Return Road Trip
Trip Start
Sep 07, 2003
1
27
28
Trip End
Sep 07, 2004
Wanaka to Auckland, New Zealand
Sunday, August 29, 2004
We'd intended to do a final road trip, but it turned into a bit of a rush (anxious to get back to Auckland and start selling the van), so we ended up cramming into 5 days all that we'd missed on the way down. Here's some of the highlights:
Arthur's Pass
Blessed with perfect weather, we drove over Arthur's Pass - the most famous and I think, the most spectacular of the mountain roads linking east & west coasts of the South Island. The scenery as ever was breath-taking (a little highlight being the weird rock formations at Kura Tawhiri Reserve), and at every lookout point we were joined by a resident couple of kea birds - the comical NZ alpine parrot that cheeks its way into your heart with its audacious efforts to part you with your sandwiches.
Punakaiki & Pancake Rocks
We arrived in the charming little west coast settlement of Punakaiki just as the sun was going down. This made viewing of the strange rock formations know as Pancake Rocks (cos they look like pancakes!) a beautiful warm orange experience as they reflected the setting sun. As always the mighty waves of the Tasman sea crashing against the shoreline was a thrill to watch.
Marcus will always remember Punakaiki as the home of Claude (Clawed?) the ginger campsite moggie he befriended and invited into our van for the night. Surprises me: I'd have thought one ginger in his bed, was more than enough for him to handle!
Ski-ing at Whakapapa
After a season of ski-ing, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to test out the snow on another mountain. And what better place than Whakapapa ski resort, located on the slopes of the very active volcano, Mount Ruapehu in the north island. Again, blessed with perfect weather, we did a day's ski-ing, marvelling at the thrilling view of Volcano Ngaurahoe opposite - the iconic volcanic symmetrical cone shape reminding us that an eruption could occur at any time. We felt confident our new ski-ing prowess would see us down the mountain in no time at all, way ahead of any chasing lava flows.
As you can see, the mountain didn't erupt and we spent our last day ski-ing in NZ without mishap!
Auckland
Back to Auckland, where Auntie Pamela and Uncle Chris welcomed us back into their home for our last week in New Zealand. That was last Friday. By Sunday morning we'd sold our beautiful van for the asking price (more pesos to buy bbq-ed guinea pigs with in Sth America!), and now we're running around like maniacs trying to prepare for the final leg of our 2 year jaunt.
Now we've had time to stop and take a breather for a few days, we're realising how long we've been away from home. My diary reads day number 718. And in those days numerous friends back home have got married, had babies, bought & sold houses and/or emigrated.
We're a little nervous that England is not the same place it was when we left. 3 months to go and we'll find out for ourselves.....Marcus says he's not worried - after all, a plane leaves Heathrow every 90 seconds!!
