Day 29 - 33 (February 25 - 29) - Lake Wakatipu, Glenorchy, Diamond Lake, Queenstown

Day 29

Departure from Mavora Lakes - It's hard for us to leave this wonderful place. We stopped briefly at the horses and said hello again, as Mattis wished.

Otherwise, it was just a travel, dump, and shopping day. We drove to Queenstown (about 2.5 hours drive). Since Lea was crying and couldn't be calmed down during the drive, we made a stop along the way and had a snack (crackers with sour cream). Lea had some carrots to nibble on (she gets upset now when we eat and she doesn't get anything - puree doesn't work any better. She pushes the puree straight out of her mouth again.).

Then we ran errands in the suburb of Queenstown, Frankton. We first went to a service hub to dump and refill fresh water (we do this about every 3-4 days). They also had free showers. What a service. Of course, we took advantage of it. Then we went shopping at PaK'nSAVE and refueled. All done. And now it was almost 8pm again.

The drive along Lake Wakatipu, where Frankton and Queenstown are located, was really beautiful. I immediately fell in love with Queenstown and the surrounding area. A city in such a beautiful setting (the lake, the houses in the greenery, and the mountains), I could imagine living there. I'm looking forward to exploring the area more in the coming days.

Now we just wanted to head to a freedom campground, unfortunately only outside of Queenstown, towards Glenorchy (where we were going tomorrow anyway). On the way, we admired the scenery of Lake Wakatipu. We stopped at a spot for a photo. When Tim got out, he was immediately attacked by countless sandflies. Now we know that these attacks can actually happen, as some people have reported. Of course, the sandflies are most active at dusk, just like now. But Tim acted quickly, came back to the motorhome and put on long clothes. Then they couldn't bother him anymore.

Day 30

In the morning (at 9:30 am) almost all cars were already gone. We're late sleepers. The morning was dragging on again. Lea was not in a good mood today and cried a lot in the morning. Mattis was also very annoying during breakfast (apparently, he didn't get enough movement yesterday) and only got better when he could throw sticks with Tim on the stone beach of our sleeping place. His "snake" had dried out and was hung in the tree here. When I wanted to calm Lea down by putting her in the carrier, I had to realize that the detergent had leaked and flooded the carrier. What a start to the day.

Well, at some point around noon, we went to Glenorchy, not far from here. We parked near Lake Wakatipu. Lea was sleeping, Mattis wanted to listen to music in the car. Tim and I took turns walking to the lake and enjoying the view. Next, we planned a little hike for today - it was sunny and 24 degrees Celsius.

We took a gravel road to Mount Aspiring National Park, which is not supposed to be accessible for large campervans, but we decided to try it anyway (with a queasy feeling). It was a bit narrow in some places, but totally doable. Once we reached the top, we took a short one-hour hike (Routeburn Nature Walk). It wasn't really exciting, but still nice to walk through the forest. Mattis started walking by himself, but after 2 meters he always got other ideas than walking (e.g. throwing another stick into the river and walking back or seeing if there might be a dog/cat/leopard deep in the forest). So, he had to go in the carrier for a while. Fortunately, that was okay for him.

The highlight of the day was on the parking lot. Mattis hadn't been wearing diapers for the past 3 days since his success with bowel movements in the forest (at Mavora Lakes). After only peeing all day yesterday (successfully either in the potty or by the tree), it was time for the big business again. When we arrived at the camper, he suddenly said he needed to go. But he didn't know where exactly. First into the forest, not possible, Papa should leave, also not possible. Maybe take the potty into the forest, also not possible. Finally, he decided that he wanted to be alone with his potty in the motorhome. So everyone went outside and suddenly he shouted, "I've pooped". Oh my god, what an achievement. He was so proud, and together with Papa, he had to dispose of his business in the public toilets. He wanted to carry his potty himself, of course. It was so funny how we all enjoyed it - only parents can understand that. :-)

Now we just looked for our sleeping spot at Diamond Lake (DOC Diamond Lake Campsite, $16) and made a short detour to a Lord of the Rings spot ("Isengard") in Paradise. Another beautiful setting, a green valley surrounded by mountains with snow-capped peaks.

The sleep spot at Diamond Lake was nice and quiet with only one camper next to us. We had dinner outside (wraps), but as it got dark, there were a few sandflies that were a bit annoying. So we went inside.

The kids were only in bed at 9:30 pm again. Somehow, the evenings are always exhausting for everyone (the kids are wired and the adults too). That needs to change.

Day 31

This day started with a really great morning. The four of us cuddled in bed for a long time, everyone was in a good mood, and Tim and I could drink our coffee in bed. What a start to the day (probably making up for the exhausting evening yesterday).

At noon, we went to our motorhome rental company in Frankton (suburb of Queenstown) to change our bedding, etc. and to fix minor defects in the camper. Mattis and Lea were very happy to be able to play in the playroom there during this time. Finally, real toys again. :-)

Afterwards, we wanted to start exploring Queenstown. We went to the Kiwi Birdlife Park, a bird park. Our main goal was to see a kiwi, the national bird of New Zealand. There were a total of 3 kiwi houses. During visiting hours, the houses are dark to create darkness during the day so that the kiwis are active (nocturnal animals). When we went into the 1st kiwi house, we were very excited. We were supposed to be very quiet. So we crept in and let our eyes adjust to the darkness. And then... There were two kiwis right at the glass. Our first thought was, "Oh, they're not as small as we expected." But they are just as cute as we imagined. With their long pointy beaks, they pecked at the ground. The moment was really special for us. We also saw several kiwis in the other kiwi houses. We also really enjoyed seeing Keas and Kākā (parrots) here. The visit was definitely worth it.

We had already thought about our sleeping spot this time, a DOC campground just outside Queenstown (Twelve Mile Delta Campsite; $30). The special thing about this place is that part of Lord of the Rings was filmed here ("Ithilien"). A beautiful scenery was promised again. And it was. A very green place overlooking Lake Wakatipu and mountains.

When we arrived here in the evening, we went for a walk along the lake. Really beautiful. The evening light is really the most beautiful. Lea fell peacefully asleep in the carrier. Mattis was initially scared of a dog but then happily let sticks swim in the lake.

Day 32

As we had breakfast outside, it started raining unfortunately. How annoying. Put everything back inside and rearrange everything inside. The rain was quickly over, so we were able to take a short hike (Bobs Cove Track) around noon. We crossed a small river and could look into a small (unspectacular) canyon (a few people equipped with helmets were doing canyoning here - climbing through the canyon, jumping into icy cold rivers...). Mattis found it very exciting and still asked in the evening, "Where are the canyoners?". We hiked for only 1 hour (with a break). On the way back, Mattis said to me, "I don't feel like it anymore." Then he thought for a moment and said, "I don't want to anymore." I couldn't help but laugh. He really adopts our way of speaking. Hilarious. :-)

Once we were back in the motorhome, Lea was happily lying on the floor. She had a big smile on her face and scooted around in circles on her tummy or even backwards. She inspected the bathroom door very meticulously, just like she prefers to explore shoelaces on shoes or shoes in general with her hands and mouth. The little one is really curious and already has a will of her own. For example, she prefers to have Mattis' Pixi books and lick and crumple them. Unfortunately, alternatives like her own baby toys don't compare. Or when we eat, she absolutely must be given something to hold (a spoon or even some food, e.g. cucumber), otherwise she immediately grabs the plate or anything else that looks interesting on the table. She's so fast, you can't even look that quickly.

Around 2pm, we drove to Queenstown. Mattis was already looking forward to his ice cream. It was sunny. We took a walk down to the waterfront promenade of Lake Wakatipu and quickly found a great ice cream parlor, Ice Creamery Patagonia. The scoops were huge and really delicious. We sat down on the nearby stone beach and enjoyed the ice cream with a view of the water and the greenery of Queenstown. The waterfront promenade in Queenstown is really beautiful, overall we are impressed with this place. Down here by the water, several adventure activities start, for which Queenstown is known, e.g. you can race through shallow rivers in a jet boat at 85km/h or dive and jump out of a shark boat in the lake.

There were many people around us who also wanted to enjoy the great weather by the water today. The atmosphere was really lively. It became even more lively when we met three former students of Tim on the beach (Franzi, Mira, and Fiona). The three of them graduated last year and are currently traveling around New Zealand as well. It was really nice to chat with the girls and exchange our travel experiences so far.

Lea and Mattis also loved the girls. Lea smiled at them the whole time, and Mattis showed them every stick he found and explained what it should be (crocodile, seahorse, horse...). Otherwise, Lea enjoyed lying on the beach and examining the stones. Mattis threw sticks into the water and discovered that he could chase seagulls on the beach and make them fly away. He found that exciting. We really enjoyed the beach afternoon.

The girls spoke so enthusiastically about the vegan snack bar "Lord of the Fries" that we had dinner there (our car was already parked there). We had a vegan burger with fries. We were curious how the burger would taste in vegan. It was really good, I must say.

For sleeping, we went back to the campsite from the night before. Next to us, there was a man from Fiji. At first, we thought it was strange that he parked right next to us when there were so many free spots, but then we were happy about the nice contact. He was very friendly and told us that he works in New Zealand for a few years to make "good" money. He jokingly told us that you can drive around and explore Fiji in one day.

Day 33

Since we enjoyed yesterday so much, we decided spontaneously to stay here today. It was wonderfully sunny again. We drove to Queenstown around noon and strolled through the streets of the city. In the end, we ended up at the waterfront promenade again. Along there, you could reach a great playground with a view of Lake Wakatipu. Another playground that is also fun for parents. We loved the slides. Lea also enjoyed sliding and sliding together with Mattis and on Papa's or Mama's lap. Mattis even slid down the big tunnel slide together with us and loved it. At the playground, there was also a natural adventure area. There was a small watercourse where you could swing like Tarzan on a rope and oil up - a paradise for the kids. Mattis let sticks float, climbed trees, and proudly walked across a small dam made of sticks. It was really interesting to see how he tried to come across dry. Lea was completely content lying on the ground and examining its texture. She's really interested in sand and stones and examines everything closely.

It was another relaxed and great afternoon. We could stay here longer.

On the way back in the evening, we walked the entire waterfront promenade again. There were many street musicians on the promenade. A great atmosphere. Suddenly, we saw that you could buy duck food by the water. So we did and it was so much fun. There were countless ducks all around us, all very eager for our food. Mattis didn't know what to do with his joy and the food. Wonderful.

For dinner, we went to Erik's Fish and Chips. Mattis ate mainly the fish again. Good child :-). There were also many other great bars and restaurants in the area. In front of one bar (The World Bar), there was even a halfpipe where people were really "battling" and having fun. Really cool place.

We slept again at the spot from the night before.