Report26 February
By Steef

That was another wet night. Fortunately, the kitchen of this camp is well provided, we eat inside. After a visit from a journalist from the local newspaper, we are on our way again.

rain at night

monarch butterfly

kitchen

reporter

The rivers are quite full, which is clearly visible when we drive over the many bridges. The water flows quickly and is gray from the sludge.

local flowers

Waimakariri river

Waimakariri

We have lunch on the wide bed of the Hurunui river. To come there we have to drive down on a steep road.

yellow bird

lunchbreak at the Hurunui river

Hurunui river

Occasionally the Land Rover is leading because of the steep hills.
Slowly the clouds give way to the sun.At the Balmoral campsite we can even dine in the sun.

wet towl

The Landrover up front

campkitchen

Balmoral Camping

Report 25 February
By Steef

Around half past nine we are expected to be at a meeting point near our campsite. A tour ride has been organized. We meet a number of old acquaintances. Including Kathryn from Christchurch, she rides with Dirk and Trudy. The ride goes through the suburbs and industrial districts of Ashburton. At lunchtime we drive to the estate of Donald and Carol Williamson. Here large white tables are prepared with coffee, tea and all kinds of delicious cakes. The owner talks about the origins of the estate and invites Dirk to take a ride on his Benz 1887.
The next stop is Bruce Mc Ilroy’s garage. There you bring your Bentley or Rolls Roys for a maintenance break.
Here is a photo report of this day.

Report 24 February
By Steef

On this beautiful morning we go to Ashburton on the way, where we have an appointment with Chris Dyer who we have already met in Christchurch. He organized another tour in the morning of 25 February. Again we drive past Lake Pukaki.

morningcamp

travelers

Lake Pukaki

may I take a picture

And then along the Dalgety Range, an incredibly broad plain with the allure of a vast yellow prairie. Here and there are some black cows, around us a ring of snowy peaks. There is no farm or shed anywhere.

prairie

Beyond Lake Tekapo we stop for lunch and coffee.

lunch break

After Burkes Pass we see habitation and agricultural activities again.
Sloping pastures with yellow flowers appear. Left and right we pass fields with live venison steaks.

yellow flowers

We want to drink tea somewhere on a country road. A woman comes out of her garden to look at those two strange cars. She invites us to come and drink something with her. A little later we sit at the tea at her wooden house in the garden. Her name is Sally and she has a dog and a half blind cat who walk around us. We play something on her guitar and then she draws on a piece of paper how we can get to Geraldine in a different way, because the road we wanted to take is closed.
“The Seven Sisters” is important. This is what makes traveling so attractive, the encounters with all kinds of different people, we reach Coronation Holiday Camp.
In time to eat with the club.

Report 23 February
By Steef

Before we continue this morning to Mount Cook, we first want to see the famous Moeraki Bolders, which are located further on the beach. They owe their fame to the fact that they are almost completely round stones that can be seen at low tide. When we walk up to the beach they seem to lie a long way further, surrounded by groups of tourists. Trudy makes a zoomed picture and then we dig up to the mountains at the Ben Ohau Range.

Moeraki bolders

Here are some photos taken on the way.

wheel check

cows

mountains

hands on the wheel

globe

In the afternoon we reach Lake Pukaki. The water has an incredible azure blue color that does not look too good on the picture. It is reminiscent of the color of floating icebergs in Antarctica. The vastness of the surrounding panorama is overwhelming while we keep the entire length of the lake on our right.

approching Lake Pukaki

Pukaki 1

Pukaki 2

along the lake

Mount Cook

The campsite at Mount Cook Village is so full that we drive back a lot to the previous camping where there is space. It is dry weather so after the drinks we quickly put up the tent.

Report 22 February
By Steef

This morning Brian and Marian bring us to the: Wolly Goat, a cafe outside of Dunedin to help us on our way. After the coffee and the pastries, we say goodbye.

the Wolly Goat

cakes

Dirk puts the fan back on the Ford and Greetje and Trudy discuss the route, then we go back through the beautiful landscape. At first the low hills seem to be tufted with a short grass cover. The area gets rougher later that morning. Coarse boulders seem scattered over the hills.

fan

which way

landscape 1

landscape 2

landscape 3

landscape 4

landscape 5

We search and find The Moonlight Road. For the first time we see a roadside full of yellow flowers. White butterflies flutter in front of us. At a high hill with a single tree we stop for coffee.

flowers and butterflys

Dirk

tree on the hill

Later in the afternoon we see the skins of wild boar hanging over the barbed wire. We estimate that there must be a hundred or so in about a kilometer
barbed wire. With some, the seat is still on the skull, their teeth bared in a frozen grin.

wild boar skins

wild boar

On the way we stop at a beautiful panorama and we take a picture from the moving car of a bright yellow house.

yellow house

vieuw

At half past six we enter Motorcamp Moeraki. Before the tent is set up we first go to Katiki Point to see if there are any penguins to spot. We see three, but more surprising are the seals that are puffing on the sun-warmed kelp.
Some have even crawled up and are dawling on the grass ignoring the Chinese and Dutch tourists.

seal on the beach

penguin

very close sea lion

Katiki point

Sunset over Moeraki

Report 21 February
By Steef

Still rain but slept well. After breakfast we celebrate Dirk’s birthday because he has turned 66. Dirk continues to work on the Ford, Greetje Steef and Trudy go to the city by bus. We visit some shops and have lunch at a cafe in Prinsess street.

busstop

bustour

grafitti

wool

funshop

pinguin

For dinner we were invited by friends of Brian and Marian, Bob and Myra.
It has become a very nice evening again, The hospitality of these people is heartwarming. We will also be sleeping at the same address again this night.

Bob and Myra

Dirk and Marian

invited

Report 20 February
By Steef

Rain, rain, rain. This time we do not have to leave on time so we can lie down and listen to the rain on the roof of the roof tent. I work on the reports in the building of the campsite, two German girls are curious about it. In the tent we try to keep it a little cozy, but it is no big fun.

camping

friends in the kitchen

n the tent

We have an appointment today with Brian and Marian McConachie in Dunedin. When we call them they invite us to stay overnight in their house. What a luck. We drive back through a rainy Portobello. The road along the water is beautiful but the rain spoils everything. Arrived at their house the Ford refuses. Exactly at the right time. The spring of the bendix is broken. Brian has a nice workshop where the spring can be replaced.

helping hand

hobby time

broken spring

Just a quick interview with a lokal newspaper.

quick interview

Then we have a pleasant evening with the family.

an evening with the family

Report 19 February
By Steef

This morning Pete and Matt leave for Five Rivers (where later Cyclone Gita would strike). Dirk has another surprise for Graeam  a very special T-shirt. Graeme quickly conjures up a shirt for Dirk. After a short interview with a local newspaper, the Ford trip is prepared with very special oil from Graeme.

t shirts

interview

special oil

Then it’s time to say goodbye to Robyn and Graeme Young. They have offered us an unforgettable stay.

goodbey Robyn and Graeme

After coffee we head for Dunedin. The landscape here is very green and hilly. Cows and sheep speck the round tops of the hills and the colorful packed hay bales lie like straight dotted lines in the landscape.

landscape 1

landscape 2

sheep 1

sheep 2

When we arrive at the sea we stretch the legs after a cup-a-soup. Large balls of kelp lie like mysterious sea creatures on the white beach.

pause

sea

sea creature

After a winding road over the High Cliff Road of Otago Peninsula we set up the tent at motor camping Portobella. There are many foreigners here and the weather is starting to deteriorate.

cliff road Portobello

Portobello

Report 18 February
By Steef

On the way from Manipuri to Kaiwera we come across beautiful place names .Monawai, Papatotara, Tuatapere, Orepuki and Waimatuku. In Tuatapere we drink coffee in a museum cafe. Here we eat the tastiest lemmon pie ever served by a charming elderly lady. Dirk and I go back to the school bench again. There are a few old strollers in front of the entrance and the museum collection contains a lot of vintage kitchen items.

camping in Manipuri

camping owner and Dirk

Koda

on the way to Kaiwera

cafe museum

inside the cafe

back to school

lemmon pie

 After some shopping we drive further into the hills. There is a strong wind, the forerunner of Cyclone Gita. Everywhere in the landscape there are gigantic windbreaks that are shaved with a special machine. If we drink coffee, we hear a hard blow. Under the Ford is a grease pot that, through the pressure of a heavy spring, the lid has been pressed loose. Later, with Robyn and Graeam, the Ford can be put in a shed and Dirk will come up with a solution.

macrocarpa windshield

windshield

cycloon Gita on the way

bang

Gamstone beach is coming into view. Wave surfers cut through the waves of the long surf here.
The trees cling firmly to the bottom with determined stubbornness, their naked stems and branches twisted grotesquely by the ever-moving sea breeze.

surfer

trees

trees 2

trees 3

At the end of the afternoon we find the house of Robyn and Graeam Young in Kaiwera. A contact that came about through Paris / the Netherlands. They have a B & B that is occupied by two Americans, Matt and Pete. That’s why we sleep in the tent and roof tent.
After dinner, there will be an evening filled with laughter and music. It is a shame our roads will separate tomorrow.
Tip: itchy insects bites? rub with banana peel.

arrival in Kaiwera

which way

Pete

Dirk

Graeme and Matt

Trudy and Robyn

banana

sandflys

Report 17 February
By Steef

BEE IN THE BUS! someone called in the bus that took us to Doubtful Sound.
Driver John Gallantry caught the insect immediately to prevent unrest among passengers.
It rained all night. Not surprising when you consider that this region is known as the wettest in the world. Last year, 11 meters of water per m2 fell here. But now it is dry and although the sun is not up yet (6 pm  up) it is clear that the sky is not completely covered with clouds.

When Captain Cook arrived with his ship at New Zealand, he was looking for an inlet to anchor. He ended up in one of the fjords near the sea but doubted whether the berth was suitable. Another word for the fjord is: sound, hence the name: “Doubtful Sound. The excursion, which starts at the harbor: Pearl Harbor, consists of a boat trip to a power station and from there by bus through the rainforest to the next boat tob ring us to the aforementioned fjord. Because of the many rain showers, there are large and small waterfalls everywhere that hit the water from a great height like white ribbons. Hopefully the photos give some impression of the great day we had today. At 3 o’clock we are back at the tent. Trudy can write her diary and Greetje buys real Alpaca wool socks.