Fire and Ice on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is rated as the world’s finest day hike and is described by the Lonely Planet as “Reputedly the best one day walk in New Zealand, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing spectacular volcanic geography, from an active crater to the steaming vents and beautiful coloured lakes. The crossing is one of New Zealand’s life-changing experiences”
(more…)
Polar outbreak in New Zealand
Just read the weather forecast for the coming days: “Polar outbreak on Monday and Tuesday – A burst of cold air originating from the Antarctic ice sheet is expected to affect New Zealand on Monday and Tuesday. Unseasonably cold temperatures, strong winds and snow to low levels are expected over the South Island where this event is likely to have a high impact. The coldest air is expected to make its way north to the North Island on Tuesday bringing strong winds and unusually low temperatures”
So it seems that the Indian summer that we had for a long time now in New Zealand is now really over and winter is arriving. Luckily we are no longer camping, but we have a real house now, with a warm wood burning fireplace. (more…)
Camping days are over
We are back in Auckland but this time without our camper van. A few days ago we returned our camper van and picked-up a rental car. We all felt a little sad, as we had been travelling in our van for five weeks and it had become a little bit our home. You get used to living in a van and it is surely a great way to discover New Zealand. But it is now time to move on and we have different plans for the last three weeks of our stay in New Zealand, so no more camping.
So what did we do in the last week with the camper?
Rumbling Volcanoes in the North
Finally we have found a campsite that offers decent internet. We have now 2hrs or 1 gig of free internet, so plenty of room to upload new pictures and write an update. The main reason is that we are currently in Auckland in one of the city campings and modern facilities are more common here than elsewhere in NZ. We are in Auckland because sadly we needed to say goodbye to the grandparents who travelled back home today. But the trip ain’t over for us yet, we have one more month to go here.
The final days on the South Island
A quick update from our trip. We have left the South Island and are currently on the North Island. In our last days on the South Island we wanted a little bit of a summer beach holiday. We were debating if we would visit the Tasman Park or the Golden Bay.
The wild wild west
The west coast of New Zealand was important for the Maori’s as it contained the precious green gemstone jade, that they used for decoration, as a symbol of wealth and because of its strength, as knife or axe. But when the early European settlers discovered gold in the 1860’s, this area became booming and small towns with many pubs were quickly established. The gold rush only lasted for a few years and nowadays the area is most famous for its raw and unspoiled nature and you see more campervans and tourist busses than normal traffic on the roads.
The first week in the campervan
Last night it rained and right now in the early morning it is wet and cold outside and the promised view of the mountains is hidden by large clouds. But a faint sun is already trying hard to break through the clouds and in a few hours it will be sunny and the temperatures will be nice enough to walk around in a T-shirt. Welcome to camping in New Zealand.
22 February – A day to remember
22 February is not a special day on our trip, but for many people in Christchurg this is a day they will never forget. Four years ago, on 22 February 2011 at 12:51pm, a major magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit Christchurg and 24 seconds of shaking ripped out the heart of the city and 185 people were killed in the event. This earthquake followed another major earthquake 6 months earlier and the two together caused significant damage to the city centre and several suburbs and altered the landscape and the people of Christchurg forever. Today the people of Christchurg and many others came together to commemorate the anniversary of this sad event.
Kaikoura – marine wildlife capital of New Zealand
Whales, dolphins, albatros, cray fish, fur seals, gennets, oyster catchers, you name it and you can find it here. Initially we were not planning to visit Kaikoura, as we suspected it to be a tourist trap. Because whales and dolphins can be found here year-round, there is a huge tourist industry with expensive boat trips, flights and even helicopter rides.
Rest and relaxation in Hanmer Springs
Hanmer Springs is famous for its hot water pools. The Maori were the first to discover the thermal springs, but they never established a permanent settlement. But when the springs were rediscovered by European settlers in 1859, the government started to develop the area and in 1889 the first official bathing pools were created and later on a sanctuarium and a hospital, as the natural thermal water possesses healing qualities, which together with the fresh mountain air and lots of sunshine helped to heal the sick and wounded.