Off to the south!

We took a break in Foxton (a small coastal town) on our way to Wellington. And it was beautiful there!

After spending a day and a half in Wellington where we had delicious food and tasted different kinds of beers at the pub, we took the ferry to the South Island with our campervan.

Since all the ferries were fully booked during Christian times, we had to take one at 2:30 in the morning. The crossing took 3 1/2 hours. The cafe on the ferry was not great, the WiFi didn't work, and the areas where you could somewhat comfortably sleep were freezing cold. So we huddled together on the seats in the warmer rooms and slept. At least we were somewhat rested when we left the ferry at 6 am.

Our destination: Pelorus Bridge - a small, scenic nature reserve located on the way to the West Coast.

We settled at a small secluded campground right by the Pelorus River. Absolutely wonderful and idyllic atmosphere!

And a little highlight was the cafe at the campground, which was very cozy and offered homemade pastries mmmh...

In the afternoon, we took a two-hour hike to two waterfalls. Jan even had the courage to swim in one of the small falls - so cold! :D

By the way, the barrel scenes from "The Hobbit" were also filmed at Pelorus River.

Now it may seem like we're huge Lord of the Rings fans, visiting all the filming locations... But the film locations are scattered all over New Zealand :)

(The scene where Frodo and Sam hide from the black rider under tree roots was actually filmed in a park in the middle of Wellington haha)