The Wild West Coast of the South Island
Trip Start
Apr 01, 2010
1
16
20
Trip End
Apr 30, 2010
Greymouth, South Island, New Zealand
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The next night, we free camped on the north end of Lake Wanaka, where we met my nemesis, the sand fly. Alex built a spectacular fire only to get a stern talking to by the ranger the next am. oops. fire ban. didn't know. (but even their scary officials are nice in NZ.) We headed north to see Fox glacier, bypassing the more trafficked Franz Joseph glacier. We were slightly nonplussed by the aged ice monster, but I think that was due to our sleep deprivation. Vaughn had his first night terror the night before, which was startling for everyone. We then pushed on to Greymouth, not much of a town, but good for a few zzz's.
Today, Nelson. We are all ready to get out of this camper-van for a litle while. For the first time, what, 3 weeks in to the trip, Alex and I are starting to feel tired and missing things like our sofa, bed, Lost, and our beloved Common Market.
So as we travel along, I am becoming quite the Holiday Park aficionado. The Top 10 Holiday Parks are the way to go, but even these vary quite a bit. Some charge for showers, some don't have WiFi, some charge through the nose for laundry. So far Queenstown and Te Anau have proved the nicest. Christchurch's holiday park was fool's gold with a fancy reception, but packed and near a major highway. The best was not a Top 10, the Beachside Holiday Park near Pahia... with free WiFi and everything else (minus laundry). Best view was in Ohope and I enjoyed the goats, but not the cold shower and menacing spiders. Tonight we plan to free camp near Fox Glacier. Ah, sipping wine under the stars...
Comments
I did not know the full meaning of jealousy until I started following your blog! Happy Trails for the next week!