South Island of New Zealand: West and North Coast

We are currently on the ferry from the South to the North Island and taking the time to make you a little jealous with another travel blog entry.

The West and North Coast of the South Island had countless beautiful places to offer. One highlight was the Milford Sound or the Fiordland National Park. The road led through a beautiful valley. Here, the hills were not covered with barren, cleared pasture land, but overgrown with lush green forest. When we arrived at the fjord itself, clouds unfortunately rolled in. Nevertheless, the view was uniquely beautiful. This just shows again that even in bad weather, you can take beautiful photos.

Speaking of weather: We have been incredibly lucky with the weather so far. We haven't had a real rainy day yet. And we learned from an SMS from the camper rental that it can be different in New Zealand. We received a rather serious weather warning for the North Island. There was a severe storm with gusts and various floods there for days. Even roads were closed. Meanwhile, we already got a slight sunburn on the South Island. I guess that's what you call good travel planning ;-)

We made another stop on our journey in Queenstown, a terrible tourist hotspot with hundreds of motels and adventure offerings. However, the nature and the lake were consistently charming. So much so that Pire even took a dip in the clear but very cold lake. But this was not the last beautiful body of water we discovered on the West Coast. The road repeatedly led past beautiful lakes or rivers, which sometimes seemed crystal clear or turquoise blue. Or so smooth that the landscape in the background was beautifully reflected.

Along the coast itself, we found beautiful beaches again and again. Once with small, round pebbles, once with black, and another time with golden sand. Thanks to the mostly blue sky, always a beautiful photo motif.

The photos probably show that we love landscapes with water. This also applies to water in its frozen state. The glaciers at Fox Glacier and Franz Josef were also very beautiful to look at.

Although many things are a little different in New Zealand, the sun still sets in the west. That's why we could enjoy a beautiful sunset one evening. The sky and the few clouds turned into shades of red.

But even the night itself can fascinate here in New Zealand. This is when the time of the glow worms begins. The mosquito larvae attract other insects with their small glowing tails to then eat them. Although macabre, it was very beautiful for us to watch. At times, it seemed as if we were looking at a starry sky. And thanks to a exposure time of 30 seconds, we could even capture the glow photographically.

Shortly afterwards, there was another night highlight! Unexpectedly, we encountered a kiwi (New Zealand's national bird) at the campsite. We definitely did not expect to see the bird here. Armed only with a smartphone and a headlamp, as well as an umbrella in one hand, we unfortunately couldn't take a really good photo... Well, the experience and not the photo counts!

Continuing along the West Coast, we found beautiful coves again and again. A fantastic sight in contrast to the palm-covered slopes. This also applies to the numerous seal colonies, where we could observe mothers with their "pups" (babies). Either they were nursing or frolicking in the children's pool (small rock pools) like crazy. We could have watched for hours.

On the North Coast, the Abel Tasman National Park and Cape Farewell were particularly highlights. The coastline was constantly changing. Everything was to be found, from golden sand to steep cliffs to kilometers-long white sand beaches.

Today we left the South Island on the ferry. With bright sunshine, we sailed through beautiful fjords and across the open sea towards the North Island. We are excited to see what awaits us there. Stay tuned for news on this blog.