February 13, 2016. Southeast South Island

CAMPGROUND:  Freedom camp south of Dunedin.  Free.  Both self-contained and non self-contained along beach.  Just a parking lot.  Surprisingly ok toilets.  Dishwashing area.  

LOCATION:  Near Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand

WEATHER:  Cooler. Highs in 60s

We had breakfast in the communal kitchen from last night's nice holiday park.  George pretended to pump gas with this antique.

We drove through a valley filled with vineyards, wineries, cows and lots of sheep until we hit the east coast.  We stopped in a little town famous for its cheese and bought their signature blue cheese. 

We stopped in another town famous as a Victorian village and visited their shops and brewery.

Seals were sunning themselves at this rocky point along the way..

We found this freedom camping area a little south of Dunedin.  It has a section for non self-contained vehicles, and it was already full when we arrived.  We were the only one in the certified, self-contained section.  Then the vans kept arriving, disregarding the 2 sections.  It became jam-packed with cars and vans, mostly really beat up vehicles.  I think we are the only people older than 25.  A real hippie town!

DINNER:  Spaghetti using the leftover lamb meatballs from the other night.  I added a tomato and green onion.  Since it is summer here, there are nice tomatoes and sweet corn available.  I topped the spaghetti with a wee bit of the blue cheese we bought today.  Yum!

February 12, 2016. Part 2

We found this lovely holiday park next to a lake popular among New Zealanders for fishing and water sports.  Each site has its private toilet and shower.  Really nice!  

 

It was still hot, so we went into a nearby town.  Our campervan is equipped with a tourist radio that tells us about the places we drive through.  Quite nice.  It also has commercials, and a winery nearby had been advertised, so we decided to go there.

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We sat outside in the shade and enjoyed one of their Pinot Noirs.  It is also a salmon fishing place with salmon and trout farms.  You can catch a salmon and they will smoke it for you.  Unfortunately, due to the unusual heat wave, the pond water was too hot as the salmon were on the bottom cooling off.   We bought a fillet from them and a package of smoked salmon.  We watched the owner feed the trout.

Back at the holiday park, George grilled the salmon on the BBQ.

 The commercial kitchen is very nice.   I put all our refrigerated goods in the refrigerator, since our little cooler struggles in this heat.  I froze some water bottles to put in the cooler tomorrow.  The kitchen was full of people cooking and washing dishes.  Everyone was curious about us, and chatted us up.   Most of the campers are local, just spending the weekend by the lake.  

DINNER:  Grilled salmon.  Side was rice and a salad made with cucumbers in Greek yogurt.  

February 12, 2016. Towering Mount Cook

CAMPGROUND:  Lake Benmore Holiday Park.  A commercial park with private showers and toilets.  Communal kitchen, laundry.  $30/night.  4 stars

LOCATION:  About 80 kms south of Mount Cook

WEATHER:  Hot and sunny. High about 85

We woke up at our Freedom Campsite and had  breakfast near the van.  

We are allowed to stay in these free sites since our van is "certified".  

We took a walk around the park, and read a map of the park area.  We discovered why we were the only campers doing  Freedom Camping ......we were in the WRONG spot!  

We walked around the town, found a pharmacy, and bought bug spray as we've heard the sand fleas are bad near Milford Sound.

Then, we drove about 200 kms to Mount Cook, featured in my book "1000 Places in the World to Go Before You Die".  It is the highest peak in this part of the world.  Here in the Southern Hemisphere, it is the equivalent of August, yet the mountain stays snow-covered year round.  We stopped at this viewpoint.  The bright aqua color of the lake comes from glacier melt.

We drove to the foot of Mount Cook where there are hotels and restaurants.  It was too hot (85) to hike and too crushed with Chinese tourists, so we left.  We could have camped here, under a glacier, but it was too hot and too early to stop.  

So, we drove southeast toward the coast where we will make a clockwise-trip around the South Island,  

This valley is famous for its Merino sheep.  We stopped at this sheep-shearing place.

See next post.

February 11, 2016. Heading south on South Island

CAMPGROUND:  Another Freedom camping spot.  In Caroline a Bay, outside of Timaru.

LOCATION:  About 100 kms south of Christchurch

WEATHER:  Very nice.  Highs around 70

We had muesli breakfast at the Akaroa Freedom Camp.  Our South African neighbors joined us and gave us some helpful hints about camping and sightseeing.  He showed me an iPad app that helps campers find these Freedom Camp sites.  

We took a "tourist route" out of Akaroa that took us high in the hills, overlooking the harbor.  Another cruse ship had come in during the night.  The views were spectacular, but unfortunately, George liked to look at the views, while driving, and  we almost went in the ditch! 

We drove around Christchurch's harbor, then headed south.  We plan to make a big loop around the South Island.  We have almost 3 weeks to do it.

We stopped in a cute town and used the library's internet and found a grocery.  I just love the New Zealand accent, and some of their different words.  In the grocery, I grabbed a trundler (grocery cart) and found....

Aubergines (eggplant)

Corgettes (zucchini)

Rocket (arugula)

Capsicum (bell pepper)

Plunger coffee (coffee for a French press)

Coriander (cilantro)

And my favorite.......loo paper!

We stopped overnight near a beach that the South Africans had recommended.  They said little penguins come up on the surf nightly.  We were unsure that this Freedom Camp was legit as we were the only ones here, and there was no signage.  

We are next to a shipping yard.  We set up our lawn chairs, unscrewed (not uncorked) a bottle of Sauvigon Blanc, and watched them load thousands of containers on the ship.

DINNER:  Italian lamb meatballs with sautéed onions and cauliflower.  Tomato/cucumber salad on the side.  I added some peas that I bought the other day that need to be used up.  With our tiny cooler, we have to shop about every other day and buy small quantities.  Alas.....there is no room in the cooler for George's beer!  

The penguins were a no-show.  

February 10, 2016. Akaroa Harbour

CAMPGROUND:  Freedom camping in boat ramp area.  Picnic tables and public loo nearby.  No other facilities.  Free!  4 stars

LOCATION:  Akaroa, near Christchurch, New Zealand

WEATHER:  Beautiful. Highs in 70s

We decided to stay another day, but moved from the commercial park to this free camping spot.  Called Freedom Camping, these sites are all over the country.  Since we have a certified self-contained campervan (meaning we have a porta-loo and sink), we can stay free at these places.

We strolled around town, then went on the harbor cruise.  

We saw lots of wildlife including the world's smallest dolphins.

They frolicked along our wake.  Then, we saw the world's smallest penguins....look more like ducks.

The cruise lasted about 2 hours, and brought us back to the harbor.

The town is super cute, with a French heritage.

We went to a locals' pub and George met a real character....

DINNER:  Back at the campervan, we cooked dinner on our single burner.  Even though this is a coastal town, we could not find any fresh fish to cook.  So, I made a stir-up with canned tuna, garlic,  peas, green onions and rice.

February 9, 2016. On to New Zealand's South Island

CAMPGROUND:  Akaroa Top 10 Holiday Park. Commercial park. Great facilities....community kitchen, BBQ, picnic tables, showers, nice toilets, dump station, and laundry. $35/night.  4 stars

LOCATION:  Akaroa, New Zealand on the South Island. On a peninsula outside of Christchurch

WEATHER:  Very nice.  Cooler and less humid than the North Island

Our friend Ken zipped us to the Auckland airport in his jazzy convertible.  Our flight from Auckland to Christchurch was about an hour at about noon.

We picked up our rental camper-van in Christchurch. .  The company is German and everyone is German.  Our campervan is very compact.  The back part is a bed that can turn into a dinette.  The tiny loo is tucked under the bed.

The kitchen is in the back.....one gas burner, a drawer for storage and a sink.  It came with linens, cookery and plates.

I thought my refrigerator in the Airstream was small, but this is minuscule!  An electric cooler that plugs into the cigarette lighter.

We drove about an hour outside of Christchurch.  We have to get accustomed to driving on the left.  It is pretty scary.  The newspaper is full of stories about tourists in car crashes as they forget about driving on the left.  Also, many Chinese tourists have never even driven before.  

The drive to Akaroa was beautiful, mostly through farm country with cows and sheep grazing in the fields.  Then, over a mountain, and the Akaroa Harbour was below.  A cruise ship was anchored in the bay.  I can't imagine what it is like when a few thousand tourists disembark into this village of about 500 people.

We found the village's grocery store and bought provisions for dinner and tomorrow's breakfast.  Then, we found a local pub with some older folks  having a pint.....actually each one had an entire pitcher!

We got set up at the holiday park (RV park) and walked to the communal kitchen to cook and eat our dinner.

DINNER:  Braised lamb loin chops.  Onion/buttered spaghetti on the side, with a salad.  

February 8, 2016. Super Bowl Monday!

LOCATION:  With friends in Auckland, New Zealand

WEATHER:  Mostly sunny. Highs in 70s

With the time zone differences, the Super Bowl started (live) at noon today, Monday.  We took the bus downtown to join the American Club watching it at a bar on the harbor.  

Waitangi Day was Saturday, but since that is a weekend, today is considered a holiday, too.  So, there were lots of people out.

We had traditional USA snacks.....sliders and nachos during the game.  The only disappointment was that the commercials did not show, as they aren't licensed here.

During part of the game, I took a walk around the nearby harbor.  This is where the mega-yachts are moored.

This one was featured in the newspaper.  It is owned by a Chinese eccentric who entertains movie stars like Leonardo DeCapriio on the yacht.  No sign of Leo or Paris Hilton today....

After the game, we took the bus home.  Our friends live just one block from another beach where a regatta was going on for the holiday.  This Maori boat was being displayed.

We had rotisserie chicken and salad for dinner, enjoying our final meal here on the deck.