New Zealand - South Island No.2

Te Anau - Picton (11.2. - 22.2.18)

Things went as planned and we left for Queenstown, the adrenaline capital! You can tell because almost every second shop in the city is a booking office for all sorts of activities! We arrived in Queenstown and were able to change our bedding before heading into the city. There are many restaurants and bars along the waterfront that invite you to relax and enjoy the scenery. We stayed in Arrowtown, which unfortunately wasn't as cool as we expected. It was more like a cramped car park than a campsite. The next day, we took the route to Glenorchy, a tip from a South African couple we met at the campsite in Te Anau. It is supposed to be the gateway to paradise, and it truly was. The drive was absolutely fantastic and the village was adorable. But we had to go back the same way we came! Today I had a day of relaxation while Ilse took over driving. As a passenger, I was able to enjoy the beautiful scenery!

We returned to our favorite place, Wanaka, with our American friends. We stayed at a different campsite, right by the river and surrounded by nature. It was beautiful! Of course, we couldn't miss taking a walk along the river beach in the evening. On our way to the West Coast, we knew that we were going to have two sunny days ahead, so we drove to Haast and then to Franz Josef Glacier! It was a long drive today with lots of curves...but the route was absolutely stunning! There was a bit of rain here and there, but the rest was just perfect! Unfortunately, we could still see the damage from the storm on February 1st...fallen trees, parts of hillsides that had slid away, and stretches of road that had simply collapsed! It was really impressive to see the power of nature!

Waking up in the morning and having a direct view of the Franz Josef Glacier...you can't complain about that! Apparently, it's not often that you can see the glacier so clearly and with a blue sky! It's actually a region that gets a lot of rain! Since the weather wasn't so nice the day before, we decided to go back to Lake Matheson in the morning and do the beautiful walk around it! At first, it was crowded, but then it became quieter and more pleasant in nature! Thanks to Fabio for the tip 😉. On our way to our sleeping spot, we stopped in Okarito for a walk up a hill that promised a fantastic view. And we were rewarded...a view over the sea and the lagoon, just wow!
In the evening, we slept at Ross Beach in a new campsite (only open for a few months), about 10 meters away from the beach! So, of course, we had to take a walk on the beach at sunset. Together with our American friends, we planned the route and took some nice photos!

From Ross Beach, we continued to Carters Beach. Of course, we had to make a stop in Hokitika. The smell of greenstone is all around. According to the Maori, you can only buy the stone/jewelry and not make it yourself! So I got a beautiful necklace from Ilse 😊. We also made a stop at the bakery and at the beach, where the name Hokitika is written with stones, which was a must-see! On the whole journey, there is so much variety, and you can always stop for longer or shorter hikes! So we passed by a suspension bridge and, of course, we had to stop. It was really impressive to swing from one side to the other while looking down at the rushing river 😉. In the afternoon, we arrived in a tiny village called Tapawera in the inland, saying goodbye to the West Coast! We had a huge garden all to ourselves and we relaxed and played games. They even had a herb garden in front of the kitchen that we could use, much to Ilse's delight 😊. Together with our American friends, we made plans for Abel Tasman National Park. The weather is supposed to be beautiful for the next two days...let's go!

Somehow, despite all the stories and tales from others, it is always different when you see it in person! I knew that Abel Tasman would be one of our highlights, but I didn't expect it to be so fantastic! Thanks to a good tip from an Englishman in Te Anau, we booked two nights at The Barn, which was absolutely amazing! A campsite by the sea and at the beginning of Abel Tasman National Park. You have to let the New Zealanders be New Zealanders, they consciously leave nature as it is. No big shopping centers or malls, just two campsites, one cafe/restaurant, and two water taxi operators, nothing but nature. We had to stock up on groceries about 30 minutes before arriving in the village and refueling!

Armed with water, sunscreen, and food, we simply walked as far as we felt like it from the campground with our American friends! It was indescribably beautiful to walk in the shade of the trees along certain stretches of beach, so we walked and walked until we reached Apple Bay where we had a meal. It turns out we weren't the only ones hungry, one of the many seagulls also wanted a piece of Ilse's bread! She was quite surprised by that 😉.

The next morning, the alarm went off quite early because we were picked up by a water taxi that took us to the starting point of our hike! At the water taxi company, we were divided into different boats and our skipper hopped on a tractor and drove us in the boat for a few hundred meters on the road (we were in the boat, of course), before turning towards the sea! There, another guy drove us on a high-speed boat! We learned that the water level here can change by 4.6 meters within 6 hours, very impressive! He showed us a few things before dropping us off at Torrent Bay, where our hike began! We walked together with our American friends until Bark Bay, and then continued to Onetahuti. Wow, just a beautiful beach in the middle of nature. Stunning views, steep sections up and down, and the rest was just simply beautiful. We spent about 1.5 hours at Onetahuti beach and, of course, went for a refreshing swim in the ocean after eating! Then we were picked up by the water taxi again, which took us back to Manahau, where the campground was! It was an absolutely amazing highlight that will stay in our memories for a long time!!

In the morning, we enjoyed the beautiful sunrise and watched as it rose behind the mountains and the sea! We headed towards Nelson, as the weather forecasted rain in Abel Tasman! Once in Nelson, we rented two bikes and explored the surroundings a bit, as a cyclone was supposed to come in the evening and the next day, and no one knows how bad it will be since Nelson is in one of the high-risk areas! Well, as it turns out, we ended up riding towards a bridge with a sign "Attention flooding" because we thought it wouldn't be that bad! Ilse crossed the bridge a bit too slowly and got caught by the water flow with her wet shoes on! She ended up going faster than expected! Of course, I followed the instructions and ran extra fast! Well, it turns out it was deeper than we thought and I had a bit too much speed...the next hour, I spent with wet trousers, wet shoes, and I think even wet underwear 😉. We couldn't stop laughing and the wind dried our clothes pretty quickly while cycling! Back at the campground, we quickly decided to book another night since the weather was bad the next day and we didn't want to be on the road if we didn't have to! The next day, we spent in the camper with lots and lots of rain and sometimes quite strong winds, which shook our camper back and forth! But it held up much better than expected, which made us happy! After a peaceful night, we had a super sunny day again and set off on the scenic route to Picton, which you should only do in good weather! Before that, we definitely had to say goodbye to the Americans after three weeks, as they were leaving a day earlier to go to the North Island because they only have about a week left!

Arriving at Marlborough Sound, similar to Milford Sound, we were able to enjoy the beautiful weather and take in the views at some lookout points on the way! We drove on to Blenheim, the wine region of the South Island! We needed a bit of South Africa feeling, so we did a wine tasting with lunch at Wither Hills Winery! The wine was very very delicious, so our final bill turned out to be a bit higher than expected, but we were fully stocked for the rest of our trip 😉.
We spent the night at a free campground, a beautiful spot right next to a small pond with black swans! Of course, we also had a picnic there!

After waking up, we headed to Picton and settled into the campground before exploring the town! It was charming and small! From here, we will take the ferry to Wellington tomorrow! Our last day on the South Island was lovely, and now we are on the ferry to the North Island! We are excited to see what the North Island has in store for us and if we will like it as much as the South Island. We have truly fallen in love with the South Island, the people, and the nature! So we are happy and excited for more adventures, but also a little sad to say goodbye to this beautiful South Island! See you soon!

(Unfortunately, the internet is not fast enough for photos :-(. Maybe later)