When I started writing this article, my head was thinking more about the 40 hours of traveling back to France, rather than the two wonderful weeks I had just spent living in a van on the South Island. But now that I'm back in my tricolor country again, I have all the time in the world to finish this article.
If you've been reading me from the beginning, you know that this road trip to the South Island has been my dream since I first left the Kiwi land. I had promised myself to come back and hit the road again, in winter, to discover the New Zealand Alps with some shades of white. Well, now, it is done! An escapade rich in emotions, adventures, and laughter for a trip that will have allowed me to sort out the present, past, and future! (You know very well that I see hidden messages from the Universe in everything around me ;) !) So, shall I take you along? Let's go...
1/ CHRISTCHURCH
So the plan was to pick up the rental van in Christchurch, drive down to Tekapo, Pukaki, Mount Cook, Wanaka, Queenstown and drive back the other way. This time no Cachou or Toto, but a Sarah and a John Dory. So from Tauranga, we took a bus to Auckland and then a plane to Christchurch where we booked a night in a hostel before picking up Dory (our van) early morning.
For the record, Cachou and I hated Christchurch on our first road trip. The roads, still under construction since the big earthquake that destroyed the city a few years ago, had made me lose patience, and the impossibility to find a parking space had driven us crazy. This time, we had a smooth start with a first discovery of the city by night and by foot. An opportunity to soak up local habits from a whole new angle! After an evening of wandering through two or three bars in the city and an improvised city tour on a scooter by Kiwis met during the evening, it was time to go to bed. In the early morning, we went to pick up Dory and hit the road towards the mountains!
2/ LITTLE MOUNT PEEL
On the way to Tekapo, we stopped for a hike on Little Mount Peel. We were aiming for the summit, which is at 1400 meters above sea level, but the weather was definitely not in our favor so we had to turn back halfway. "Safety First!" Still enough to capture a few moments in the clouds with Sarah...
3/ THE INVISIBLE TEKAPO & THE MYSTIC PUKAKI
After this escapade in the clouds, back on the road towards Lake Tekapo. On the way, I kept telling Sarah how amazed she would be by the turquoise blue of these lakes and that even the road to get there was beautiful... Well, the problem is that I hadn't even considered the scenario where the clouds would be much closer to the ground than they normally are... FOG...
The closer we got to the lake, the thicker the fog. At the end : no sight and a blue hidden behind a bland layer of gray... "Well, it's a good thing we can take the same road back... Hopefully you'll see the lake this time... " was I saying to Sarah who just laughed so much about it.
My photos of two years ago are : just here :) (sorry it was all in french at this time ;))
4/ ON THE ROAD TO WANAKA
Change of program then. With this fog that never ended and this episode of frost (incredible), we headed south again! In spite of the non-existent views sometimes, we were so happy... Sarah is a photographer and considering my own passion for photography, I can tell you that the photo stops were numerous! We sailed all day long between frozen landscapes, fog and big blue sky... It was just magical and beautiful...
5/ WANAKA, LOVE AT SECOND SIGHT
Wanaka is this small town surrounded by mountains and on the edge of a lake located one hour from Queenstown. When we went there the first time with Cachou, we had appreciated the city but nothing more. We were so comfortable in our van bubble that we hadn't really spent any time there exploring the local life. This time with Sarah, we decided to stay there for two days. And despite the fog on the way and the rain on the first day, it was love at second sight for me ...
We had checked with DOC (the government agency that manages the parks / hikes in NZ) if the weather and conditions were good enough to explore some peaks and unfortunately it was still not in our favor. So we went, once again for me, to DIAMOND LAKES and ROCKY SUMMIT, the hike we did with Cachou and Ben 2 years ago. The peak being barely 800m high, we were a little less likely to have ice / snow on the way. (at least that's what we thought). In the end, it was a real adventure... Mud, ice, snow, rain and a very mysterious view strewn with clouds... but a good series of laughs with Sarah, a free nature shower and pictures always filling my head with memories...
To see my photos of two years ago with Ben & Cachou click here (sorry it was in french at this time !)
Second day, according to DOC and the i-site (information center) it was supposed to be very ugly, with rain, snow, wind, enough not to venture on Roys Peak or Isthmus Peak, two of the highest and famous peaks overlooking Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea... Well, an other excuse to come back an other time again. We then woke up around 8am, we drove towards the center and at 11am I looked up and the sky was actually quite clear... Hmmmmm Welcome to New Zealand ! As you can never be sure of anything with the weather here... A little too late to try the big summits, we embark then on a small hike, shorter and less complicated, but with a view just as stunning with a 360° on the lake Wanaka, the city, the lake Hawea, the plains of Cromwell and the valley of Cardona! Mount Iron is a little like Mount Maunganui in Tauranga! :)
Last evening on Wanaka, enough to appreciate the local life in winter with its "after skis" in all the bars and cafes of the area... One thing is sure, Wanaka without too many tourists, (thank you COVID 19) it really makes you want to settle there! (if you guess what I mean.... :D)
6/ FIRST TIME PROPER SKIING IN YEARS
Originally, Sarah and I were supposed to go skiing for a day together. But in the end, I spent my time alone on the slopes of Cardona, "the biggest" ski resort in NZ. I put quotation marks because, when you've been spoiled with our French-style resorts and areas, it's hard to find your way around abroad. I miss our mountains, which are all connected to each other by endless slopes and ski lifts! But, anyway, it was so much fun ! Not to mention the fact that, first of all, I went skiing alone... (something I thought I hated, considering how much I enjoyed sharing outdoor activities with others) and secondly, I went back on skis ! Goodbye snow-blades or mini-skis. It was so much fun, it was harder than I thought it would be, but I came out of it pretty good ! A good training for Canada... Now I can't wait !
7/ OH QUEENSTOWN !
After this refreshing day, we headed to Queenstown, where we joined Abby, a friend of mine who lives there. A good way to rediscover the city from a new angle, that of winter and without the heap of tourists that usually fill the streets. (yes, technically I'm one of them, I know...)
Unlike our escape two years ago, we spent more time exploring the surroundings during the day and the city at night. We climbed up to the top of Queenstown Hill to enjoy the 360° view of the surroundings before walking around the bars at night with some locals, it was really nice. It was a great way to create new memories where I still had those of my Cachou and Ben. Between Wanaka and Queenstown I definitely rediscovered these two cities under a new face and I can say that if there's one region I now dream of venturing into for a little longer it's this one! If I have to come back one day in NZ for work (or to live there ;)), there is a good chance that you will find me somewhere in the mountains of Queenstown or Wanaka, that's for sure! :D
7/ CLAY CLIFFS - OMARAMA !
After this city break, return to nature with the discovery of Clay Cliffs on the way back to Lake Pukaki, in Omarama. I had never heard of this place and we had missed it with Cachou so I let you imagine my excitement at the idea of venturing into this place still unknown to me! These rocky walls have been sculpted by the climate in the last hundreds/thousands of years. That was incredible and there is definitely something magical happening when you find yourself in the middle of this open-air stone cathedral...
8/ LAKE PUKAKI & ON THE ROAD MOUNT COOK
On our way back to Lake Pukaki, we had this time a completely clear sky! Enough to settle down on the lake for an afternoon reading before meeting up for dinner with Simon, a friend of Terri's who was also on a road trip in the South. It was so nice to be able to stop for a whole afternoon and fully appreciate the scenery we were in. It was also a good opportunity to meditate on this whole Kiwi adventure that was completely unexpected for me this year.
The next day, we woke up early in the morning to to enjoy the famous Mount Cook with some sunrise colours. The road was empty of tourists, enough to allow us many stops and photo sessions with Sarah. The advantage of being 2 passionate photographers is that we could inspire each other and play the model of each other! A lot of fun =)
9/ MOUNT COOK & HOOKER VALLEY
Arriving at Mount Cook, we left for the (photogenic) Hooker Valley track, a very easy walk, (3h return and very flat) to the glacial lake by the foot of Mount Cook. Enough to rediscover landscapes that were familiar to me, but in winter this time and have big thoughts for my Cachou on the 3 suspension bridges to cross. Especially since I had the good idea to wait for Sarah in the middle of one of the bridges and I ended up being sick (motion sickness) so much it stirred! As we say in french "ah la bonne blague..." (meaning sarcastically "what a joke...")
For the records, I keep the pictures for my last article, but my desire for freedom and fun made me do some "cheeky exploits" and pictures, naked, near icebergs! It's been a long time since I felt this way and it was so enjoyable letting my love for freedom and fun taking over me.
That was enough to make Sarah feel a bit uncomfortable considering the traffic around on this hike... I wasn't in the middle of the crowd, but close enough for a chick to come and see me once my clothes were back on and ask me how cold the water was... Hahah It sounds like I finally found my little feeling of lightness and crazyness that I get when I'm the happiest person on this planet... And then working for Terri and her job as Sexuality Coach has inspired me a lot, apparently. But that's another subject ;)
10/ BACK TO TEKAPO
On the way back, new stop at Tekapo for the night. We had booked a "Star Gazing experience" in Tekapo Springs and after postponing it the first time (thanks to the fog) we were finally there. It was so much fun and so interesting! I don't have any pictures of the experience, but we spent 45 minutes observing the stars with the naked eye and through a telescope, we learned to differentiate different constellations (Tekapo is located in a "dark sky" reserve which means that we can see the stars perfectly because there is no light pollution) and then went to warm up in the 40°C hot pools. The animator having stayed with us until the end, even the swimming was instructive and revolved around the stars! When I was a teenager, I was passionate about the stars so this evening was a nice way to reconnect with my old-self :)
11/ AKAROA, LITTLE FRANCE IN NZ
Before our return to Christchurch I really wanted to be able to go to Akaroa, a small seaside village located on a peninsula. I'd heard it was the little France of New Zealand and indeed, it was just like that! There are a lot of shops and streets in French and the atmosphere really reminded me of our seaside villages :) We had planned to have a drink there and go to bed early before heading back to Christchurch in the early morning. In the end, happy hour turned into dinner in this little beach bar... We stayed there for 5 hours playing cards, drinking (good) wine, eating good food and finally joining locals at their house to continue our board games with them. It was completely improvised but very nice. One more proof that the best moments are often the ones we didn't plan at all!
12/ CHRISTCHURCH AND BRIGHTON PEER
Last day, back to Christchurch.
We went to explore Brighton Peer which is just outside Christchurch by the sea. We found there a beautiful children's playground which became ours for about an hour I think... It was so funny... It's so rejuvenating not to get worked up sometimes and just do things for fun. Trampoline, slide, giant Connect 4, swing and wooden boat, enough to let our big child's souls express themselves...
We then went to play photographers on the beach and with the surrounding architecture before driving to Christchurch for a final karaoke night.
The last morning before leaving the city for the airport, we discovered by chance a covered market in the city centre. A good opportunity to try out yet another pain au chocolat (I think I found the best one so far in NZ!) and to take some pictures of all this surrounding art.
This last passage through Christchurch will have been the opportunity to realize one last time that it's never too late to learn to love a place you once hated and vice versa...
My photos of Tekapo / Pukaki Two years ago, click here
We then went to drop Dory off at the agency before flying back to Terri's house. I then had 5 days to say goodbye to everyone before embarking on another long trip back to France.
13/ MY SOUL OF NOMAD
If the last few months have been rather chaotic in terms of projects, with the COVID-19 situation, going back to the roads that once allowed me to discover who I was will have given me a lot of hope and desire for the future. It's silly, but this little dream has been on my mind since I first left NZ. Being able to achieve it has given meaning to my impromptu getaway in New Zealand this year and proved to me once again that the only constraints to our projects are the ones we create for ourselves... Even though I often feel split with one desire of settling down for an extended period of time in a country and another desire of living on the roads, these two weeks of road-trip will have given me that great feeling of lightness and freedom that I simply needed to start shining on my own world again. And it feels great!
Before I finish this article, I need to say a big thank you to Sarah who joined me on this little project and made the trip full of laughter and photos that I will forever remember.
I'll write to you very quickly for a review of the last 4 months in NZ...
Love.
Co.
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