It's All About The Journey

Author: Brenda Verch

  • A long drive…

    A long drive…

    Today we left Queenstown prepared for a long drive.  The plan for the next two days is to make our way across the mountains and up the west coast of the south island.  By tomorrow afternoon we should be close to Abel Tasman National Park. 

    One stop we made was in Wanaka to see the famous “That Wanaka Tree”.

    The drive was on a narrow two lane road, often steep and windy, going up, down or across mountainsides or around alpine lakes.  Our little Jucy camper was a trooper and managed the drive, although slowly at times.   Libby was a great navigator and passenger.  She was either hugging the cliff-face of a mountainside or staring down into nothingness, I preferred being the driver. 

    We stopped along the way for pictures or to have break and some food.  And for anyone who likes to drive, this is something you would enjoy.  Our first night we spent in a free ocean front campsite at Greymouth.  It had a rocky shoreline and we watched the surfers and the sunset. 

    The drive the second day wasn’t as long as the first and we were able to make a couple of stops along the way. The first stop was to see the Pancake Rocks.

    The second stop of the day was to walk across a swing bridge. There are many suspension bridges in New Zealand but we had not seen one yet.

    We arrived  late afternoon on the second day in Kaiteriteri, where we are spending two nights.  Our campsite is across the road from a sandy beach and it is popular as there are many families holidaying.  The weather is hot and sunny, 30C, and the locals are complaining because it hasn’t rained in over a week. 

    Tomorrow we are off to visit Abel Tasman National Park.

  • Milford Sound

    Milford Sound

    After a very rainy night we were happy to see sunshine for our Milford Sound excursion. We boarded the tour bus at 7:00 am for a more than five hour drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound. The bus stopped along the way to allow us to take pictures.

    The drive itself wound its way along mountain sides and around lakes, and I was glad that I got to be a passenger and take in the scenery. The mountains and the valleys were spectacular. Milford Sound is located in Fjordland National Park and is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is misnamed as it is actually a fjord, not a sound. Apparently Milford Sound sounds better than Milford Fjord?!? The sound opens up into the Tasman Sea and New Zealand itself is located in the South Pacific Ocean.

    We saw many sheep, and cows, and deer. Sheep were once the staple of New Zealand farmers but now many have converted to dairy cows or deer. While there were once 70 million sheep in New Zealand, there are now 27 million. The deer are farmed as a solution to an overpopulation of wild deer. All mammals that now live in New Zealand, except for a couple of species of bats, have been introduced and many are considered pests. The New Zealand government is committed to eradicating them and residents are encouraged to kill opossums, rabbits, rats, and weasels because these animals are destroying bird and plant species. We saw a lot of squished opossums and rabbits on the roads!

    After the long but beautiful drive we arrived in Milford Sound and boarded our boat for a two hour cruise. The cruise itself was windy and wet as we got close to a few waterfalls, but it also started to rain. Milford Sound is a must see if you are ever in New Zealand.

    The drive back to Queenstown was shorter, about four hours, with less stopping. But still as picturesque.

  • Oamaru to Queenstown

    Oamaru to Queenstown

    We left Oamaru on Saturday morning and made our way to Queenstown. As we turned inland the roads became windier and hillier. Eventually we were in mountains and were driving through Lindis Pass.

    We stopped along the way to take pictures of the scenery and had a snack of freshwater salmon sashimi at Lake Pukaki. In the distance, at the far end of the lake, and covered in clouds, is Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand.

    Our campsite in Queenstown, Lakeview Holiday Park is our home for the next two nights. Queenstown is a report town and is crowded with tourists. There are hundreds of restaurants and services catering to us. For dinner we went to Fergburger.

    Queenstown is also known as the adventure capital with bungy jumping, paragliding, zip lining, jet boating, and so much more. We would have liked to do one of these activities (probably the jet boat) but our time here is limited and we chose to book a day trip to the Fjordland National Park and Milford Sound. Thats where we will be tomorrow.

  • Penguins

    Penguins

    Today was the day we picked up the camper van. We rented a small camper from Jucy Rentals. It’s bright green and purple and is just big enough for me and Libby.

    We arrived on time to pick it up but it wasn’t ready for us. The Jucy shuttle dropped us off at a local shipping area and we had some breakfast and bought our groceries.



    Libby getting out groceries out of the trundle.

    Then back to Jucy we went, were the van was waiting for us.

    We said goodbye to Christchurch and drove to Oamaru. The drive went well and I was happy to get my first few hours of driving on the other side of the road on some straight flat roads.

    We chose Oamaru so we could see penguins. The blue penguins that live in the Oamaru area are the smallest penguin. Most average around 10 pounds. Our activity of the day was a visit to the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony. The penguins return to land at sunset after spending the day at sea feeding. The “show” lasted a few hours and included a talk about the penguins and watching the penguins return. They trickled in slowly over two hours in small groups or rafts. We had to be very quiet and there was no photography allowed. So the pictures I posted are of the post cards I bought.

    On the walk back to our campsite we came across penguins that were making their way back to their nests. They live in the area but outside of the sanctuary. We watched them as they waddled home for the night.



    Oamaru coastline
    Wharf in Oamaru

    Oamaru, view towards the penguin colony

    Dinner time, we found a brew pub a short walk from our campsite.

    A few more pictures from Omaru. The birds are called Shags, they are different species of Cormorants. We also saw our first seals.

  • And we are off to New Zealand

    And we are off to New Zealand

    We left San Fransisco around 11:00 pm on Tuesday January 22 and arrived in Aukland, New Zealand on Thursday January 24. Sorry mom, I missed your birthday! The flight was long but I managed to sleep for at least half of it so it wasn’t as intolerable as I thought it would be. We didn’t leave the airport in Aukland but made our way through customs and a screening of what we were bringing into the country. Everything was ok except for the dirt on our shoes from the redwood hike in California. Not a big deal though, they washed the shoes and we were off. It was back to check in and security for our next flight. We flew from Aukland to Christchurch, which is our starting point for our camper van experience. We checked into a hotel (will pick up van tomorrow), after the flights a bed and a shower were in order. But, that had to wait as we wanted to explore Christchurch. We got an Uber to the centre of Christchurch and hopped on the tourist tram which gave us an overview of the city.

    We were so happy to be off the plane and out of the airport. Libby couldn’t resist trying the bean bags.

    Riding the Christchurch Tram.

    A city under construction…

    Christchurch was severely damaged by earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 and while much has been repaired there is still much to do.

    The infrastructure was severely damaged after the earthquakes and residents had to improvise and make outdoor toilets, or as they have called them, “long drops”. The last photo above shows shipping containers being used as a protection barrier wall at a damaged building.

    But many areas have been restored and Christchurch is a nice introduction to New Zealand for us.

    Then it was off to bed, even Canga was exhausted.
  • Our last day in California.

    Our last day in California.

    Libby and I spent our last day in California visiting San Fransisco. We started early and caught the Cal Train from Mountainview (where Lloyd and Kathy live) into San Francisco. Our first activity in San Fransisco was to ride the cable car.

    We then spent some time walking around Fisherman’s Wharf and Lombard Street.

    We could have spent hours watching the sea lions at Pier 39, but the smell got to us!

    Libby and I split up for a few hours and she wandered around Fisherman’s Wharf and the beach area, people watching and reading. I went to Alcatraz.

    San Fransisco skyline from Alcatraz.
    Golden Gate Bridge from Alcatraz.

    Our final activity in California was a seafood dinner on Pier 39 with our amazing hosts. We watched the sunset over the wharf and had views of the sea lions and Alcatraz.

    Thank you Kathy and Lloyd and Mooney and Lexi, for making the us feel at home in California, for acting as tour guides and for making the start of our adventure, one we won’t forget.


  • Drive along the coast.

    Drive along the coast.

    We spent our third day in California driving along the coast to Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea, and Big Sur.

    The Big Sur drive was along a windy coastal road with many steep drop offs. The views were stunning.

    Our next stop was in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Many of the homes were straight out of a fairy tale.

  • Fog and rain and the Golden Gate Bridge…

    Fog and rain and the Golden Gate Bridge…

    The day began with a great deal of discussion about what we would do because rain was in the forecast. It was finally decided that we would drive into San Francisco to see Lands End, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Marin Headlands. Mooney and Lexi joined us for the day.

    Posing with the dogs at Sutro Baths Look at that sunshine, it didn’t last.

    Point Lobos and the Sutro Baths at Lands End in San Fransisco was our first stop. The sun might come out?!? The ocean was rough with high waves.

    As we continued we finally caught site of the Golden Gate Bridge. The first pictures are taken from Lands End and then we drove across the bridge to the Marin Headlands, where the last few pictures were taken. We managed to snap a few pics and then the fog rolled in, within minutes we could hardly see the bridge. Because of the shutdown of the US government many national sites are not accessible, including the Marin Headlands.



    Second day in California and second slug sighting!

    Chilly, rainy day and there were still people surfing. Brrrrrrrrr. Pictured are some California surfer dudes who had just finished for the day. They were covered head to toe. Our walk on the beach was short but Lloyd insisted on getting his feet wet (zoom in for his reaction to the cold water).

    Final stop of the day was a quick visit to Stanford, Lloyd’s alma mater. Libby and I are posing in front of Palm Drive and then in front of Memorial court, with the Main Quad and Memorial Church in the background. Canga the Goose was right at home in the rainy weather.

  • Walking with the giants…

    Walking with the giants…

    We arrived in San Francisco to a warm greeting from Kathy and Lloyd Smith and are enjoying their hospitality.

    Our first adventure was a day long excursion and hike in a redwood forest, http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=546

    We were greeted at the park entrance, Cali style.
    It’s a looooong way up!

    It had been raining for days in the San Fransisco area but was warm and sunny for our hike. The wet trees were steamy with the hot sun beating down on them.
    Lunch from the lookout.
    Making our way back down
    Marko spotted a banana slug.

  • And we’re off…

    The day has finally arrived. We’re saying goodbye to snowy cold Ottawa and heading for warmer weather.

    Also, we’re not travelling alone! A stuffed Canada goose is coming with us. She needs a name so we are looking for suggestions.

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