Geraldine to Lake Pukaki

I set off towards Geraldine and the journey was pretty average. I stopped in the holiday park after asking where a campsite would be in the local dairy on the outskirts of town. I parked up and since I had found some food in the way of some smoked salmon that hadn't been eaten from the pre Christmas party at Heff and Tony Daley's I had little to do before bed so I decided to explore this small township. I walked out of the holiday camp and up towards the hills and dusk was falling. The road went up and I found a small conservation area to explore. It was dense woodland and a little spooky but I bit my lip and went in! The light was fantastic, as it got darker the sky, compared to the shelter of the trees became more contrasting and therefore it got very dark under the trees. I emerged and the sky was wonderful, with the orange streetlight and the purple backdrop the moody clouds looked spectacular. I spent lots of time taking photographs before I headed back to the campsite to shower and make my first cup of tea with my new stove and pan, I was very pleased with myself! haha!
I set off the next day and I went straight to Fairleigh and wandered into the iSITE (tourist information for NZ) to ask what there was on the way to Queenstown. The woman pointed out the best way to go and what to look out for en route. "... and someone said that the lupins are out and they are really good this year." I also asked if there was any internet access in the town, there wasn't but they had a computer and asked if that would do. I happily checked my email and looked for any messages from Thecla who I was hoping to meet in Queenstown. While I was online the iSITE ladies were talking beside me and then I heard "This girl is going up that way!" Since I was on my way to Tekapo could I take a letter to Santa Clause?!... No problem... I was honored to be asked and trusted as a stranger!



I set out and My GOD! the Lupins were amazing! I was shocked by how many there were. they lined the road in their thousands, I don't know how many plants I went past but it must have been more than 100,000! I traveled mostly at about 100kph and for every meter of my journey there must have been at least 6 plants of lupins in from the road.



There have been several exclaiming moments during my tour of the South Island and driving along this road getting used to the scenery and then being wowed by the mountain range looming up out of the ground happened for the first time between Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki. This place is truly beautiful I realise! The mountains are small but steep and that day was crystal clear so I could see every one of them in the Mt Cook range. After I had dropped the letter at the Post Shop I carried on then turned off the main road just after Lake Tekapo and started to drive along the canal. I was glad the road was straight because I could hardly keep my eyes on the road the scenery was so beautiful. The colour of the startling blue water and the clear blue sky with out a cloud in sight made it one of the most memorable drives I have ever had the opportunity to journey along. I passed a salmon farm and watched the men working for a minute pulling large, thrashing fish from the water with a net. I drove on until I came to Lake Pukaki I pulled in and took more pictures of Mt Cook and got the obligatory shot of me on one leg making a star shape in front of the scenery.

I arrived and Tony warmly greeted me and sat me down with a drink and asked me about my journey and reason for being here. There was no sign of Heff but Tony informed me that occasionally she had to 'crash out' every now and again after a car accident a few years ago. Tony gave me a delicious supper of salmon and salad and then offed a tour of the surrounding area since I was new to the place. He was a really nice chap and showed me the highlights of Christchurch took me to the old buildings and showed me the sights from the warmth of the car because it was getting more than a little dark and chilly outside, in fact it was blowing hard and icy rain was pouring out of the sky. It was not completely unheard of to have snow in December but it was rare since Christmas day was the first day of summer he informed me. There was no snow but it was cold enough to make sure that the only time that we ventured from the car was to go to a cafe (in the old 'English architecture' buildings that had been made into a fully functioning arts centre) for a hot choc.
The next morning I met Heff and she was lovely! She apologised for not being around the previous evening and would I like to come with her to the arts market and to get some bits together for her pre Christmas dinner that she was having that evening with her family before they went to Dublin to celebrate Christmas with other relatives and would I like to join them? I was delighted to be asked and accepted gratefully. Before that however we met one of Heffs cousins for (only top quality) coffee (which Heff it addicted to!) who was down from Wellington with her daughter. She was making her first attempt at writing a novel and so the discussions ranged over which books she should read to get inspiration and how might she phrase this or set the scene for that.
The Arts market was buzzy with crafts people all there trying to eek out the last few dollars from the Christmas shoppers. the one stall that we went to was a dress stall and Heff wanted to speak to the girl who made the dresses but it was only her co stall holder there. We looked at the dresses for Heff wanted one made to fit her and she said that she had been loosing a lot of weight and would like something special. There were some beautiful dresses there and I was looking at one made from two squares of fabric cleverly joined. Heff insisted I try it on so we trooped off to the local public convenience, to save blushes. It did look great! Heff insisted that she pay for it for now and it was to be a loan and one I'd earned enough I would pay her back. It was done! And it was beautiful!
We had to go to lots of different shops and pick up food for the different parties that Heff and Tony Daly were going to be at over the holidays. Various berries, hot smoked salmon as well as a grocery run.

On the return home I was put in charge of the present wrapping after Heff proclaiming earlier that she had no wrapping abilities I said that I'd be able to help with that. I was handed armfuls of wrapping paper and ribbons and I was put to work.

Heffs' real name is Joan-Mary Heffanun and Tony Daly has always been Tony Daly and that is probably the way they will stay! Her mother came and her brother and the cousins form that morning and the nephew and the brothers friend! It was quite a party and a real family atmosphere! I was privileged to be there and even was presented with a present of a beaded Tiki glasses case (which I was informed made a brilliantly classy tampon holder!)

The next morning was a slow start for all! I was planning on leaving that day and there were a whole lot of things I had to do before I could go. I went and met Heff's friends for lunch at a lovely cafe/designer clothing store. Then it was off to the dress makers that we had failed to meet before at the arts market and then up a local hill for some exercise before I headed off for Geraldine which according to Tony was a good place to head for on the way to Queenstown.
They drove me to a junction then waved me off, they went home I went on.

From the ferry onwards

I was very sleepy by the time I was on board the ferry. It was meant to be leaving at 10 to 2am but it didn't leave until nearly 2.45. I found a flat piece of floor next to a wall behind some passengers chairs. I had to squeeze underneath their seats to get there but it was worth it. It meant that I was going to be undisturbed for the duration. I put my mask on and fell fast asleep. In such a tight corner and my bag as my pillow I was safe and secure warm and asleep!

I was woken by the passenger address system and I climbed out of my corner and sleepily went down to the van to drive into the dawn. It was about 5am and so I was exhausted. I stopped at the first rest area I came across and I figured that it would be quiet and safe since there were two other vans camping there. I crawled into the back and fell asleep for the second time that morning.



It was around 11am that I surfaced to thundering rain on my windows. Then I hopped into the cab part of the wagon and motored on south thanking heaven that I had changed the wipers on the windscreen before I had left Auckland. I stopped at Blenheim for fuel and then again about 5 minutes after I left the garage. The wiper blade was working its way off the wiper arm! So I hopped out of the van with the rain still pounding on my head and fiddled with the blade and switched it around so the blade clip was on the most outside edge, it was then forced to stay in by it's own design.

The rain eased up and pretty soon I was on the East Coast and the view was stunning. The pacific ocean from the other side! Next land mass South America, what a long way away that was! if I went in the other direction I would end up in South America too, Cool! I stopped for a brief break on a look out spot got out my box of goodies and preceded to make a tinned salmon and cucumber sandwich. I was very pleased at my self sufficient and loved the fact that I had a bowl to eat out of and a Spock to eat it with! My van was my home and I could take it with me wherever I went. The rain had caught up with me so I decided to get going, I was going to see how far I could get that day and didn't know where I would end up. I was driving for a long while down the Coast and I could see a railway track that went the same way. I realised that this must have been the line that Miranda had mentioned to me when I went to see her more than a week ago in the IoW. The views were stunning and imagining it from the open carriage of a train I could realise why she had raved about it. I passed many crayfish stalls all had variously amusing names, I remembered 'Cay's Crayfish' also the trouble these people had gone to to make 200x bigger models of these small lobster type crustaceans, in full colour, often gesturing you in to take a bite outta him although it looked more like it could take a decent chunk out of you! I turned off the coast following route 1 that starts at the top of the country and takes you the full length of the both islands and headed inland. While I had stopped I had noticed a headache coming on so I had popped a painkiller thinking it best not to be in headache mode and driving but as I hit the wriggly hill and valley inland roads I noticed the most peculiar thing. My vision in my left eye was decreasing from the bottom left corner out! I was a bit shocked as this has never happened before but then it was decreasing so much that unless I looked at it I could not see the gear stick or the radio. I started to wave my arm about while keeping my focus fixed on the car in front to see where my sight did actually start and stop. I thought that these hand signals must look most odd to the car behind. I considered stopping but I could see no where to pull over. The road way narrow and very windy. Then I thought that my vision may be failing indefinitely and the best thing I could do it to get to the nearest big city as quickly as possible so I could see a doctor. So I continued to drive while every now and again waving my arm about to see if it had got any worse. Eventually I cleared the wiggly roads and no sooner than I was driving down a straight highway the weird foggy blob vanished and my vision returned. Relieved, I called Penel's friends Heff and Tony Daly and after getting directions ventured on to find their house in Christchurch.

Journeying South.

I had meant to leave in the afternoon and get some distance under my belt but I was faffing around with making curtains for the van which Alex had removed cause he said that they were disgusting and mouldy and he had thrown them away. I drew out some outlines of NZ on the black out fabric and went over it with a red pen. it looked quite funky especially when I went a bit wrong and I redrew the line. I had to stock up on stuff and spent the day driving around Auckland making sure that I had a sleeping bag and a small stove and other things like super noodles and jam!

It was about 8.30pm before I was ready to leave and called home in the UK to let them know that I was about to go off. It was already dark by the time I set off and I then realised that I had left my shoes on the bedroom floor and after a quick phone call went back to Penel's house to collect them before I actually left Auckland! I traveled for about 2 hours before I stopped for a bit and ate and drank a little before thinking about stopping somewhere for the night. I consulted the map and I saw a small town about an hour and a half away called Cambridge that had a motor camp I journeyed on and I was a little unsure about how to feel about it all... I was just going through it. I was a little nervous and also excited but muddled in there was slight tiredness and hunger with a 'better get on with it' attitude. I pressed on and came to this motor camp but, of course it was closed and had been for several hours... things had stopped being in the 24 hr culture that I had come to rely on in the city. I needed the loo really badly but thought that if I found a bush at 11.30pm and found someone else too. I might come to a sticky end. It seemed a nice enough neighbourhood for everything seemed to be kept nicely, there was very little litter and once I stopped and got out of the van I realised the air smelt fresh like newly mown grass and rain mixed up together. The temperature was cool and there was not a sound from anywhere. I saw a sign for public toilets and followed it, but only to come back to the van about 10 mins later only having found a lawn bowling club, tennis courts and a really beautiful band stand lit from a distance on what I assumed must have been the local playing fields. After I had braved the 'peeing in a bush'. I quickly made my way out of the town, feeling slightly guilty for soiling such a well kept and seemingly nice place. I found a 24hr garage and decided to stop there after I had rejected the VERY quiet road by a lake that lead to a power station nearby. I shut the curtains and jumped slightly every time a car went past. I had drawn my curtains but I could still see the light peeking through the gaps at the corners of my now fairly cosy van. I had made a little nest and I was feeling more and more at home and more at ease the longer I was there. I had locked myself in and unless I stuck my head out nobody knew that I was there. Snug as a bug in a rug eh! It was by now close to 2 am so I text Penel as she asked me to do once I had stopped somewhere and asked her to text back when she would get it the next day so I could say that I was alright and I settled down in my new bed for the night.





It was close to 9.30 when I woke and there were more cars parked about me today than there had been the night before. I walked into the shop and cafe, used the facilities, washed my face and I was on my way again. I debated going to Rotarua to see the hot pools before I went south but chose not to in favour of spending time in wellington once I had got there. A I went on an eye on a stalk at the roadside caught my attention. It was brightly coloured and had a globe painted where the iris should have been. Then I spotted the warehouse up the hill it had 'Corrugated Creations' emblazoned across it. The next town I came to was Tirau and I could not believe my eyes.. nearly every shop sign, and building had some corrugated creation as its sign or even the building itself was made out of it in some wacky form... I saw a sheep and a dog which was the visitor centre and an ice cream and a octopus all made from corrugated iron. My first stop of the day was at lake Tapo then just past the mountains south of the lake cause Dad called me and he asked me where I was and I consulted the map and came back with Mt Doom! I didn't realise but the map had the locations of where the Lord of the Rings was filmed. I was indeed near there but it was called Ngarahoe instead. I was impressed by the landscape and often stopped to take pictures or held the camera out of the window and tried to hold it level while driving along.




The landscape became more and more flat farm land and it wasn't until I was close to Wellington that I had a proper leg stretch. I felt sticky and I was tired and so decided to stop at Camborne to go to the loo and have a snack. I found a rest area which there were plenty of along the major routes. Sometimes they were just a spot to pull out of the way of a traffic but often they had a basic loo and maybe even a shop. This one was by an inlet an as I went in and I spotted a shower. It was open to the whole room and only had a tap control and I was pretty sure that it was cold water but it was so tempting... I nipped to the car and found a towel, shower stuff and a change of clothing and after a quick glance in the direction of the road to see if anyone was coming I made a dash for it. I stripped off and turned on the tap, carefully I covered my towel and new set of clothes with the discarded set and washed vigorously! The water was cold and it was so refreshing. The shower was totally exposed to the rest of the room and I hoped no one would just walk in because they would have a shock. I giggled to myself at this thought as I dried my skin and pulled on the relatively crisp new clothes... lovely!
Next stop, Wellington! I pulled into a car park and thought that I should be able to find food and be back to the car within 30 mins. I grabbed my 'Lonely Planet' and headed in a direction. I found a street name and then with my backpack to the nearest wall out of the way of the pedestrian traffic I found where I was on the map. I had a few options and decided to head for the cheaper 'cafe' options and see what I could on the way. It was really windy and the city commuters who should have looked slick and smarty turned out had a more than slightly windswept look about them. I stomped purposefully towards Cuba St checking the novel sized guidebook every now and again making sure that I was on the right path. I walked passed several cafes and alternative shops and the local news TV reporter lit and made up (for what reason I have no idea) and found one of the recommended places "Midnight Expresso' the pierced and chilled out serving staff were friendly and the cafe was great, darkly lit for it went far back past the shop front before you came to the counter... And there were CAKES and buns of all descriptions. I was seduced and decided to opt for the vegan chocolate cake with marigolds stuck into the thick frosting. I ordered a cappuccino and a slice of said cake to take away. This was all well and good but I was getting really hungry and after two days of eating sandwiches I needed something more substantial. I passed a Kebab shop and the smell was to die for so I came away from Cuba st with a Kebab and rice and cake... bloomin' good meal too! I had realised that I wasn't going to get back to the car in 30 mins fairly early on in my search for food so I was taking the sights in and wandered back. I arrived 8 mins after the full hour and so was horrified to find that I was being charged for an hour and a half of parking at $5 a time! shocking prices! I now had to find somewhere to kill time and this car park was not the place to do it. My ferry was at 1.50 am and it was about 6pm. I drove to the inter-island ferry terminal and rocked up at the check in desk and apologised for being so early...
'we might be able to squeeze you onto the 8 pm crossing, but I don't fancy your chances, we have a limit on how many people we can take.'
"that's okay. I can wait... I have no where to go when I get to the other side anyway!'
So I was instructed to pull up nearby and I chose a spot with the bay view. I enjoyed my slightly cold kebab and sniffed the cake, YUM! As the daylight slowly disappeared and twilight fell the wind got up and my van was being shaken and buffeted about. With 6 hours to kill I read and platted together the spare strips of blackout material to hold the curtains close to the windows, called dad and Penel and enjoyed being stationary.