The rugged beauty of the Catlins

Now the Catlins really are in the very South East corner of New Zealand and many tourists tend to bypass this area on their travels as it is a little off the 'beaten track'. Every local Kiwi we spoke to about the Catlins said they had heard it was lovely but actually had also not even seen it themselves as it was too far.

We are glad to say we made the effort to go and explore the area and we were absolutely rewarded. A very rugged, wild and quiet part of coastline. We have used this word before in the blog ... Stunning!!! :-) 

Nugget Point

Beach view from Purakaunui Bay campsite in the Catlins

'Stumbled' across these penguins whilst rock climbing

"Mirror view" at Lake Wilkie

A happy couple at  McLeans Falls :-)

Cathedral Caves

Another empty beach (think James scared everyone else off with his bird impression? ;-)

Curio Bay (petrified forest)

Wild coast in the Catlins

East Coast of South Island

Even though it is just the one highway hugging itself along the East Coast of the New Zealand's South Island, you will be amazed at the variety of nature and stunning sights around every single corner. Pictures speak for themselves! :-)

Seals everywhere on our way to Kaikora

Stunning coastal walk in Kaikora

Tidy-up operations in downtown Christchurch after the earthquake

Banks Peninsula (close to Christchurch)

Found a beautiful place for some freedom camping at Lake Pukaki

Lake Pukaki and its glacial water (looks "milky" doesn't it!)

View in the rear-view mirror of Vivian :-)

We really get spoiled with amazing camp spots - like this one at Lake Benmore!

Earthquake Rocks

Funny shaped Elephant Rocks

The "giant marbles" of Moureaki Boulders

Dunedin

The steepest road in the world (Dunedin)!

 

... and the most interesting part of Dunedin (Cadbury Factory - yummi!)

Quick rest at Otago Peninsula (close to Dunedin)

Ah-ha - We knew that James' family was famous somewhere in the world :-)

Tramp no. 1 - Queen Charlotte Trek

Tramping - aka, walking for multiple days in the remote mountains and wilderness of New Zealand with all of your food and accommodation on your back!!!

Having survived New Years (and being breathalised four times in an hour on News Years Day ;-) it was time to plan and make our first Tramp in New Zealand and what better place to start than a 4 day/3 night Tramp across the mountains in the very 'Sounds' which we had sailed through on our ferry trip to the South Island.

With Vivian safely parked up for the few days we jumped onto a 'water taxi' with our backpacks for our one hour speedy trip into the Sounds and to our drop-off point for the beginning of our Tramp. The plan being to then basicly walking back to civilization over the next 4 days.

Four days later, and with 71km completed on foot, we arrived safely back in Picton for a well deserved beer and shower. What an amazing walk with just stunning views and beauty around every corner and over every hill.

 

Then time to hit the road heading South...

2011

Having arrived in Picton on the 30th December what we had not realized was that they had experienced some really bad weather recently and that many roads in the area were closed due to mud slides etc. from the mountains.

Now, this was a complication we had not planned for especially as we had discussed the idea of spending New Years Eve on a remote campground in the middle of these stunning 'sounds', which would almost certainly require us driving across some very rough roads, even before the bad weather. Also, the camp grounds we were targeting, were very remote and basic too. These places did not have showers and kitchens and you would be lucky if they had a tap supplying dirty water and a 'long drop' toilet which I probably do not need to describe why it is actually called a 'long drop'... :o)

Having popped into the local information office in Picton to inquire about these campgrounds we were told that the one we wanted to go to would be impossible to get to. The road would be impassable due to the mud slides and extremely dangerous! Monika and I looked at each other when we heard the word "dangerous" and I could see she was thinking exactly what I was... let's go for it!!!

Check List:
Water tanks - full
Newly acquired BBQ - packed
Plenty of NZ lamb and steaks - in the travel fridge
Beer - Check
Wine - Check
Shots - Check

And off we went, not knowing what lay ahead of us.  One hour later we arrived at the campground, with not a single problem on the road and with not seeing a single car.

Apart from some local Kiwis who looked like they had been there at least a week we had the pick of the campsite for the best spot to park Vivian and settle in for New Years. And, WOW, did we find the most amazing view from our 'bedroom' window.

We started the BBQ at 6pm on New Years Eve and was still eating and drinking at midnight - our watches, and the cheers from the other campers, being the only way to synchronize midnight. Welcome to 2011 Monika, I love you!!!

 BIGGG English breakfast (alias life-safer ;-) the next morning

The land of the long white cloud

New Zealand with so much Maori culture and history before the so called Pahika (white man) claimed the land for the British Crown, courtesy of James Cooks discovery in the 1700's. Now you could argue that the Dutch actually had discovered NZ prior to Cooks landings, courtesy of their own Mr. Tasman who was too scared to land (long funny story) and that the Maoris did not actually own New Zealand anyway as they were immigrants in their own right, but this would be a long complicated digression from our travel blog :o)

So, back to New Zealand and what the Maoris refer to as the Land of the Long White Cloud - this from their own stories of canoeing over the horizon from their own remote islands in the Pacific and seeing the white clouds hanging over the mountains (which stretch the length of the South Island like a spine) of a remote land which they then went on to land and populate.

With Christmas being the peak period for all travel in New Zealand I had already decided that we would start our trip in the South Island and had pre-booked our Ferry to the South Island for the 30th December, giving us three days to travel the length of the North Island to be in time for the ferry.

Our first night after arriving was in a local caravan park, in the suburbs of Auckland, so we could both start to get used to Vivian and sleeping "in her". Luckily it was also a transit park for people returning their rental vans back to the airport the following day and gave us a great chance to begin 'acquiring' things for Vivian that people did not need anymore ;o)

With our first night over we hit the road heading South and with a stopover at some amazing caves for a bit of 'canyoning'.

We then headed further South to visit some old friends of mine, living near to Wellington, and from where we would catch our ferry the following day.  This also gave us a chance to experience our first bit of 'freedom camping', this is something which we will talk more about later on in our blog...

View from our "bedroom window" whilst freedom camping

Although a whirlwind road-trip so far, Monika had begun to get a feel for New Zealand. With the sun shining, early morning of the 30th, we boarded the ferry for the South Island and were treated to some amazing views and sights as the ferry sailed through the 'sounds' as we got closer and closer to our arrival port of Picton - I have said this before in the past, but this is still the most stunning ferry crossing I have ever experienced anywhere in the world.