16 January 2014

New Zealands South Island

Before the craziness of the festive period, my husband and I jetsetted to New Zealand's South Island to roam the countryside for 10 nights in a campervan. We are keen campers and are not afraid to rough it, we own a swag and a camper trailer and love the adventure camping brings! This time however we 'glamped', yep that's right we toured the countryside with a full kitchen, shower and toilet onboard. It was glamping at its best! We cruised around the countryside listening to the soulful tunes of a busker we came across in Queenstown Nicholas Ferretti. We bought his cd and had him on repeat as we drove the windy mountains and coastline. We absolutely loved New Zealand as there are so many beautiful sights, so I thought I would share some of my favourite snaps with you...







This was our first stop - Lake Tekapo. Neither of us had ever seen snow before, so there was some screaming of 'do you think that is what I think it is up ahead on the mountain tops?!' when we first pulled up. It was so beautiful seeing the snow capped mountains and crisp blue spring skies!
The moment we realised that it was actually snow on the mountain tops and not low sitting cloud. Excited much?!



On route to Queenstown, the beautiful countryside and sweeping valleys


Judging by the line up outside Fergburger its the place to get the towns best hamburger. The burger names are a laugh - 'Cockadoodle Do' and 'Little Lamby' to name a few. My cousin recommended it to me and my recommendation to you is skip a meal before eating here, as the burgers are large BIG! 


I just had to add this photo - its a standard bridge crossing where you nearly risk your life each time you cross. This is for a few reasons - the bridge is so narrow it feels like the Campervan is going to get stuck. Oncoming international drivers seem to not obey the road rules or signs and want to play 'who will reverse off the bridge first' game. Lastly, who enjoys suspension bridges, the bridge moves under you when navigating across it?!!





If you are into driving like a race car driver and feel like living life on the edge, the Crown Range just out of Queenstown is for you. My husband was just a tad excited trying to navigate the bends Mad Mike style - yes his driving idol was seen doing crazy stunts on the road here and he thought it looked like a little fun! Luckily the campervan wasn't able to exceed 40km/ph uphill so I live to tell the tale!


We called this place home, sleeping alongside this beautiful lake (image below) for one night. We woke surrounded by cows munching on the lush green fields around us. 








Okay this is where things got a little exciting... After two days of solid rain and missing out on sights, we decided that if it was sunny when we woke the next day we would splurge a little and take a helicopter over Fox Glacier and see snow close up and touch it for the first time. Guess what...yep you guessed it, we woke to sunshine! So here we are on top of the mountain, overlooking the incredible 13km Fox Glacier! This is right after I face planted outta the helicopter as I was so damn excited to get my feet on the snow for the first time.



We also toured right up along the West Coast, here are some snaps of the views and rocky shores...






This is our trip mapped out - if you want to know where we stayed or what we saw, let leave a comment below or send me an email.
I would love to help you out with some travel advice! 

Thanks for stopping by!

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9 comments :

  1. This was really helpful! Your photos are absolutely gorgeous too, thanks so much Ashlea. I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it, it's just made me twice as excited about my trip.

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    1. My pleasure! When are you planning to go? It's such a beautiful place to sight see x

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  2. I'd love to explore NZ by campervan. What a dream! I've camped all over Australia and once spent a week in a camper from Melbourne to Sydney along the coast, but NZ is definitely on the list. Now that I live in France I fear it might be a long way off :-( #wanderlust

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    1. Oh it it honestly one of the most beautiful places in the world! It is a must for your bucketlist :)

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  3. I haven't been to New Zealand for over 30 years but am keen to go back and take hubby with me and hire a camper van as well. I love all your gorgeous pics....makes me want to go right NOW!

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    1. Oh it is simply stunning. A MUST see!! :)

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  4. NZ is such a beautiful country and it is actually on my list to go back soon and travel it by campervan. Great photos by the way.

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    1. Thanks Malinda. It is a spectacular place, so much amazing scenery to admire. Campervan is the way to do it, you get to see so much more! :)

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  5. Hard to even imagine snow in December!! Looks great. That suspension bridge scares me! I hate heights, and therefore bridges. Lol!

    And thanks for linking up with Wanderlust! Our next link up will be on the 3rd December, so mark it in your diary!!

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It makes my day receiving your lovely comments - feel free to leave one below x Ash

 

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