Summer in the South

Hey folks – we’ve wandered around a fair bit since our last blog just before Christmas. It never seemed the right time to blog about sunny summer days with all the devastation hitting so many in the north…

[Click on any of the blog pictures to see a larger view. We talked about the shaded areas in the map below in our earlier blogs].

Our wander south was always going to catch the ever popular Christmas and New Year camping days. We usually avoid camping at this time ‘cos there’s just sooooo many people out and about (particularly those smaller, noisy ones ????). If you forget the tent / caravan shells for a minute and look at just how close you’re camped together at peak times too… it seems like some really strange dormitory experience?!?

We were advised that the West Coast could be quieter, which we thought made sense (the North Island east coast is where a lot of the popular holiday spots are).  However, the South Island doesn’t quite dance to the same tune, as anywhere there’s a lake or river is the place to be!

Here’s a wrap-up of recent travels – if you follow us on Instagram (see website www.morewanders.com) you may have already seen some of these pics and videos.

We chose campgrounds for the main public holidays as they’re slightly better regulated than our usual camping spots. Lake Brunner for Christmas was one of our favourites! With a short wander to the lake, access to different walks and a small community it ticks a lot of boxes.

Greymouth worked a treat for New Years too – the pebbly beach (next to the camp) with its collection of driftwood proved very popular for New Years eve campfires, so late night gatherings happened outside the camp – yay!

We thought it might also be a challenge to fit our 14m articulated unit into spaces that are often smaller than Mum’s vege patch! Not to worry though – the camps we picked had good sized sites, and one was even a “drive-through” (drive in from one end with the caravan and simply drive out the other end when you leave!) We were however often amazed at what people tried to fit on their sites – each family seemed to have a 4 bedroom tent, double marquee for extended family dining, 3 cars, a jetski and maybe even a jet boat!

The Christmas season also means peak-season rates… for everything! We’ve no Scots heritage but there’s Irish and a little bit of German and they’re a thrifty lot, so we’re usually reluctant to part with any more of the green stuff than we have to… unless BeeGees making a case for more caravan additions 😉

Greymouth was a great base to explore north and south – we scouted a few lake camping sites along the West Coast (for next time we’re down this way :), travelled up to see the Pancake rocks at Punakaiki and took a Tree-top walk in Hokitika…

We then headed down to Franz Josef to help friends out with a staff shortage at their summer holiday accommodation. We were only working part-time so still found time to explore the local spots and swimming holes, and of course visit the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers…

However, our short work stint in Franz Josef reminded us of things we enjoy about work and home life…
• The biggie – connecting regularly with family, friends and workmates – hearing about their interests, experiences, dreams and challenges. Social media is great for one level of connection, but as many of us found with Covid and working from home, regular in-person catchups are just soooo much more fun!
• Working together to get things done; helping each other out; and of course calling each other plonkers when required! (in a completely constructive manner of course ????). Working as part of a team is hugely satisfying when you’re inspired by what the team does and you’re making a difference.
• Routines – some things in home-life just don’t need thinking about. Not a major hardship, but life on the road does need regular decisions about the basics: where should we park the house today? will the caravan really fit past those trees / down that bank / over that tree stump?! (ok we haven’t tried the last one… yet ????).

So much for the lessons – back to the travels!

From Franz we stopped off in Haast Pass for a couple of nights, for a leisurely visit down to Jacksons Bay (and the Craypot cafe) and explore potential camp sites along the Arawata River. On our last visit down this way Jackson Bay was closed off by major slips!

We visited a few scenic spots along the Haast Pass route (couple of examples below), although we’re careful about the parking spaces we drag our rig into on travel days… (and yes we do drive into spots that we really should avoid… However, it’s probably important to keep finding relationship-building opportunities 😉

Wanaka was our next spot … there is so much to like about this area but boy is it growing! We stayed at a very popular spot right on the water at Glendhu Bay – fab for regular kayaking and paddleboarding. Was lovely to catchup with one or Brent’s ex-workmates and her hubby – thanks Debs for the invite!

There’s also some lovely lakes to camp alongside in the McKenzie and North Otago districts…

This included areas created as part of hydro schemes in the early sixties. Some of these are administered by the Waitaki District Council, who offer very reasonable season camp passes (it’s a long season… late Sept to early May!) This results in many groups setting up semi-permanent spots for their tents and caravans, with fences and all. It looks a little strange, as outside holiday weeks / public holidays most sites have no-one in them! Plenty of space for us more mobile travellers to setup shop for a few days 🙂 The short Fishermans Bend (video) was one of these Waitaki camps.

We did a quick wander up to Tekapo and paddleboarded from the fabulously located NZMCA camp (right on the lake front) to Church of the Good Shepherd (as you do)… Lovely fresh swimming in the lake too 🙂

We then headed back out to the coast to see Oamaru’s old-town sights and enjoy dinner out for Kaz’s birthday…

If we’re visiting towns we find a variety of interesting parking spots for the caravan. In Oamaru we stayed at “Teschemakers Resort” – at one stage this was a school that Kaz’s great grandmother’s sister (a nun) taught at. It’s been through a range of owners since and many of the buildings aren’t used (or maintained) but it was a quiet, interesting spot.

We then wandered back in-land to Ranfuly and the small surrounding towns. This included Naseby (“2000 feet above worry level“), often known for its International Curling rink. We knew little about curling before BeeGees former boss gave it profile in one of his blogs. Amazing that a small town in the South Island has the only dedicated curling rink in the southern hemisphere!

Lovely to see so many of the old buildings preserved too…

We then headed back out to the coast and based ourselves at the Mosgiel A&P Grounds (only 15kms to Dunedin’s CBD – can’t beat that in the big smoke!) to get an overdue service done on the ute and checkout surrounding areas. We haven’t spent much time in Dunedin on previous visits and this time we happened to be in town when the annual markets were on. There was a fabulous buzz around the markets, with the main streets closed and a gorgeous blue-sky day for everyone to enjoy 🙂 Such amazing creativity on display.

We spent an afternoon wandering around the fascinating Toitῡ Otago Settlers Museum – this excellent centre has been developing for decades and is well worth a visit. One of the authors must be the right age to be an exhibit(!) since he grew up with the ringer washing machine on display, and used the twin-tub model when he started flatting! The Chinese Gardens are a wonderful quiet spot to relax for tea…

Of course we couldn’t be in Dunedin without visiting the Speights brewery – BeeGee’s grocery list is heavily invested in it 😉 Nothing like getting your beer in a 2litre plastic bottle and brown paper bag… Of course in these warmer climates one needs to stay hydrated, so the contents didn’t last too long…

One novelty for these north islanders is the number of beach and coastal spots you’ll find seals and seal lions. These critters can be pretty big – wouldn’t fancy swimming near any of them!

Our Dunedin wanders included the wonderful Botanic Gardens (includes aviaries) and for us this would be a favourite spot to visit any time of the year.

Anyway, if you’ve made it down this far you’ll be ready for a long drink from a brown paper bag 😉 We won’t wait quite so long before sending our next blog (maybe?), but would love to hear how your adventures are going…

Take care – Brent and Kaz