Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long for an update, but we've been having too much fun to get online! After seeing the Franz Josef Glacier (which was amazing) we headed south and made it to Lake Hawea. We got a great camp site right on the lake and had a great evening BBQ and looking at the stars. I thought I had seen the brightest stars in Sequoia but it doesn't hold a candle to here. I've never seen so many stars in my life, its amazing. Wish the camera could capture it but it doesn't come close.
After leaving lake Hawea we headed toward Mt Cook. The drive was beautiful through snow covered mountains. The snow looked like plastic, so crazy. Mt Cook was breathtaking. It's the highest peak in the country and it's covered with tons of glaciers. The lake below it, Lake Pukaki, is a crazy turquoise milky blue color, which is caused from the glaciers crushing rock on the mountain and turning it to silt that flows into the lake. We planned to stay at a DOC site right at the base of Mt Cook but when we got up there it was covered in snow and ice. After getting the van stuck once already we decided to stay at the Holiday Park campground down the road a bit.
Looking at the map you would think the Milford sound is a short drive from Mt Cook, and I wish that was the case. Fiordland and the Milford sound were on the top of my list of must see's but we just don't have enough time to make it that far south. From Mt Cook it's about a 10 hour drive, one way, to Fiordland. Unfortunatly we have to catch the Ferry back to the North Island on Sunday then make it all the way to Auckland by Wednesday morning so Fiordland is going to have to wait till next trip (our honeymoon maybe?). Since Wilderness said they would refund us for the one day we lost due to the Van breaking down, we decided to extend the campervan one more day instead of the refund and cancelled our Hotel for our last night. This will give us some extra time to make it to Auckland from Wellington so we won't be so rushed.
So after leaving Mt Cook we made a big drive North up the East Coast (Pacific Ocean side) and made it to Kaikoura. It is a really pretty beach town and reminded me a lot of Malibu with huge cliffs right next to the coast. From Kaikoura we intended to go to Nelson as I've heard how beautiful it is, but when we got there the tide was out...WAY out...and you couldn't even see the ocean. So we kept going about another 1/2 hour north and camped in Mapua in the Ruby Bay. That is where we are now! It's so gorgeous here and we got a camp spot right on the beach. We were so tempted to stay another night but it's cutting it a little too tight for time. We actually went out to eat dinner last night since I didn't feel like cooking and found this great Brewery called Golden Bear. The owner is from Santa Monica and not only is the beer Fantastic but they had MEXICAN food as well. We've been going through Mexican food withdraw since we have been here. I actually paid $12 for a can of refried beans and a package of tortillas at the grocery store the other day...that's how bad it is! The food at the Golden Bear was pretty decent though! After getting nice and toasty there, some locals invited us back to there place to go in the spa with them. Good times!
Ok that's all for now. I'll try to post a few pics on here and Facebook. Cheers!
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