26 Feb to 5 March

Interisland Ferry crossing smooth and Chris saw dolphins riding alongside us as we went. Took the scenic route towards Nelson - a beautiful but twisty road. A lovely sunny day and we ended up at Motueka near the Abel Tasman National Park. The campsite had an aviary filled with birds - budgies, cockatiels and finches so we woke to the sound of birdsong.


Noticed loads of orchards on our drive north the next day - apples, pears, kiwis, hops and cherries. Takaka Hill is very steep and they use it for mountain bike races. We stopped a couple of times on the way up and two bikers managed to keep up with us. Stunning scenery enhanced by a Huey helicopter flying low at one point. We stopped to see what was going on - "a drugs raid for cannabis" said a plain clothes policeman (I didn't realise he was one until a couple of others got out of the car holding machetes).


Pupu Springs are the largest freshwater springs in the southern hemisphere. The water wells up through the marble rocks at a rate of 14,000 litres per second. You can actually see it moving. It's 7 metres deep but doesn't look it and quite cold but absolutely beautiful with the colours in the water and surrounding vegetation (have uploaded some photos to Flickr). There was a brown trout in one of the springs.

Continued north along Golden Bay to Puponga Farm near Farewell Spit. Beautiful views from the cafe overlooking the sand spit which is a bird sanctuary. Walked to Wharariki Beach - 30 minutes along a hillside path and then through the sand dunes. Absolutely beautiful and with the added bonus of seal pups at play in the rock pools. We saw at least a dozen of them with a couple of adults keeping a careful eye out. I think we got a bit too close at one point (within 3 metres) and one of the adults started heading our way - a hasty retreat was called for...and calling into the caves got a reply from a seal. Lots of green mussels and large kelp exposed on the rocks and a couple of beautiful archways in the rocks. By this time the tide was turning so we couldn't explore any further. A long haul back to the camper van and then we decided to visit Cape Farewell which is officially the furthest north point on the South Island. It's only a 5 minute walk from the car park and we could see seals on the beach far below but there's no way down to it.

Drove back along Golden Bay admiring all the birds - lots of black swans on the mud flats. Spent the night at Pohara Beach at the northern part of the Abel Tasman.

Woke to a phone call on Sunday at 7.30am from Adam in Christchurch. A tsunami warning had been issued due to the earthquake in Chile. The Lyttelton lifeboats were being moved up the hill (they are stored out of the water) to ensure they are not affected. He suggested we may want to move away from the sea. At this point the sea was about 3 metres behind us and all that was between us and it was a hedge and a beach. Couldn't raise anyone at the campsite office so decided to head for higher ground. Takaka Hill and beyond seemed sensible. The radio was issuing warnings about not going near the beach or rivers and how any waves might hit us at 9-10am. Picked up a couple of older kiwi hitch hikers on the way over Takaka Hill who were off to fish on the Motueka River and totally unconcerned about any risk.

Decided to head for Hanmer Springs and spend the night there. A very scenic drive along state highway 65 took us past lots more orchards and we stopped several times to take pictures. The valley leading from the Lewis Pass to Hanmer is absolutely beautiful. Arrived at Hanmer and Chris was immediately stung by a wasp on his wrist (and when I say immediately I mean it - he was actually getting out of the camper van at the time)

Woken by scratching in the night (not us although all our mosquito bites were playing up). Seemed to be coming from the storage cupboard above our heads. Couldn't see anything when we looked.

Visited the thermal pools. As it was a relatively cool day we were advised to go from cold(er) to warmer. Cold being a relative term as it was 36 degrees. The hottest sulphur (very smelly) ones were 41 degrees. Couldn't spent much time in there.

Came out feeling very relaxed. Chris's arm swelled up overnight and we visited a pharmacist in Amberley who prescribed antihistamines.

Arrived in Christchurch and headed out to Lyttelton to see Adam, Rachele and their sons Liam and Finn. Rachele is a volunteer in the local fire brigade. It was her birthday and we were just about to order pizza when a siren sounded from somewhere below us (it is very hilly here - see later adventures!). Rachele simply disappeared without even putting her shoes on. Her pager rang - a couple of grass fires. She reappeared an hour or so later. The engine didn't attend that call out as they were turned around mid call but went to another one about a branch on a power cable. Strong north easterly winds today were causing problems.

Had noticed a few days earlier that there was a sticker with a number 3 on the windscreen and something about an expiry date of 19 March. As we have the van until 6 April not sure if it is legal to drive with it. Discovered that it does need to have its warrant of fitness (like an MOT) so we arranged to take it to the depot in Christchurch tomorrow.  Can't believe that they rented it to us like that. Altogether the van is a bit of a disappointment - certainly not the 'luxury' version mentioned in the advert and it is costing a lot. It feels very tired - lots of holes, things that are broken or don't work properly. I wouldn't recommend the people we got it from - Adventure Vans.

Chris's arm and hand had swollen even further so we decided to get it checked by a doctor. Luckily the local surgery agreed to see us so we trotted down the hill. About 2 hours later we returned. Very friendly and helpful people and it only cost $35 to see them as there is some sort of reciprocal arrangement with the NHS. A prescription for antibiotics was given.

Adam had taken the day off to be with us and after cold pizza it was suggested that we could walk up(!) to the top of the hill and then take the gondola (cable car) down. Finn is only 5 so if he could do it then we could do it. All I can say it that Finn is a very fit 5 year old and we are very unfit 40 somethings. By the time we got to the top (and kiwi signs are most misleading - it said 350 metres to the summit at one point but it felt like much more than that and was very steep) I was very red and completely knackered.

After a home cooked supper an early night and woken again by scratching during the night. Took the van for its test/repairs and went into Christchurch for the morning. Took a tram and also climbed 134 steps of the cathedral tower. Botanical gardens beautiful with lovely herbaceous borders. A quick stop off at the airforce museum to look at old planes and helicopters and then home for roast chicken. Delicious!

More scratching overnight. Discovered holes in various food packets. We definitely have a mouse...

Drove west and ended up at Lake Coleridge after driving on lots of gravel roads. We stayed here last time. The have been a few changes - not so many permanent caravans and no request for payment for camping. Scenery beautiful - mountains and a lake and lots of grasses and a few birds. A lovely peaceful place - well it was until 7.20 the next morning when the first boats arrived. They get up early here as it is at least a 45 minute drive from anywhere. By 9.30 another four arrived so we decided to move on.

Lake Coleridge is pretty big - at least 20 km long.  It is fed by both the Harper and Wilberforce Rivers at the northern end. It's all part of Glenthorn Station which used to be known as Ryton Station. I think it is one of the biggest in NZ.

Found a load of holiday houses at the end of the lake together with some caravans and houses people had built/were building themselves.  Massive glacial valleys - I think some of Lord of the Rings was filmed here.

Drove south again and ended up in Fairlie. Spoke with Mark (husband of Christina mentioned in earlier blogs) and arranged to see him on saturday. Free internet here (although speed not good) and free showers and very clean at the Top 10 park.

Will upload more photos when next have a good connection.