Road to wanaka

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After a fair bit of fighting and trying to find the peanut butter and one flat battery we hit our stride in the camper.

My favourite thing is pulling over and hopping into bed for a nap. Curtains closed, familiar pillow, boom love it.

Second favourite is hopping out for adventures.

This canyon was unmarked but I noticed a few people pulled over and saw someone wading up the creek.

Amazing spot! We all got wet. Our feet were numb and once again our cold tub training came in handy as the kids danced past 20 year old influencers tiptoeing up the canyon to try (and fail) to get their waterfall shot.

Kylie did great as well and was proud to exit unaided even with a broken toe. Prob helped she couldn’t feel her feet. She did miss her keen sandals though!

A few minutes further down the road we stopped to check out the well signed Blue Pools.

We hiked in on the well built path and hadn’t planned to swim but the kids begged to jump in so the boys stripped down and Mikaya jumped in too. From her journal: [I went in to belly cold water and I jumt in 3 times it was so cold]

Again it was flipping cold but we represented for Canada! A few dips and a brief hangout in the bluest pool and were out using Kylie’s sweater as a towel.

Some of the other visitors got some shots of us in the deepest pools but I didn’t get their number. At one point my boxers almost fell off so maybe it’s for the best…

The flowing water definitely stripped the heat off us so we ran the 2k back to the camper and I snuck in another nap! (Shocker)

From here it was over the Haast pass and into the completely different terrain of Wanaka.

Franz Josef

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From Pearson Lake we drove through some amazing terrain and down the coast to Hokitika where the kids all picked out some jade jewelry. 

The waves on the beach were enormous and the town was a little barren aside from all the jewelry shops so we hopped back in the van and drove down the coast to Franz Josef.

As the mountains and forests enfolded us we felt like we were coming home.

We pulled into a funky and very tight holiday park. I needed all the kids’ help to back the camper into a nice private spot beside a little lagoon. We went out for dinner after a long day of driving and then fell asleep. Ty and Zeke tucked our tent in the back corner of the site. I think we found the biggest site in the campground and it was still tight to fit the vehicle and the tent.

The next day we did the tourist hikes to see the glaciers and the views. Weather was gorgeous and the drive up the valley was stunning.

Before we left we moved camp to a smaller less private site but crucially it had power to charge everyone’s devices. Also it was very near the entrance. I was stressing a bit thinking of driving out of this campground and meeting another big camper coming in.

The kids marvelling at the size of the sites. Cultus lake has spoiled us!

Our new site was much more open and the vibe in the back bed was very organic.

That day we did a second hike to a beautiful gorge.

And that night after dinner the sunset called us out to the river for some rockhopping and amazing views.

We walked home during the golden hour and the kids saw keas for the first time. They thought it was fun. Little did we know…

Check my new belt! Making the best of it…

Mikaya was vibing with the cheeky humour of the campground:

After she made me take this shot (and send it to auntie Julie!) she dragged Kylie over for a photoshoot as well.

From Mikaya’s journal: [me and may mom saw a sin. One said camp hir don’t care and I cood rlat and thir was anufer one it seid is it himid today and my mom cood rlat]

After a nice breakfast in the sunshine we were back on the road to wanaka!

Pearson Lake

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Less than 30 minutes after our hike we drove past Pearson Lake, a gorgeous valley that felt a lot like the crowsnest pass.

We pulled out our chairs and Kylie read the kids a chapter from The Giver.

It was a gorgeous but pretty low key spot with one water tap and a very clean outhouse.

I bucked convention by parking broadside to the wind to protect our campsite. Ty and Zeke slept in the tent which really helped the crowding.

Lots of space to explore.

Amazing first night on the road. Woke up to a dead battery though! Turns out you need to open the driver door and close it again to convince a new Mercedes sprinter van that you actually want to turn everything off. Who knew? Not me or Kylie… luckily a quick boost got us back on the road and we had a decent drive ahead to charge the battery again.

Christchurch and Castle rocks

After Hanmer springs we drove to Christchurch to pick up our home on wheels for the final 2 weeks of our time in NZ. I didn’t take a single picture of the holiday park in Christchurch but it was basically a parking lot with lots of toilets and showers.

With all our kids stepping on each others in the confines of the motorhome, Kylie and I were seriously reconsidering our life choices! When the kids caught me looking up our rental contract to see if we could return it they began reassuring me: “don’t worry dad, we’ll get in the groove” it became a bit of a mental health mantra.

So after some shopping at the mall (way busier than any Canadian mall and with a hopping mostly Asian food court) and stop at a local park we hit the road for Arthur’s pass.

The benefits of campervans became apparent right away when we drove past the castle rock area and stopped for a beautiful hike. Our house on wheels made it easy to pack for a day hike and adjust our night destination on the fly.

The boys found a bit of exposure and Mikaya got my adrenaline flowing by insisting on following them.

Think writing on stone but way bigger and harder. Readers may be familiar with this area as the setting for the final battle scene in The Lion the witch and the Wardrobe.

Some really fun lines.

And photo ops.

Hanmer Springs

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After a sometimes chilly and a bit tumultuous hike it was lovely to relax in the resort town of Hanmer Springs!

The above picture are all in a cold plunge if you can believe it considering the smiles. The kids were cold plunge stars and the other patrons definitely noticed. Almost everyone here seemed to be from NZ. Must be more of a local holiday spot than Queenstown or Franz Josef.

The resort was built around a hot springs but they have added an entire waterslides complex in recent years. There was hardly ever a line so we certainly got our exercise railing the tube rides. I don’t remember their actual names but readers will know their equivalent as the valley of fear and the toilet bowl. There were also two smaller slides that included trippy light shows and holograms.

Mikaya counts these pools as the highlight of the trip so far. All the kids had a blast. A family day pass including 2 large pizzas was only about $80 Canadian so we took the opportunity to go two days in a row.

I missed getting a picture of the delicious wood fired pizza. Best food we’ve had from a waterslide park!!

Doing hot/cold was great for me and the kids. I could go back and forth for hours. Ty and Zeke got into a bit of an unspoken competition over who could stay in the cold tub the longest. At one point Zeke was in there for about 15 minutes. It took him half an hour in the hot pools to stop shivering. Kylie mostly stayed in the mid temp lounging pools or the waterslides and we all played in the lazy river to cool down.

Cool as a very cold cucumber.

Some of the hot pools smelled like sulphur but it didn’t stick to our clothes like rotorua.

I didn’t get many pics bc the phone was tucked away most of the time, but the pool system was the most extensive and beautiful I’ve seen. Around every corner there was a different pool with its own waterfall feature or specific temp.

After the pools we relaxed at our little three bedroom cottage. One of the first places we have stayed that was part of a resort rather than a home. Small but very functional and a very quiet spot even though it was a 2 minute drive from downtown.

We also got in a walk at Hanmer’s version of the Community Forest. It was fun for Kylie to see a field trip going on and to see the way this forest played things out. The area was heavy on chainsaw carvings but very light on trail design. A decent chunk of the trail system had just been clearcut which proved it was a working forest but was a bit surprising for a tourist town.

Graham and I will have to work on our chainsaw carving skills!