We did it! We picked up our campervan and have headed off on a driving tour of New Zealand. I have to say the folks at Wilderness Campervans have been amazing this whole trip. From all my questions before we arrived and the fantastic serve when we arrived to pick up the van. I would recommend them to anyone.
Once in the van we headed to a supermarket. Always a must to visit in a forgein country, it gives you a real feel for what local cuisine is like. And I’m here to say NZ takes the prize in the worldwide supermarket race. OK it’s not really a race but if it was they’d win.
After the supermarket and lunch at Subway, yes I know, but seriously they had lamb subs with Tzatziki sauce! Decisions were made and there are zero regrets that sub was fantastic!
Anyway ok off track (I do that we’ll all be alright). Once we were stocked and fuel we got on the road. Thankfully we drive on the same side of the road as they do, so that’s normal. The wind is a bit strong. And the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful. One of the reasons we came isn’t because my husband and I are huge Lord of the Rings & Hobbit fans, as are our children. The views here look like something straight out of the movies.
We stopped for the night and slept on the side of the road in Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve. It’s a 4300 sq km area near Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook and is the only one in the Southern Hemisphere. My oldest is studying astronomy this year and what a better way to get some first hand learning done than upclose and personal with the Milky Way.
The night ended with some Rummy around our table and was full of laughs and frustrations (teaching a new card game is always a good time you know, you’ve done it).
Now we’re off to bed to sleep and start our trek further south.
Wandering a Lighted Path 