Day 125 – 13th March – Melbourne – Christchurch
We managed to get a late check out of our room until 1pm which was good as our flight wasn’t until 6:45pm. We had some lunch in the bar and Dan’s mate Jonny that we had met in Melbourne almost 7 weeks ago came to see him. I tried to update the blog a bit while they had a catch up! We got the airport shuttle at 3:30pm and checked into our flight. The flight was a little bit delayed but it was a relatively quick flight to Christchurch of about 3 hours. We landed about 12:30am, picked up our bags and went straight to the hotel at the airport.

Day 126 – 14th March – Christchurch – Oamaru
We checked out of the hotel and then went to pick up our campervan ready to be let loose on the South Island! We had booked a Britz camper and after completing the paperwork and admin we were taken to our campervan. We had chosen a Hi Ace which is a 3 berth van. Compared to our campervan in Australia, this was a bit more luxurious and we were looking forward to our next adventure. We decided that we might need some warmer clothes after Australia so we drove to a retail park and did a bit of shopping and had an early lunch there. We then set off driving to our 1st destination which was Oamaru and took about 3 hours to get to. We found our campsite and set up for the night. As we drove into the campsite we noticed that there was a brewery pretty much next door that also served wood fired pizzas! That was our dinner sorted! After here we set off to the harbour to the penguin colony. We had pre booked a ‘penguin watch’ and we went to sit in the stands and wait for the blue penguins to come in from the sea to their nesting boxes for the night. There were also some seals on the rocks chilling! At about 8:15 when it was getting dark we spotted our first little blue penguin walk up the rocks from the shore. They are on average 30cm tall and the smallest of the penguin family. They were funny to watch as they would tentatively walk a couple of steps up and check they were being followed by the other penguins before walking any further. When a few of them were together they would run for a few metres and then shelter under the boardwalk until they were brave enough to run to the next place. They were also really cute! After watching over a hundred penguins come in we walked back around the harbour to our campsite and spent our first night in the campervan.

Day 127 – 15th March – Oamaru – Dunedin
We got up relatively early this morning and did some washing before we set off for Dunedin. It was only about a 90 minute drive and we stopped off at the Moeraki boulders on route. These were basically giant rocks on the beach and pretty interesting to see. We then carried onto Dunedin and arrived there mid afternoon. We went to a supermarket and stocked up on supplies for the next couple of days and then headed to the campsite to set up. News of the Christchurch terrorist attack had come through and we spent some time listening to the coverage in the campervan. It was shocking to think we had only left Christchurch the morning before and disbelief that someone would do it here. We had a quiet night in and cooked fajitas before going to bed.

Day 128 – 16th March – Dunedin
We got up and had breakfast and then went to meet Auntie Denise, Michelle and their friends. It was sheer coincidence that they were on holiday at the same time as us and we had prearranged to meet up. They also had some other friends on holiday with them so we all went to Dib’s sons house for lunch. There was about 10 of us for lunch and it was nice to chat to Denise and her friends. Some of her friends had been travelling for a few months as well so it was nice to swop stories of places we’d been. We were all supposed to be going to the local rugby match together that evening (Highlanders vs Crusaders) but while we were having lunch the news broke that the match had been cancelled due to the terrorist attack. It was a shame but totally understandable under the circumstances especially as one of the teams was from Christchurch. Dan and I went to take the campervan back and then we went back to meet Denise and co and head into Dunedin for a couple of drinks instead. It was a really nice evening and lovely to see Denise and Michelle.

Day 129 – 17th March – Dunedin – The Catlins
We checked out of the campsite and went to the supermarket to stock up as we were going to the Catlins which is a bit more remote. It was only about 90 minutes and as we drove we saw some stunning scenery on route. We stayed at a campsite at Kaka Point which had some beautiful beaches around. We spent the afternoon planning our itinerary for the South Island in more detail and then cooked curry for tea!

Day 130 – 18th March – The Catlins
Happy Birthday Dan! I had a day planned for Dan’s birthday and after a bacon sandwich and making our packed lunch for the day we set off to our first stop which was Nugget Point. There is an old lighthouse you can walk up to which has incredible views over the sea and so that is where we headed! On route we could see sea lions basking on the rocks and swimming in the rock pools. The view over Nugget Point was incredible and we spent some time watching the waves crash onto the shore. It is called Nugget Point as there are some very large rocks in the water and at sunrise and sunset they look like golden nuggets as the sun shines on them. After our walk here we then drove to Purakaunui Falls and walked the short walk along the boardwalk to the three tiered waterfall which was pretty spectacular. Our next stop of the day was to Florence Hill Lookout where we had our lunch looking out over Tautuku Bay. It wasn’t a bad view for lunch! Next we went to The Lost Gypsy Gallery which is quite difficult to explain really! It was an old bus that had a lot of quirky old gadgets and some experiments. When we arrived there was a button that said something like ‘are you tempted to press this button’ and when you did, water squirted in your face! It was a really interesting place and we spent some time looking around the inventions. After here we drove to our campsite and checked in. We spent a couple of hours here before we went out to our final destination for the day which was Cathedral Caves. It was only about 3km from the campsite but you can only access the caves for three hours around low tide. We walked down through the forest to the beach and then walked along the beach to the caves. They were pretty big and you could walk 199m into the caves! We spent a bit of time here and then walked back to the campervan and back to the campsite. I sent Dan to do some chopping in the kitchen while I put some decorations and balloons up and then we had spaghetti bolognese for tea and a couple of drinks to celebrate!

Day 131 – 19th March – Catlins – Te Anau
We left our campsite and drove to Curio Bay which was about 30 minutes away. We walked up to the lookout point where you could see the beach on one side and waves crashing over rocks on the other side. It was pretty impressive to see.
We then set off to Invercargill to get some more provisions for the next few days. After this it was about a two hour drive to Te Anau where we were staying for the next two nights. We arrived at about 5pm and admired the gorgeous views over the lake. We then went for a walk to the lake and into Te Anau to have a look around. When we got back we sat outside on our camping chairs and soaked up the last bit of sun for day before cooking tea and going to bed.

Day 132 – 20th March – Te Anau
Milford Sound
We were up relatively early today as we had a trip to Milford Sound planned. Milford Sound is a fjord in the Fjordland National Park and is known for his towering mountains including Mitre Peak and cascading waterfalls. The fjord is also home to dolphins, penguins and fur seals.
We got ready, had breakfast and made our packed lunch before setting off about 9:30am. The drive to Milford Sound is about two hours it is recommended to spend more time than this as there are a few look out points on the route. After about an hour we stopped off at Ellington Valley for a photo of the impressive mountain views. About two km after this we stopped at the Mirror Lakes. Here on a still day the lake reflects the mountains and scenery. A little bit further on we stopped again at Lake Gunn which was similar to the mirror lakes but bigger and so we got an incredible view of the mountains and clouds reflecting in the lake. We then carried on the windy road through the mountains and went through a one way tunnel in the rocks which was pretty cool! We arrived into Milford about 12pm and walked down to the ferry terminal for our two hour ferry across Milford Sound. The views here were impressive! As soon as we set off we turned a corner and there was a giant waterfall, then we saw a pod of dolphins swimming and one came and swam right next to the boat and kept jumping out! The views of the snow capped mountains with low cloud around them were awesome. The captain of the ship also sailed extremely close to two waterfalls and we could feel the spray from the water on us. We also saw fur seals on a rock basking in the sun. The scenery here is incredible and a must do if you ever travel to this part of the world. After a thoroughly enjoyable trip we went back to the campervan and had our lunch with a view over the fjord. We then drove the 2 hours back to Te Anau admiring the amazing views and arrived back to the campsite about 5pm. We sat outside in the sun and had a relaxing evening playing cards!

Day 133 – 21st March – Te Anau – Queenstown
We set off for Queenstown quite early as we had an appointment at a local garage as we had a blocked pipe in our campervan. After fixing the block we then developed a leak so another appointment was made in Queenstown about lunchtime to get this fixed! We stopped for some breakfast on route and some scenic photos and then dropped our campervan off to be fixed. It didn’t take long and we then set off on the short drive to our campsite. We got set up and then walked into Queenstown which was only about a 10 minute walk to the centre. Queenstown is a place for adventure sports and immediately we saw lots of people paragliding and plenty of signs for bungy jumps, sky dives as well as lots of water sports. It is also a ski resort in the winter months. The town itself has developed a lot in the last decade but it still has that vibe to it and it’s difficult not to love the place! We had a walk around the town and the lake front harbour and ended up enjoying a drink overlooking the lake during happy hour! We then walked back to the campsite and had our dinner and played some more cards.
Day 134 – 22nd March – Queenstown
We got up leisurely today and set off late morning for the gondola to take us up the mountain. We spent a bit of time admiring the views and watching people do the bungy jump off the edge of the mountain! At 1:30 there was a two minutes silence to remember the victims of the terrorist attack which had occurred exactly a week ago. After this we walked to the luge area and got the chairlift up to the track. We had paid for 5 goes and Dan was super eager to race me and beat me! We went down the blue run first which was a slower run and got us used to the luge. Dan caught me up at a corner and beat me, 1-0 to Dan. The second go we went down the red run which is faster and has tighter turns, again Dan overtook me on a corner and it was then 2-0. On the third run, Dan gave me a head start that he thought he would easily catch me up on, however he was wrong, 2-1 to Dan! On our fourth go, Dan overtook me quite early on and then I got stuck behind a slower person which meant it was 3-1 to Dan and from here impossible for me to come back or that’s what I thought until Dan said in the last race winner takes all! This was a bit of a mistake as I won the last race!! However I think overall Dan won!
After my victory we went to celebrate by getting a Ferg burger. This is quite an iconic place to eat in Queenstown and it usually has a queue out of the door. We ordered our burgers and then headed to the floating pub to have our late lunch. The floating pub was a converted boat on the lake and you could take your own food so we sat in the sun enjoying our Ferg burgers! After this we had a walk around town and then went back to the campsite for a chilled evening.

Day 135 – 23rd March – Queenstown to Wanaka
We got up quite early this morning as we had booked on a Thunder Jet boat trip at 10am. We had got this free as we booked our Milford Sound trip through the same company and they had a promotion on. We walked down to the harbour for 9:45 and put on our life jackets ready to go. We got on the boat and sat right at the front! The boat then set off. It was fast! The captain did a practice spin for us which was apparently slow (however really fast for us!) and then we went off really quickly. After 25 minutes of twists, turns and dodging fixed points we were taken back to the harbour and off the boat. Both of us felt a bit sick after this experience as we walked back to the campsite!
We then set off for our next destination which was Wanaka and only about 90 minutes away. We stopped on route to see Roaring Meg which was a river running through valley.  Just outside Wanaka there is a place called Puzzling World which is stopped off at. It consists off an illusion room and an outdoor maze. The maze isn’t like a normal maze as it is two storey and there are two ways you can complete the maze. One way is to get to the four coloured corners in no particular order and then back to the middle where the exits is. The second more challenging way is to find the four coloured corners in a set order (yellow, green, blue and red) and then return to the middle. This is the option we decided to go for which is expected to take between 60-90 minutes. After 40 minutes we still hadn’t found the yellow corner!! However when we eventually did, the rest wasn’t too bad as we’d pretty much been to all the other corners in trying to find the yellow corner! We completed it in about 70 minutes and then celebrated with an ice cream! There was a sign that said the maze was 1.5km long and on average people walk between 3-5km to complete the maze. I think we covered a lot more distance than that!
We then drove the short distance to our campsite in Wanaka. It was only about a five minute drive. We set up camp and then set off for a walk into the centre. The lake was visible from the campsite and only a few minutes walking distance away. We walked along the side of the lake into town and had a look around some of the shops. We then went back to the campsite and sat out in the sun and had a couple of drinks and a nice relaxing evening.

Day 136 – 24th March – Wanaka
We were up earlyish as we had decided to do a day trip to Aoraki to Mount Cook which is New Zealand’s highest mountain at 3724m. The National Park in which it lies contains over 200 peaks over 2000m and 19 peaks over 3000m and 72 glaciers therefore it’s pretty impressive as you drive towards it!
We obviously weren’t climbing to the top as it is for specialist climbers but we had researched different walks and the Hooker Valley Track had come up as one of the best in New Zealand. As we set off on the 6 mile walk, the views were absolutely incredible. We crossed three swing bridges over different rivers and took in the views of the Mueller Glacier before ending at Lake Hooker where the track ended. Here the view over Mount Cook was amazing with icebergs in the lake. We spent some time sitting and just watching and then had our lunch at the lake edge. On our way back as we crossed over the last swing bridge we heard the rumbling of an avalanche in the distance. We arrived back at the car park about 3 hours later and enjoyed our final views over Mount Cook before we travelled the 2 1/2 hours back to Wanaka and the campsite. It had been a long drive to get to the Hooker Valley Track but with the incredible views we’d seen it was totally worth it.

Day 137 – 25th March – Wanaka
We woke up to torrential rain which was forecast all day. It was a bit disappointing as this was our only full day in Wanaka. We had a pretty uneventful day and went food shopping, filled up the gas and did some forward planning for the next few days. In the evening Dan cooked a really lovely steak and we had a bbq in the rain, luckily it was under cover!