NZ's South Island contains some of the worlds great drives. There are various ways to explore NZ, including renting a campervan or a car and staying in camp-sites, motels, or AirBnBs. The campervans are expensive, and there are many signs saying 'Freedom Camping Forbidden', which effectively means that you have to stay in camp-sites. The motels are pretty mundane. AirBnB offers access to hundreds of funky little baches which their owners let out.
We decided to rent a Camry to canter around the roads, and use AirBnBaches to experience that side of Kiwi Kulture. It was a good call, although occasionally the baches exceeded George's GTT (Grot Toleration Threshold)!
We started by driving from Queenstown to Wanaka, both of which seemed to be over-run with Asian tourists. It might be particularly bad at this time of year, with the Chinese New Year on February 16th, and many Chinese on holiday.
The Remarkables
Panorama from Coronet Peak near Queenstown
Jumping off Coronet Peak
The road from Wanaka to the West Coast goes over the Haast Pass. It is a spectacular drive. It is hard to take photos that don't look as if they belong on Chocolate Boxes. I tried, failed, and gave up!
Haast Pass drive
Haast Pass drive
Blue Pool
Blue Pool
Jet-boat on the Waiatoto River, south of Haast on the West Coast
Shark's Tooth rapids
Pongas
Mount Tasman across Lake Matheson at Fox Glacier
Another for a Chocolate Box!
AirBnB at Fox Glacier
Sunset from Matheson Café
Punakaiki Rocks north of Greymouth
Punakaiki Rocks
Beach shack near Fox River. Candles. No power. No fridge. Surf breaking all night. Gorgeous.
Beach outside our shack
Buller valley. The rain came.
Lake Rotoiti at St Arnaud in the Nelson Lakes area.
Lake Rotoiti panorama
Climbing Mount Robert
Beech forest
Tussock grass
Bach at Pohara, Golden Bay
Wharariki Beach, near Cape Farewell on the NW corner of the South Island
New Zealand fur seal at Wharariki Beach
Totaranui Beach at the western end of the Abel Tasman park
In about 1979 I ran an encounter group at the Ngarata Homestead at Totaranui for the Rainbow Valley alternative lifestyle community.
Pupu springs: said to be the purest water in the world.
Ruined farmhouse near the Takaka Hill
George with our AirBnB truck up the Motueka Valley
Inside the truck
A yurt on the same property
Inside the yurt
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