Continuing from last week’s post, these are the next 7 days from mine and Mennas 6 week road trip around New Zealand!
The first week took us from Auckland through the Coromandel, Matamata, Rotorua, Taupo, Whakapapa Village and finished in Napier.
The second week led us to Napier, Wellington, Picton, Kaikoura, Christchurch, Akaroa and finished in Lake Tekapo.
The third week passes through Mount Cook Village, Queenstown, Te Anau, Milford Sound and Wānaka.
The fourth week saw us driving through Wānaka, Haast, Fox Glacier, Lake Matheson, Franz Josef Glacier, Hokitika and Punakaiki.
The map at the bottom of this page highlights the regions in which we travelled this week.
DAY 29
We woke up to a beautiful sunny day and took a stroll down to Kaiteriteri Beach. We had hoped to rent some kayaks out to paddle, but all rental shops were shut due to the time of year. Instead, we headed into a waterfront cafe, Gone Burgers, for a scenic cup of tea. The beach stretches into the distance for a while, so we wandered along it and even went for a cold dip accompanied by some funny looks from the locals!
Motueka was believed to have more going on, not so much a touristy town but a local one. There were plenty of shops scattered about along the main street, but our personal favourite was a place called Toad Hall. Toad Hall is a farm shop, café, restaurant, and brewery all in one. We sat down for lunch, and I kid you not, it was possibly the best food I have ever eaten! Nachos, garlic bread, and some cloudy lemonade were exactly what we needed. With full bellies, we drove back to the campsite and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing with a book.
DAY 30
After an evening last night of researching the local area, we found a place in Mārahau to rent kayaks for $135 for the day. We got kitted up with a jacket, neoprene shoes, a neoprene skirt and a buoyancy aid, and after finding our boat, a paddle also. We had a quick briefing and a map of the bay before jumping in the van, which took us to the beach.
The original plan was to paddle out to Adele Island, an island filled with colonies of seals. However, the wind was breezy, so instead, we altered the plan and followed the coastline. We passed Sandy Bay, Tinline Bay, Coquille Bay, Apple Tree Bay, and Stilwell Bay before pulling up at Akersten Bay after about an hour and a half of paddling. A quick bite of lunch to eat before jumping back in the kayak and attempting to paddle back to Mārahau. By this point, however, the wind had suddenly picked up and turned into a strong headwind, so paddling was near impossible, and we were hardly moving. We were stranded! Luckily, the company had given us a phone number to call for emergencies, and as soon as we had put the phone down, we had a rest before the rescue boat came to pick us up.
We were mortified, especially as I had come from a paddlesports background, but upon the boat arriving, we could see that the rest of the group who we had been briefed with us were also onboard – they had been picked up before us, and we were the last pickup! We were slightly less mortified after learning this.
The boat flew back to the beach in Mārahau, jumping over waves and spraying water at us all, it was epic. Once back, though, a quick change of clothes into something warm and an obligatory ice lolly and a look around their shop.
Split Apple Rock is another tourist destination, our next one, and we can see why it’s so popular. There is a large boulder in the sea which resembles an apple and has been cut directly down the middle for some unknown reason. In the Māori mythological tales, two gods broke apart the rock while fighting for it. I quite like that version. There is a clear walkway to reach the beach where the rock is located, a downhill path which needs walking back up to reach the van again! We continued our journey to the next destination, Nelson, but made a pit stop in Toad Hall again for a slice of cake first.
We were absolutely shattered, so going out for dinner that evening was too tiring. Instead, a Pizza Hut delivery to Tahuna Beach Holiday Park was ordered, and we were over the moon, falling into a deep sleep with the smell of pizza wafting through the van.
DAY 31
It took us about 20 minutes to walk into Nelson town centre. Nelson is small and has a couple of main shopping streets. The Cathedral was one of the stops we made, but it wasn’t very pretty. A giant stone structure made the building look abandoned. Continuing past the Cathedral allowed us to reach the path starting near the Botanical Reserve to the Centre Point of New Zealand. The path was uphill the entire way, zigzagging back and forth to make it easier to climb, although it still was not that easy! Once summited, though, we had views over the Tasman Bay and also the landscape of the Abel Tasman National Park. It is such a cool flex to say that I have stood in the middle of New Zealand.
The walk back down was a lot easier, and on the way back to the van, we passed an art gallery, Te Suter Te Aragon O Whakatu. Entry was free, which encouraged us to go and have a nosey. They had paintings, sculptures and exhibitions – it was actually here that I found my favourite artist: Neil Frazer. We bought a hot chocolate and had some leftover pizza for lunch.
The final stop for the day was at PICs Peanut Butter Factory! It was roughly a ten-minute drive from the campsite, and it has a huge car park outside the building. Free tours were happening; we weren’t interested, so instead, we bought some gifts and went over the road to a brewery for a drink. A quick clean of the van ahead of the travel day tomorrow, and we spent the rest of the evening relaxing, reading books and eating fajitas for tea.
DAY 32
An early start to drive to the ferry port in Picton in time for our crossing. The drive was two hours long, so we swapped over halfway, but not before we had some toast with PICs peanut butter on for breakfast! We reached Picton bright and breezy at 10am and sat down for a cuppa whilst watching the water shimmer in the sun. We walked along the bay for an hour or so before heading to join the queue for the ferry. Queuing, however, took a long time, over an hour, and my book came in quite handy!
I spent the duration of this crossing slightly differently, this time, me and Menna went to the cinema to watch the new Little Mermaid film. It was awesome! The film took up most of the crossing, so we didn’t have to find much else to do.
We got dropped off in Wellington and straight away drove to our AirBnb to refresh and get ready for the afternoon. We went and parked in town and had all our fingers crossed as we walked into the Welsh Dragon Bar in the hopes that they were serving food this time! And they were! We got seated, and I ordered Glamorgan Sausages and Leek Pie. It. Was. Incredible. Well worth the wait. There was an event going on whilst we were eating: a sea shanty club who were practising and performing in the pub. We grabbed a drink and joined in (after being given a songbook), and left at around 9.30.
DAY 33
Our first full day that was spent in Wellington! We drove into town again, but this time, we found it a lot harder to get a parking space. Sixes and Sevens was our first port of call, stopping to get a delicious cheese toastie and a hot chocolate. Our second destination was the Cable Car. We found the terminal on Langton Street and took the car up to the summit. The views once at the top were so pretty, spanning for miles into the distance. There was a restaurant and a small museum at the summit, but after a quick wander around, we made the decision to head back down on the cable car, all for a $12 return.
Our final stop was one for all of the Hobbit fans! Wellington was a filming location for many scenes, including a popular one in the Fellowship of the Ring film from the Hobbit franchise. There are several different movie locations in Alexandra Park, but the one we decided to see was the Hobbit Hideaway. Throughout the park, there are also famous movie quotes on plaques and benches – a lovely added touch. My favourite being: ‘Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost’ – Gandalf. The scene was recreated by us before heading back to the van, followed by our campsite at Dudding Lake for the evening.
DAY 34
It took us 20 minutes to drive into Whanganui from our campsite, and after finding a space for the van, we jumped out and walked around the farmers market that was on. Whanganui seemed very industrial and spread out, not really a town for tourists to stop and visit. There were two reasons that we were there – to break up the journey slightly and also to visit the Durie Hill Elevator. Normally, you would walk the long tunnel to get the elevator from the bottom of Durie Hill to the top, but we parked at the top, got the elevator down, walked the tunnel, and then turned around and walked back. The Elevator costs $2 and is used as a method of transportation up the hill. At the top of the Elevator is a viewing platform offering amazing views, however, directly next to it on the top of Durie Hill is the Memorial Tower. Free to enter, and climbing an extra 33 metres above the viewing platform offers 360 views across the whole of the region, even of Mt Taranaki, on a good day! It is pretty spectacular.
We finally visited the town centre again, popping back into the farmers market to grab a crepe for lunch before continuing with our journey to New Plymouth. New Plymouth is busy, and after parking our van, we made our way around the many shops. It was quite late by this time; shops were shutting, and it was getting dark, so we grabbed some food and a drink and drove to Durham Lake Holiday Park to sleep.
DAY 35
I woke up early to see Mt Taranaki before it clouded over for the day. It was the best view of the volcano that we had seen since reaching it, and it was such an incredible experience to be standing at the foot of it. We made some avocado and eggs on toast for brekkie before driving to Dawson Falls Visitor Centre for the first activity that we had planned.
We drove up as far as we possibly could because the weather was awful, chucking it down. It was a 10-minute return walk from the top car park to the waterfall, but once there, it was worth the walk and getting wet. Dawson Falls stood at 18m tall, and because of the poor weather, the falls were so much more fast-flowing and spectacular. Back in the van and en route to the next stop – Te Rewa Rewa Bridge. There was some poor planning from me as I didn’t do my research – when we got there, the bridge was covered in scaffolding and undergoing work. This bridge is famous as it has a brilliant view of Mt Taranaki, a view which literally frames it. However, a trip to a coffee shop and a blueberry scone at Locals Cafe made everything better as we dried off.
Next stop – Elephant Rock and 3 Sisters. These are a set of rocks, one of which supposedly looks like an elephant, although now its trunk has been eroded off. There are also only two sisters now instead of 3 due to erosion. We got there at high tide, so we were unable to walk to see them but instead drove to the lookout at the end of Pilot Road to get a better view. It was still a struggle to see; it would have been much clearer down on the beach next to the rocks, so make sure you time it right!
Finally, a drive to Waitomo. We pulled up in the campsite, JunoHall Backpackers and chilled out accompanied by the resident Jack Russell pup. The campsite was lovely, with a log fire burning and a stack of board games to play! I played Battleships against Menna, and obviously won! We then played Monopoly with some fellow tourists before heading back to the van, cooking some food and going to bed.
Check back in next Sunday for Week 6, the last week of this epic road trip!