobo; this turned into our form of avenue trip delicacies. Wellington, the cultural capital of New Zealand, was our next prevent. With the most straightforward complete day to explore, we wandered across the metropolis, visited Te Papa Museum, strolled up Mount Victoria, and explored Cuba Street. We discovered Best Ugly Bagels, a takeaway keeps with an unusual environment with an entire scrumptious array of bagels’ different toppings.
After a single day adventure through the ferry, we arrived in Picton within the South Island early morning, eager to hit the road. To our satisfaction, a few pleasant seals were frolicking inside the harbor earlier than we spark off, a really perfect way to start our day. Using a popular app – Campermate NZ, we located our domestic for the night, Maitai Valley Motor Camp, a gorgeous spread-out place using the movement, tucked far away from them anywhere.
Our assignment through then was to visit the well-known Franz Josef Glacier. On entering Franz Josef National Park, we stumbled through something quite impressive. To the left, inexperienced bush nearly jungle-like, to the right and at the back of Mount Cook’s peak. To top it off, a rainbow crossed among them both, making for a beautiful percent. I called it the Amazon and the Alps. As we stopped actually in the middle of the road, passers-by means of weren’t impressed. We didn’t care; the view became too great to bypass up.
That night we arrived at a campsite. Mitchie made these great spaghetti meatballs with red wine for dinner while other backpackers struggled with regular packet noodles. It became like luxury dining out of a campervan! The subsequent morning we arose early. We got to the factor of Franz Josef Glacier walk, and off we went. No-one else turned around as we’d deliberate. Although not anything too strenuous, we had the place to ourselves. Streams, tiny waterfalls, rocky paths, and wall-to-wall towering mountains precede the Franz Josef Peak.
Wanaka becomes next in our listing and my favorite place from experience; however, earlier than that, we skilled winding roads, never-ending lakes, and backdrops to die for as we ended up at Lake Hawea. With snow-capped mountains inside the historical past so excessive, the cloud lining changed into honestly beneath it. Add a lush blue river beneath in contrast to yellow grass banks, and the photographs grew to become out pretty suitable. The picture speaks for itself:
Wanaka turned into a treat, and after reuniting with a number of my pals, masses of flat white coffees, lamb & mint pies, and a couple of beers, we spent the night. The next morning we wanted to get up for some other sunrise and located a niche with a lake’s aid within the center of a random neighborhood. The sky was light claret crimson, and with the snow mountain backdrops, it turned into any other remarkable body to look at.
After roaming around Wanaka, we decided to go to Christchurch on the way back as much as the North Island. As you can know, Christchurch is vulnerable to herbal disasters, and a devastating earthquake hit only the final 12 months. Still, the town becomes upbeat and thrilling sufficient. By this time, we were eager for a delicious breakfast earlier than the journey home and stumbled throughout a place referred to as Bunsen Cafe.
