Summer South Island Adventure Part 1

Oops - time's slipped away a little bit since our last trip! What with a three week holiday, returning to busy jobs, fitting in the final phases of our Ironman training and receiving a few visitors (more on that another time) we've been a bit hectic!

The Kiwi Christmas happens at the same time as the Summer holidays for kids, so it feels like the whole of NZ pretty much shuts down for a couple of weeks. Last year we headed down to the South Island for two sun kissed weeks. It was fun. So this time we headed down there in our trusty Carrie the Van for three weeks. Why not! 

First up, a 2 day dash down to Wellington for a bit of capital city culture. We're way behind on blogging, so I'll let the photos do most of the talking! Here's Sarah outside the NZ Parliament which we took a tour round. On the left is the Beehive, where the leading party has it's offices. On the right are the chambers, with the inside all modelled around the House of Parliament in London. 

Checking out the NZ Parliament

Catching the Funicular up Wellington's sleep slopes

And exploring the Botanical Gardens at the top

Planning our route at Te Papa,
NZ's National Museum

And what better way to end the day than a trip to the waterfront for a jar (literally) of beer and a kilo of crabs. I've never had crabs before. A lot of effort, but worth it...

YUM!

Back to the van, get not enough sleep at a roadside rest area and then onto the first ferry leaving the city across the Cook Strait for the South Island. Off the ferry and zooming through the Charlotte Sounds, Nelson and along to the Abel Tasman to get settled for 4 nights at a campsite in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately being on holiday didn't mean the training could stop - but it did mean we could train in much more beautiful areas running trails, exploring bays in our wetsuits and heading into the mountains on our bikes. Our campsite was right at the end of one of NZ's 10 "Great Walks," the Abel Tasman Coast Track. We caught a water taxi around the bays and ran the 35k back through lush rainforests and golden bays. Hot, but stunning!

Hot, but stunning!

Sending me over to test it first!

And the next day? A lovely ride out to Farewell Spit. It's supposed to be beautiful on a sunny day with the sandy bar reaching out as far as the eye can sea. On a drizzly day with the tide out, this is what we saw:

Sarah farewelling Farewell Spit

But summer holidays require Sunshine. So we woke up on Christmas Day to this stunner of a day - and headed straight down to the beach for a crackly phone signal home and a splash in the sea.

Merry Christmas!

And then back to the van for some champagne, sunshine and a three course dinner off the BBQ.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Even Carrie got a bit festive with a Rudolph outfit, bless her...

But with 4700km of roads to cover during our trip, we couldn't stay in one place for long. Next up, a trip down the wild West Coast with a few stops along the way. Here's Hokitika, home to the characters and story of NZ's Gold Rush as told in The Luminaries. A book that won a prize for books, called booker, so says Sarah. It's supposed to be good. So was the town.

It's all going off in Hokitika

And further down the coast to Okarito, the biggest surviving natural wetland in New Zealand. The campsite (owned and managed by the local villagers) was in an amazing spot, hidden in the bush behind the dunes. They must see some amazing sunsets - this was our flavour on the first night:

Okarito

With a full day to explore the wetlands, we hired a double kayak, packed plenty of bananas and got across the lagoon to start exploring up treelined gullies and swamps. All with a backdrop of the Southern Alps.

Loving life

Not the most dramatic view for lunch, but nice to be on land!

After a hard day paddling, the locals pointed us in the direction of the beach again for a fire made of the abundant driftwood. Sarah read for three hours. I burnt stuff.

Man making fire
(both points are debatable)

Keeping the reader happy

Further down the coast are the two famous glaciers; Fox and Franz Josef. The hike to both of them is stunning as you move up the steep sided glacial valleys. Even without it raining in a while, the waterfalls were still looking spectacular.

Outdoor shower anyone?

Sadly, Sarah was a bit ill after eating too many Skittles during the journey...

Poor girl...

How can you beat that for a view?

Oh - how about adding in a reflection?!

Sadly, the glaciers aren't quite so pretty when viewed close!

Leaving glacier country, we headed to Lake Matheson - famous for it's gentle stroll around the water and a stunning view of the mountains if the wind is kind.

The wind was kind.

Week 1 of 3 complete, next stop was Lake Wanaka for a practice Half Ironman followed by 5 days of relaxtion and recovery with our good friends Mark, Janelle, Nick and Kate (plus kids!)

Coastal views on the drive