We’re hightailing it north after temps in our remote camping spots have been steadily dropping – Kaz has even been test driving a few beanies! (click on any blog pics for a larger-size image)
Even with the lower temps it’s amazing the number of folks still tenting. We don’t think the tiny “camper vans” (station wagons?) would be much fun in the cold or after a few days rain either! Let us know if you need tips on how camping’s meant to be done ????
What wrong with this picture?
We dodged the Covid bullet for three years, were vaccinated up the wazoo and been away from big groups for over six months… so virus infections haven’t been top of mind. One of our first forays into a larger crowd (only 130 people on a boat) kicked us into isolation – but more on that later…
So what have we been up to since our last blog? Most of our time has been in Southland and Otago so not surprising things are cooling down (we talked about the shaded bits below in our earlier blogs)
The Catlins, in the low-eastern part of the South Island, are always an interesting area to visit. There hasn’t been significant rain here for a while so the waterfalls are a little less exuberant – we aren’t complaining about the fine weather though! ????
Just across the road from our Catlins DOC camp was this treasure. We didn’t quite know what to expect popping into the “Lost Gypsy Gallery” but what a creative genius – much of the work on a tiny scale.
We’ve only shown a couple of the examples…
McLean Falls – one of the more popular spots to visit.
We interrupt this screening to talk about why it’s always a good time caravanning when the mixer shows up! Can’t beat banana loaf with the morning coffee – yummmm! ???? You may want a little less butter if you’re watching your weight 😉
From the Catlins we headed into Gore. Our first time visiting – official home of country music in NZ (numerous hand prints beneath the guitar statue) plus considered by some as “Brown Trout Capital” of the World! We were impressed by the lovely garden spaces, both along the streets and the main public garden. Like many small towns it has some impressive wall murals – the memorials on the RSA building (opposite a memorial in the park for fallen soldiers) are vivid reminders.
Invercargill and Bluff – Brent had an optician appointment in Invercargill (google reviews are certainly helpful to find reliable services when on the road!) so we stayed in the area (and then at Riverton) for a few days. Like Gore, we enjoyed wandering around the parks – gardens down this way often house aviaries so you get to see some of those birds that hide in the wild!
Bluff Hill was at its arctic best but always worth a visit. The EHayes hardware store has an extensive free-to-view collection of racing motorcycles, with pride of place given to a tribute to Burt Munro – it’s a fabulous spot to spend a lot of time.
We also popped into Demolition World, an “interesting” array of collected stuff from demo jobs. It did our heads in with all that dust and clutter! Marie Kondo would have a field day! ????
Riverton (below) – not far out of Invercargill is the beautiful wee town of Riverton, on the water. We wanted to stay close to Invercargill for a delivery so the Riverton Racecourse was just the spot for a couple of nights. Temps really dipped down but it made for some cool morning shots with the grandstands and 6am horse exercises!
From Riverton we visited a couple of beaches further along the coast – Colac Bay and Gemstone Beach. No gems, but Kaz added a few more “pretty rocks” to the collection ????
Lake Manapouri (below) – we decided to do the Doubtful Sound cruise (first time) and were rewarded with a stunning weather day! With a completely full tour (135 people onboard) it’s the largest group we’ve been part of for a while (and that had a small downside… but more on that later!)
The cruises across Lake Manapouri and Doubtful Sound were very smooth. Was interesting to see some of the loads coming back from the power station by barge. The hour-long bus trip between the two lakes gives a small indication of the challenges they dealt with building the power station. Was interesting to read some of the history of the dam, the huge engineering feats (and misses) and the major angst caused by some of the initial proposals.
There were few seals around and no dolphins, but that didn’t disappoint us – the scenery is magnificent! While not cheap options, staying on one of the boats for a night or two in the sounds would be fantastic in those conditions – being able to kayak and paddleboard and just enjoy the solitude. Let us know if you’d like our bank account number to donate to our next visit 😉
Mavora Lakes (below) – we’d been looking forward to a week kayaking and paddleboarding at this gorgeous spot. Unfortunately, the small downside of our Doubtful Sound trip was testing positive for Covid as soon as we arrived at the lakes. There’s probably few places nicer to be isolating at for seven days, although there’s no mob or broadband access if you need connections in a hurry. This location is definitely a favourite!
The drive into Mavora Lakes was a short 37kms of gravel – the caravan tows very well on all surfaces… although long 16% declines do bring out a few more grey hairs! (see the vid at the end of our “There and back again” blog 🙂
The second video below was a slightly backroad wander from our camp at Bannockburn (near Cromwell) to Clyde. Beats using the main highway! We didn’t meet anyone coming the other way… just as well since the road was a tad narrow!
Arrowtown (below) – we love the quaintness of this place. We last stayed here 5 years ago for our 25th wedding anniversary (had snow on the ground that time!) We splashed out and stayed at the Arrowtown Holiday Park as we needed to get a package delivered (although we could have left after one night, as it arrived the same day we did :-). The camp is only a short walk from the village and talk about a luxury setup! It was as close to the American “full hookup” arrangements as we get in NZ – the caravan connected to fresh running water (that’s safe to drink) and grey water piped directly into the drain! No need for military showers for a few days – was very hard to leave! 😉
Bannockburn (below) – after begrudgingly leaving Arrowtown (we’re cheap so wouldn’t have stayed in the campground too long!) we camped on a lifestyle block on the hills above Cromwell. Was a great base to explore Clyde, Cromwell and Alexandra (and finally find a hairdresser ;-). We had to get the obligatory peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums as well as apples that had just come into season.
We’ve continued checking out smaller towns and taking a few back roads. It’s interesting seeing how the different towns celebrate and preserve connections to the past.
Lumsden (below) – we only visited briefly but as usual it was worth walking to town and around the streets to get a feel for the place. They are seriously “motorhome friendly”, with numerous small vans taking advantage of the free camping facilities at the Historic Railway Station in the main street. Call us snobs but we were happy to camp in a less populated spot… 😉
Lawrence (below) – we were staying a short distance away at Gabriel’s Gully Historic Reserve, with another JBCaravan parked ahead of us! We saw enough sun there to wander the main street and read the interesting historical info boards (see caricatures below left). John Joseph Woods, a local head teacher and a Country Council clerk for decades, is perhaps best remembered for winning a competition to set “God Defend New Zealand” to music. Despite the heavens opening up we decided to explore the gravel backroads out to the Waipori River and came across a quaint set of baches called “Fish Camp” (far right pic)
Waimate (below) – while sometimes referred to as Wallaby capital this isn’t a badge of honour for some folks – sounds like they’re just as big a problem for the farmers as rabbits! There’s a few things to do on our next visit, including a walk up to Centrewood Park overlooking the town and coastal farmlands to see the iconic White Horse on the hill (no pics ‘cos we didn’t get there 😉
Lake Camp and Lake Clearwater – we’d heard of the “Ashburton Lakes” on our wanders and decided to pop into a freedom camp there for a few nights.
We thoroughly enjoyed the stunning scenery, gorgeous blue-sky days and even the cool nights!
Further down the gravel road is Mount Sunday, which featured as the capital of Rohan in Lord of the Rings (didn’t know that until we looked into why all the tourist vans stopped for one particular walk!) This lakes area could easily become a favourite visit spot.
[Below] We did a wander (minus the caravan) up to the Lake Coleridge PowerHouse and then to the end of the gravel road (as you do 🙂 to enjoy even more remote scenery and checkout a free camp provided by the power company. The wind was blowing a gale at the top end of the Lake so pleased we weren’t hanging around (bottom right photo below – haze caused by wind whipping up the river gravel particles). We found an offroad track and water crossing at the end of the road to keep the ute driver entertained 😉
We left the trotting club below this morning to get the caravan’s annual service in Ashburton (wot? how can we have owned it for 12 months already?!?). With 3-degree temps @11am it’s definitely time to head north! See ya in the next blog 🙂
Wow! Some great footage and accompanying music to boot.
There’s allot of old history you’ve both discovered to date as well as the lovely scenery you’ve captured. Appreciate the update(s) and sharing a snippets of your ‘daily grind’ – BK style. 🙂
Thanks Row – it’s interesting how different areas have developed and why, and sometimes how short their heyday was!
What an adventure! Beautiful photos, thanks for sharing!
Talei x
Thanks Talei 🙂 It’s such a stunning country to explore and there’s still so much to see!