Departing Australia was a sad day — and also overcast. I woke up at 5am to surf one last time before catching a 7:15am train to the Airport. I was on my way to New Zealand, known as Aotearoa in the Maori language, which translates to ‘Land of the Long White Cloud”, for a 15 day visit with a few friends. I landed in Auckland, met up with two friends then caught a plane to Christchurch the following day to begin the New Zealand experience. The plan was simple: Drive around the South Island, catch a ferry to the North Island then make our way up to Auckland.
On day 1 we picked up our vehicle for the first part of the journey, a Toyota ‘People Mover’ Previas. The plan was to drive from Christchurch to Te Anau making stops along the way for photos, which when in New Zealand could be every kilometre. As we left Christchurch it was overcast with a bit of rain. as we headed west-south-west and made it over the first of many passes the clouds left and blue skies unfolded ahead.
An eye catching turquoise blue lake known as Lake Pukaki was our first major stop. It was reminiscent of photographs of Lake Louise (as I’ve never been) with the snow capped peaks playfully positioned in the difference. We knew this was only the beginning and clambered back into the People Mover to push on.
We stopped for a late lunch/early dinner just outside Queenstown, then followed the road south to Te Anau where we checked into our first of many Holiday Parks. They are an amazing deal when travelling with a group, as you can usually grab one for $100-120 split 4-6 ways.
After a good nights sleep we made our way to Milford Sound.
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