And they’re off

Wanting to get away quickly before the local shop or land owners realised we had stayed the night we left at 06:30.  Of course we used the spotless amenities next to the church because the place we were going to promised to have a not so pleasant toilet experience. We were heading over the mountains on The Crown Range.  As the summit was a camping night spot, we arranged to have breakfast there.  The Crown Range boasts the highest sealed road (tarmac) across all of New Zealand.  With the temperature already at 6⁰C it was sure to get colder near the summit, almost freezing.

Hare raising

We stopped.  Had our porridge with banana, realising that we were only ten metres (approx thirty feet) shy of the summit of Mt Snowden.  Not to miss the opportunity I grabbed my coat and headed up the track which is now only accessible by foot.  Climbing a further fifty metres (150ft) up the slope I was higher than all of Wales.  Looking across the valleys (New Zealand’s, not the Welsh valleys), the king of the rabbits, a huge hare, ran out a few metres from me scurrying up the mountain side.

Zig Zigging and drifting around the hairpins

What goes up must come down and we were no exception.  The road up had been a series of  bends, but coming down looked like a tobogganists dream with sharp turn after sharp turn.  Every corner on the descent had a very low speed limit on it, New Zealand”s answer to Tokyo Drift. However VAN SANDD is not an American muscle car driven by Vin Diesel even though it is a diesel van?

Creaky dreams

Winding through this often unspoilt land on our own journey, the mind is always brought us back to Frodo and Sam as they ventured on their tiny hairy feet through the never-ending countryside, across rivers and creeks, over mountains and through endless tunnels.  Our quest is to get back to England in one piece ‘with a fist full of money and a “van” load of dreams’ (The Wolfe Tones).   The dreams will be our fond memories of this green and fertile land surrounded by mountains, lakes, turquoise rivers and a remarkably rugged coastline. Not to forget the five weeks in Australia with family and friends and for its diversity of almost every type of landscape known on the planet, even if we didn’t visit the dessert.

Pac n Save, Stop Shop n Drop

Down the mountain we went eventually reaching Queenstown feeling like a pair of deep sea divers who came up way too fast we had seen so many bends.  First stop Pac n Save for fuel and supplies.

As we are off to a BBQ in Piano Flats on Friday we went to get a bottle of wine.  Someone, and I’m not saying who but it wasn’t me,  decided to knock a few small bottles of wine off the shelf.  That is when you realise that even without youth on our side, you’ve still got it.  Catching one flying bottle in the hand, one on the foot and cushioning the others onto the shelf with one’s belly you divert a disaster and possibly a costly trip.  Next thing you know ‘Ain’t Nobody’ by Chaka Khan comes on  the sound system and my body and trolley get possessed by the music and start doing all manners of moves not seen on a dance floor since the late eighties. Even more worrying was how I tried to climb into the trolley to load the converter belt for the cashier.

This was followed by visiting four separate camping shops, none of which sold the gas bottle we needed.  After wasting thirty minutes looking we found one in the hardware shop next to the screwdrivers.  Of course that’s where they would be, why didn’t we look there first? Quick look in the op shops for a waterproof coat as the poncho really won’t survive the next few days adrenaline junkie pursuits we have signed up to. Bingo, got one. 

The scenic royal journey

We left Queenstown and headed for Kingston Lakes via the Southern Scenic Route, passing and stopping at Lake Wakatipu. This was the first and biggest freedom camp for miles.  We got their early as there were allegedly only fifty pitches. There was still over fifty when we stopped but they had all left a private, semi secluded pitch next to the lake free. Not hesitating we pulled in and staked our claim.  For the next few hours campervans,  motorhomes and estate cars where people would sleep pulled in.  Everyone finding a piece of gravel or grass they could.  There was easily over a hundred vehicles stopping for the night, we reckoned in excess of 150.  A few brave souls went swimming in the glacier lake. They lasted about twenty seconds.  A couple of young German lads sat just opposite us and started fishing while others were strolling along the small beach area.  For so many people it was a very quiet camp with most settling down before 20:30.  That had been a constant feature on our travels,  everyone settles in their vehicles really early.  We guess with the nature of activities people are doing, especially trekking up mountains or white knuckle activities, everyone is either wrecked or saving their strength to do it all again the next day..

Sarah had to touch base at home as Darren, her brother,  had driven from Wales to visit their mum in Dorset.  We were in a really poor reception area so had to walk to the main road to get a signal.  Going from 40⁰C in Australia to 4⁰C now was a big shock to the system. For the 1st time in six weeks we had three layers of clothes on.  We watched the skies change colour as the sun lowered its head down behind the mountains and through the clouds.  All was well at home so we settled down for the night at 22:30, setting alarms for 05 00.