Category: 2026

It rained for two days. We drove a loop inland in the hope of seeing something interesting. Mostly we saw damp fields and rain clouds. We passed through Roxburgh and Alexandra then headed for the east coast. A hydro-electric scheme held our attention briefly and I photographed another flower.

Heading north from Dunedin the weather started to show the first hints of clearing up. We stopped by a flooded lake for lunch and watched some rather soggy looking black swans. These birds are native to Australia but were introduced to several other countries by the Victorians for their decorative value. Then they escaped and went off to do their own thing.

Just up the road we arrived at the boldly named Shag Point. We drove down the narrow road in the hope of finding shags but instead we stumbled across a colony of fur seals. They were laying around, basking on the rocks. Not basking in the sun, it was cold and windy, just basking. They seemed very comfortable though. New Zealand fur seal is actually a type of eared seal, or sea lion. Characterized by their pointed noses, long whiskers, and external ear flaps. Quite commonly found wherever there is a rocky coast in New Zealand. There was a nice set up with a viewing platform on the end of a rocky ridge. We could watch the seals from here without disturbing them.

This section of coast was proving fruitful for things to see. A little further north we came across the Moeraki Boulders. Large, roughly spherical boulders up to 2 m across scattered around the beach. Clearly popular with tourists who like to stand on top of them and take a selfie. The boulders, grey-coloured septarian concretions, consist of mud, fine silt and clay, cemented by calcite. They grow over millions of years deep in the mud under the sea. The bulk of a boulder is riddled with large cracks, septaria, that radiate outward from a hollow core lined with scalenohedral calcite crystals. Some of the rocks have cracked open revealing a complex and interesting interior.

In the evening, at Oamaru, we went looking for little blue penguins. Also known as fairy penguins. They are a marine neritic species that dives for food throughout the day and returns to burrows on the shore at dusk. Just after nightfall, the penguins at Oamaru pop out of the sea and head home – they live in burrows but also under people houses and in the bushes of gardens. Little Blue Penguins are the smallest of all penguins. They live around various locations in Australia and New Zealand where the suffer from the usual problems of predation, hunting and loss of habitat. Little penguins on Middle Island off Warrnambool, Victoria suffered terrible predation from foxes and were almost wiped out. They are now protected by Maremma sheepdogs and are recovering well. We spotted a few penguins. They were hard to see in the dark and the use of lights or flashguns is discouraged.

In the morning, we went to see the Elephant Rocks. These are a collection of large, weathered limestone rocks that ostensibly look like a herd of elephants. What I found most amazing was the number of people that came to look at them. Coach loads of people. The site was used in the film version of the Chronicles of Narnia. Even so, not genuinely very interesting.

We came across another wine growing area and this time decided to stop and try some. Sitting in a very nice garden which backed onto a field full of vines, we were served a flight of different wines. New Zealand whites are largely Sauvignon and smell of passionfruit. This is what makes it so popular. Easy drinking, dry, crisp, and very fruity. The Chardonnays can be a bit more interesting. Usually, some oak going on and notes of vanilla. Pinot Gris is possibly the most interesting with quince type flavours. All of this, I find moderately interesting but not exciting. I am very happy drinking New Zealand wine but have yet to find a wine with the “wow” factor. It is a matter of personal taste. For me, big, bold reds every time. The tasting did include a red, a Pinot Noir which also did nothing for me. Please do not be annoyed with me New Zealand, I have never been impressed by Burgundies either. We bought a bottle of white wine to have with dinner.

We continued inland which took us past some very impressive reservoirs. More hydro-electric power. There appears to be a lot of this in New Zealand. In the evening, we camped close to the curiously named Twizel, pop. 1800. The town was founded in 1968 to house construction workers on the Upper Waitaki Hydroelectric Scheme. These days tourists number three times as many residents in the summer. The name comes from the nearby Twizel River, in turn named for Twizel Bridge in Northumberland by John Turnbull Thomson, Chief Surveyor of Otago in the mid-19th century. The area has one of the world’s cleanest, driest, and darkest skies. Twizel is well known to astronomers.

Turning inland from the west coast took us over a mountain pass and towards the delicately named Wanaka. We paused on the way up to take photographs of flowers. I am not normally a photographing flowers sort of guy but the lupins here were spectacular. And purple. Mostly purple. Eventually, we managed to tear ourselves away from the blooming blossoms to only stop again at the top of the pass. Ours was just one van of many churning tourist vehicles constantly arriving and leaving the car park. With patience, we secured a parking place and took a short walk to maximise the viewing potential. It was lovely and quite spectacular. Terrific views across the lake to Wanaka. Not ideal for photographs. Partly because of the haze and partly because of the distracting abundance of Asian types taking selfies. I had to angle the camera quite carefully to make it look like we were there all alone.

Down the pass and along the picturesque Wanaka lake. We found the area was very crowded. Holiday central for New Zealand. Took us several attempts to find campsite with a spare pitch. Next day we made our escape and went deeper into the hills. We passed through Queenstown which appeared to be a very happening place. Then all the way along Lake Wakatipu to the end of the road town at Glenorchy. There was no room at the Inn, so we pushed on further up the valley. A small road gave way to a dirt track and eventually we arrived at a little DOC campsite. The Department of Conservation (DOC) is the government agency charged with conserving New Zealand’s natural and historic heritage. This means that they run campsites, maintain tracks and many, many other things. The campsites are generally basic and fairly remote. Nice places to stay in the wilderness. We booked and paid online then helped ourselves to a flat parking place.

From here we had a lovely walk up to Lake Sylvan. I was particularly impressed by the forest. Later, I discovered that the forest on the other side of the river, which looked just the same, was used as Lothlórien in the film version of Lord of the Rings. The “Golden Wood” is an ethereal Elven realm and home to Galadriel. The film was shot entirely in New Zealand. There is a thriving, if a little specialised, tourist business in showing people the various locations.

The hobbits never had problems with sandflies. Not that I ever noticed. We noticed them the next morning, however. The little savages were up about an hour before I was. By the time I got out of bed there were at least eight bites. All swelling and itchy. My loathing for sandflies runs deep. We had an abbreviated breakfast, applied ointment and set off back down the valley. An hour or so later, we took second breakfast by the banks of Lake Wakatipu.

Driving towards Te Anau, we were stopped by a man with a high visibility vest and a stop sign. Not just us, everyone was stopped and moved over to the side of a road. Several motorbikes came past and then an official car informing us of a cycle race. Fifteen minutes later the cyclists arrived. Like most road races, it was very exciting but for less than a minute. Then they were gone. No idea what the race was but it seemed quite professional. We brewed a cup of tea while all the parked cars attempted to get down the now open road at the same time. Then we continued to Te Anau.

Another serious tourist location. We walked along by the lake. Here you can have a flight in a float plane or a helicopter. You can go on a boat trip to a cave with glow worms and you can catch the water taxi to walk a footpath on the far side. We spotted a Tui – a medium sized nectar eating bird that is endemic to New Zealand. There were also some ducks and a few geese.

Milford Sound is justifiably famous for its sandflies. At the northern end of the Fjordland area, it is also the starting point for many walks and trips. The campsite there is expensive and also booked solid for the entire summer season. This was my excuse for not having to experience the sandflies. Instead, we did a day trip from Te Anau. The drive there is excellent. Mountains, lakes, waterfalls, forests and rivers. We stopped several times for short walks and just to take in the view. The road leaves Lake Te Anau and then climbs steadily up a long, broad valley. At the top is a single lane tunnel through the mountain barrier. This brings you out at a spectacular location near the base of a massive rock amphitheatre. From here the road drops steeply down to the port at Milford Sound.

The forests all along this road look very impressive. But they have problems. The native species are fighting for survival from predation by introduced rats, stoats and possums. The many endemic bird species appear to be especially vulnerable. Bats, frogs, lizards and giant land snails are also being driven to extinction. To counter this, the DOC have introduced their National Predator Control Programme. Poisoning and widescale trapping are being used to control the new predators. You can see evidence of this everywhere.

The next day we were heading south from Rivendell along the river Anduin. We skirted Fangorn Forest, didn’t see any hobbits but we did make a brief visit to a bird sanctuary. There were disappointingly few birds here but we did see some rare and endangered takahē. A flightless bird with striking blue-green plumage. Once thought to be extinct, the species was rediscovered in 1948 and is now the subject of New Zealand’s longest-running endangered species recovery programme. Next stop was the Clifden Caves. We had hopes of glow worms. When we got to the cave it seemed like more of a serious caving trip than we were prepared for. I went in a little way and stopped at the part where I was going to need to crawl through the mud.

In the morning, we stumbled across a wetland area which provided a nice walk. I also spotted a Silvereye, recognisable by their distinctive ring of white feathers around the eye and olive-green plumage.

The weather was getting worse. For two days it had been getting wetter and colder. As we arrived at the coast, later in the day, the rain really got started. We stood around for a while looking at some damp gulls and a cormorant. Then we headed off to try and find somewhere to camp.  

It was raining. We were at a quirky but pleasant campsite in the Nelson Lake national park. Particularly pleasant was the complete lack of sandflies and mosquitoes. Bliss. We stayed another day reasoning that driving in the rain was not ideal from a sight seeing perspective. Gave me a day to catch up the blog, answer emails and all that sort of housekeeping stuff.

Next day it was still drizzling but we set off anyhow. Ended up at the coast near Westport. In the morning, we headed out to Cape Foulwind. True to the principles of nominative determinism, there was a stiff, rain laden and slightly unpleasant breeze. Captain Cook named the point after his ship, the Endeavour, was blown quite a distance offshore from here. Undeterred, we followed signs to the Cape Foulwind Seal Colony and found a load of wet rocks. Looking more closely from the viewing platform we could see that some of the rocks were New Zealand Fur Seals. And they had pups. Fur seals were hunted to near extinction by the end of the 19^th century. Although protected now, they are still shot and occasionally culled, by fishermen. Possibly because they do not like the competition for a diminishing resource. I was happy watching the young pups. Some of them were only a few days old. There is a walkway along the cliffside high above the waves. This is a great way to stop people disturbing the seals while simultaneously affording a magnificent view. Bring your binoculars.   

Further south we came across the West Coast Treetops in the Mahinapua Scenic Reserve. This is a high-level walkway in the forest. We were actually just looking for a cup of coffee but this seemed like a fun thing to do. Also, there was a café. The walkway is 20m above the ground, so you get a good chance to peer down into the forest. There is also a tower, 47m, by which stage you are looking out over the forest. All quite fun and gave me a chance to photograph some ferns.

New Zealand is stuffed with ferns. The climate here is ideal, if you are a fern. The country’s long geographical isolation has allowed for the evolution of unique species, with 40% of the 200+ fern species found nowhere else. Tree ferns are endemic and in places create a complete forest on their own. I find ferns lovely to contemplate. Something about the geometric properties is remarkably satisfying. Fractal recursive self-symmetry is all about how the shapes repeat at different scales and play tricks with your eyes. It is also mathematical and practical. As the frond unfurls, it forms a widening spiral that approximates the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8…). The ratio between consecutive segments of the spiral often nears 1.618, known as the aesthetically perfect Golden Ratio. This allows the plant to pack the maximum number of fronds into a tight coil while ensuring each has optimal access to light and space once opened. Snapping out of my recursive ruminations, we had a coffee and got back on the road.

Franz Josef and Fox Glacier are where many people come to access the glaciers. Depending on personal preference, you can walk, climb, cycle and fly up in a helicopter. The weather was not great but even so the place was absolutely heaving with people. We are part of a great cloud of white motorhomes that circulates New Zealand every summer. Here was one of the big focal points, a concentration of vans, trucks, cars and people. We just kept going.

Several hours later, we eventually found a campsite with some space. We were getting into the popular tourist areas, so it might be time to start booking ahead.

It was late when we got to Christchurch. An evening flight plus a two-hour time difference meant it was gone midnight when we landed. We stayed at the airport hotel. A soulless Novotel, ideal for this sort of thing and literally a two-minute walk from the terminal. In the morning, we stayed in bed as long as possible. Made breakfast with minutes to spare and just caught last orders for omelettes.

A short taxi ride into Christchurch brought us to our apartment for the next week. A compact but quite sufficient sixth floor flat. Diane was delighted to find a washing machine and I was happy with the kitchen. Sometimes when an oven is specified, what you actually find is just a microwave oven. Even I cannot make good roast potatoes by microwave and we had the New Year to celebrate.

We spent the next few days looking around Christchurch. It is pleasant, clean, modern and not too crowded. Close to the flat was a park with a large botanical garden. We were very impressed with this and spent many hours wandering around. A large area of different plants and trees. All neat and tidy and labelled. There were numerous ponds, an area that felt like a jungle and a rose garden that Diane particularly enjoyed. The town centre was less captivating but still very clean and tidy. Tram lines ran all round the main shopping centre. The trams evoked an earlier age which lent a comfortable tourist vibe to the place.

New Years eve there was a free music event in the park. We considered this but eventually concluded it was aimed at a much younger audience. Instead, we retired to our comfortable abode, cooked a great meal, with roast potatoes, and, when the time came, watched fireworks from the balcony.

We like cable cars. Christchurch has a little gondola system about 15 minutes drive towards the coast. We hopped on a tourist coach to get there and were pleasantly surprised by the views. There was not really much to do at the top of the hill except take in the scenery and have a coffee. We wandered round the viewing platform. Found a short path to another viewpoint. Came back and ended up in the café – so we had a coffee.

Next day we set off to explore New Zealand properly. We collected a motorhome from Britz NZ. I had booked this via the internet months ago. At the time, I was not sure which company to use so I followed some recommendations. Turns out the company behind Britz, called Tourism Holdings Ltd, is the same company behind Maui, Apollo, Britz, Cheapa Campa, Mighty and Hippie Campers. I think this list covers most of the hire companies in NZ. Anyhow, we got a Ford van with a four-berth body. Not very big. Not very well equipped. The beds are fine for two people. The bathroom is usable. There is a fridge, a gas hob and an oven (for roast potatoes). I think the batteries would struggle to do more than one night of wild camping. There is no generator. Not even an inverter, so it is 12v only once you unplug from the mains. No complaints however, it is fine for our purposes. NZ appears to be an easy place for motorhomes. There are campsites everywhere.

We stocked up at the local supermarket then parked up at the local campsite. By the following day everything was sorted, packed into the motorhome and ready to go. We had bought far too much food. We always do. Hopefully, we can use it up over the next four weeks. The weather was hot and sunny. We were cheerful and optimistic. The only plan we had was to drive round South Island. We set off in an anti-clockwise direction.

Kaikoura is the place to go whale watching. However, as we discovered, you really need to book this in advance and be set up to stay there for a couple of days. We noted this as a future possibility and drove inland to make a loop around Nelson Lakes National Park. At Maruia Springs we stopped at a very basic campsite. By basic, I mean it had no facilities at all other than a box to put money in. It was cool up in the hills which I enjoyed. We had a short walk and found a scientific experiment. This was a short, low wall. It extends much further into the ground. It is designed to measure tectonic plate movement and sits right across an important fault line. So far, nothing has happened. I think, one day, there will be an earthquake and then the wall will crack and the two parts will be offset from each other.

After the excitement of the wall, we settled into the van and then discovered the sand flies. These are nasty little bastards. They have nothing to do with sand. Small, black and numerous. The females like to feed on blood so that they can lay more eggs. Our van has mosquito screens on all the vents and windows but these are not particularly effective against the small sand flies. They bite. Not like mosquitos that stick you with a sharp mouthpart, but by sawing at your skin until the blood flows. Then they give you a good dose of anti-coagulants and drink the blood. This is messy and painful. There will be bleeding and soreness. Swelling and discomfort that can last for days. Diane seemed particularly vulnerable and started swelling up all over the place.  

By morning, we were quite clear that we wanted to avoid sandflies. We pressed on north and found a lovely campsite by a river. We asked and were told that there were only a few sandflies around. This proved to be mostly true, although there were still more than I would have liked. Instead, in the morning, we got attacked by bumble bees. Maybe not actually attacked but an awful lot of great big bees decided that they really, really liked hovering around our van. I quite like bees but even so, that many little buzzers was a bit disconcerting. Fortunately, our mesh was quite adequate to keep bees out so we only had to deal with the persistent humming and strange presence of a swarm of bees.

Northeast took us through the vineyards of Marlborough. This is where 75% of New Zealand’s wine is made. Rich green rows of vines lined the road for mile after mile. It is an impressive sight.

Further on we came to the port of Picton where the ferry to North Island leaves from. Moving on, we followed the coast road to Nelson and then right up to the north. Here the road makes a dramatic detour up into the mountains. A lookout close to the highest point gave us some splendid views.

We dropped back down to the coast and eventually arrived at the interestingly named Farewell Spit. A spit of land, predominantly a sandbank and the most northerly part of South Island. For some reason, some whales have a problem with this spit and end up stranded on it. Keeps happening. Often, they can get themselves back into the ocean. Sometimes they need help and occasionally they die there. A few days earlier some fifteen pilot whales had been stranded. A couple of them died and the carcasses were still on the mud flats. This was all a bit sad.

That evening, on a very small campsite, we got attacked by mosquitoes. It was our own fault. Having asserted that there were no sandflies around, we relaxed and left the van door open. An hour later, just after dusk, the van filled up with mosquitoes while we were busy watching a film on my laptop. Never even noticed the little buggers sneaking in. We had a fly swatter and it did the job. The downside was all the blood and mosquito splats on the wall.