Jollies Pass or also: Google is not always wrong

"Drive carefully! Southern roads are different!" This sentence greeted us as soon as we arrived in Picton after our ferry ride. It was written in big bold letters on a large and unmistakable sign. Well, we had been told that a few times before. We were supposed to be prepared for gravel roads and tight and winding roads. So, caution was needed and we wanted to be careful. However, we couldn't have known a few hours later that we would regret not taking these warnings more seriously...

Our first destination on the South Island was to find a gas station and then head towards Nelson. We had already started feeding a kind of bonus fuel card on the North Island, which we could only use at two specific gas stations (Caltex and BP), so we set out to find those gas stations. But we couldn't find any. And the other gas stations scared us away with absurdly high prices (yes, the South Island was really different), so we drove on almost ambitiously until we found a Caltex. However, this Caltex was in the completely opposite direction of Nelson. After a brief discussion and a weather check (rain for the next week), we decided to drive down the east coast first. In Nelson or in Abel Tasman National Park, we wanted to do the Abel Tasman Great Walk, a multi-day hike, preferably not in the rain. So, the spontaneous change of plans wasn't a big problem.

We quickly found a new destination: Kaikoura, to see whales and dolphins, because Chantall hadn't seen any during the ferry ride. With a full tank (which we were more than happy about shortly after) and a destination, we set off. The roads weren't as bad as expected, Highway 1 snaked further south, and the weather wasn't bad either. All in all, it was a great drive, until we encountered a great sign: Highway 1 closed from Clarence due to flooding. Well, that meant another adjustment to our plans and with Google Maps, it shouldn't be a problem. But we didn't consider the road directions on the South Island. To reach our destination, we felt like we had to drive around half of the South Island and especially go back a long way. Encouraged by this challenge, we continued to search for an alternative route, and lo and behold, there was another road. It snaked through the mountains and was supposed to be about 125 km long. That didn't sound like much to us. Only the estimated time of 5.5 hours from Google seemed a bit off. But hey, where was our sense of adventure? And how bad could a road be? So, we turned onto Jollies Pass...

The first kilometers were like the last ones, and we quickly agreed: Google must have been wrong. We zoomed along at 80 km/h...until the road suddenly transformed from a normal asphalt road into a gravel road. A small part of our common sense loudly said, "Uh, no?!" But it was overpowered by another part, also called pride, which said, "Come on, we're not really turning around, are we?" So, we continued...

At first, everything was very relaxed, the gravel road slowed us down a bit, but with loud music and the beautiful sunset in front of us, the trip was really fun. After half an hour, we had to chase away the first cows from the road, but hey, this was New Zealand. The scenery was really great, and we frequently stopped for photos. But slowly, we realized that this wasn't just a normal detour to anywhere. Hardly anyone came towards us, and if they did, it was only farm vehicles and big jeeps. But our little Voxy continued to forge ahead. After a while, the potholes became deeper and there were more and more of these nasty things. Then it started to get dark. By now, we were only going 40 km/h and winding our way through the mountains. We hadn't had radio or cellular reception for a long time, so we listened to the only audiobook we had: a creepy thriller (maybe not the best idea at that moment). Slowly, this journey no longer felt safe to us. More and more cows stood in the way and had to be honked at, and then it started to rain. The potholes turned into half pits, and large rocks had fallen from the surrounding cliffs, so we had to get out of the car several times to clear half rocks from the road. Crossing a mini stream that had formed from the rain and occasionally opening a gate were also part of the exercises of the evening.

After about 4.5 hours, we finally almost made it and the last 5 km were ahead of us, when we (once again) stood in front of a one-lane bridge covered with chains (yes, that's a thing here...Apparently, it's too expensive to build two lanes everywhere, even on highways). No problem, get out of the car, put on the chain...or not...the chain was securely locked. Well, there we were in the rain, in the middle of the night, after hours of driving, and couldn't continue without a key. By now, we were a bit on the edge of our nerves, trying to figure out what to do, when a lucky angel must have kissed us. Far behind us and coming towards us quickly, we saw the headlights of a car. Shouting and waving, we ran as fast as we could towards the car, whose owner turned out to be a local resident (who the hell lives there?!). Clearly surprised by our presence, the nice gentleman informed us that this road shouldn't actually be driven on at all during winter and should be closed at both ends. If only it had been like that... Overjoyed by this coincidence, we were able to cross the bridge and continue driving. Twenty minutes later, we were at a small campground in Hanmer Springs and couldn't quite believe where we had driven through the night. Exhausted and with frayed nerves, we fell into bed. We will certainly not forget this day!

We took it easy the next morning. Hanmer Springs is a really cute little town where you can go hiking and swimming leisurely. Originally, we wouldn't have passed through here at all, so we enjoyed this little stop even more. But we didn't stay there long, and after a quick check that our car hadn't been damaged from the previous day's trip, we set off towards Christchurch.

After this experience, we can definitely say that yes, the South Island is different...as soon as you drive off the highways. And yes, sometimes Google isn't a bad guide. But one thing was clear to us after this trip: our little Voxy withstands a lot with us, and after surviving this 'hellish trip' unscathed, we proudly named our Voxy Fred 4.0.

Regarding the name explanation: after Tobi's three plants, Fred 1 to 3, which we bought together, are still alive and surviving our "green" thumbs, we thought that this name must be a good omen. And Fred 4.0 truly deserves it!