Mkl’s inside our favorite food store (yay for Countdown!), picking up some end-of-the-trip needs (coffee, of course! “milk”, nutella, maybe a brownie, and probably some bananas…) So, I thought I’d sit in the lot, enjoy the sunshine, and type up a post about driving in NZ (remember, I’m doing all the driving, he’s doing all the dumping/refilling/cooking/cleaning; we both do the diesel).

So, driving in NZ. Yes, they drive on the opposite side of the road, and, their drivers sit in the opposite side of the car (still in the front, tho!). I’ve been driving on the other side of the road for oh…20+ years, so there was a bit of an adjustment period. Fortunately, we had that private tour of Australia first, so I got to sit as a passenger and “feel” what it’s like to drive on the other side of the road, watching her moves, how she turned, and what to do at the MANY roundabouts. There are very FEW “lights”/intersections in NZ, almost all are actually “roundabouts”/circles and you enter them on the left over here and go clockwise around them, rather than entering toward the right and going counter-clockwise, as in the states.

Especially in the beginning, after every “turn”, I think to myself “stay LEFT”. So, turn right, STAY LEFT. Turn left, STAY LEFT. Approach roundabout, STAY LEFT. Etc. When other cars are on the road, this is a bit easier, as the direction they are driving in reminds you of the side of the road you should be on. When there are no other cars around, this becomes a bit more challenging.

This also applies to parking lots, (and, walking trails) – STAY LEFT.

Fortunately, Kiwis are quite good drivers, both considerate and generally, not aggressive. Also fortunate is the fact that camper vanning is SO popular here that they have arrows on most of the entrances to the roads indicating traffic direction. That’s VERY helpful, especially when there’s so many variables to consider (pedestrians, etc.)

Speaking of pedestrians, that’s different, too. I didn’t realize it, but apparently, I’d gotten into a habit with how I “crossed the road”. Look left, then right, then left, then right, then if clear, cross. The cars come from the opposite direction down here, which I wouldn’t have thought was a big deal for pedestrians, but it really does throw you off when you look left and it’s clear, but then you look right and see a car zooming toward you in the lane you are considering stepping into. Next time you walk across the road, think about the cars coming from the opposite direction than you’re used to and see how odd it feels. Or, maybe it’s just me 🙂

The other consideration when driving in NZ is safety on mountain roads full of wildlife, rock falls, mudslides, curves, curves, curves, tourists from all over the world, and lots of campervans! So far, on the highways, easily 75% of the vehicles are other campervans, and the remaining 25% is made up of mostly work trucks and a few kiwis. I think that the roads are mainly used for tourists and people preparing for tourists! Back to the curves, yeah, being from southern NJ, we rarely drive on mountain roads (well, except when travelling, that is!) Here, pretty much EVERY road is a mountain road! The speed limit goes from 100 km/hr to 15 km/hr and back again every few Km’s! And, you’re on the side of a mountain! Like, one edge drops down as a steep cliff and the other side shoots almost straight upward as a steep rockface! Reminds us of our time on the Amalfi Coast – the steering wheel just goes back and forth, back and forth as we hairpin left, then right, then left, then right… for kilometres and kilometres and kilometres…

But, it’s part of the fun, really!!

Speaking of fun, I’m REALLY enjoying driving Beethoven! He’s a Fiat Diesel something-or-other and he purrs like a lion in the wild, scrambles up and down steep grades with confidence (usually), and grips the road like a tree frog, hanging on when needed and zooming along when the rare straightaway presents itself. In addition to the daily challenge of driving in NZ, I’ve gotten a few chances to express my driving skillz – from backing out of a muddy riverbed and up a narrow, steep hill, to ascending a windy, steep, limited-access mountain road up to the summit, to navigating tight parking lots, camping spots, and picnic areas. It feels good when the guys have that look of awe and “driving respect” when they realize it’s a “girl” that just gracefully got out of that tight spot that they figured for sure we’d be stuck in. 🙂

Well, mkl has returned from his adventure in the Countdown and it’s time to plan our next stop. Gotta run!

Just curious. We’ve gotten a few comments from immediate family and friends, but we’re wondering who all’s reading our posts.

If you’re reading them, comment with a hi or hello (or more) on one of the posts. We’ll read and then approve them, so if you wanna post something private for just us to read, let us know and we’ll just read it ourselves, and not share it with the world, if you prefer that. 🙂

Thanks for reading – we’re enjoying sharing our amazing journey with you!

2:30am – wake up. 2:35am – go back to sleep. 5:30am wake up again – this time, stay up, do a little bit of trip research, and get ready for the day. Mkl made Pancake Sundaes with the leftover pancakes from before, topped with Nutella and Vegan Coconut Ice Cream (sooo good!) He’d planned to make them for dessert the night before, but we skipped it, since we went to bed so early. And, hey, we’re on our “Ceremoon” in New Zealand, so if we wanna have Pancake Sundaes for breakfast, well, then, that’s what we’re gonna have. After breakfast, we packed up and were back on the road in short order (BEST thing about having an RV!!). We were heading to Lake Matheson to check out the reflection on Reflection Island, and had read that the best time was 8:30-9am on a clear, calm day – which it totally was!

The drive was about 30-40 minutes of astounding beauty – seriously, how is it so gorgeous EVERYWHERE!?!?! This morning, the newly-risen sun was warming the landscape and was just beginning to burn off select, exposed areas of the morning dew. The fog was delicately placed between layers of trees and mountains, drifting along crevices in the hillsides and across various stretches of road. Cattle roamed lazily in numerous fields along our route, seemingly oblivious to the beautiful scenery surrounding them, while at the same time, adding to the charm of the view. We didn’t want it to end, but we really wanted to see what Lake Matheson’s Reflection Island had to offer.

We finally arrived, to find other tourists with the same idea. We trekked around the beautiful jungle-rain forest path, opting for the shortcut, but still being wowed by a plethora of sights along the way:

These are how all the walkways look in New Zealand. Cool and functional!

Within 40 minutes, we had arrived at Reflection Island (which was actually a very small, 3-4 person platform, built off of a stairway, and over the Lake). Of course, it just happens to be placed in possibly the most accessibly scenic spot on Lake Matheson – great for us photo-snapping travelers! Aside from one slightly annoying cloud, the weather was PERFECT for this opportunity – yay! I snapped a bunch of photos (then, I realized my camera was on the total wrong setting, so I fixed it and snapped a bunch more).

Mkl took a bunch, and then I took a bunch of other travelers, and then they took a few of us…

This is what happens when someone else takes our photo… It looks like we’re in front of a video wall or something.

We even got to know one couple quite a bit (a teacher and an engineer from Barcelona – who’ve travelled all over the world, enjoy the south of France on a motorcycle, lived in Malaysia for a few years, and who plan to tour the USA on a Harley!) We kept “meeting up” with them along the path. How adorable are they??

Before we knew it, we were all back at the café & gift shop! They got some lunch on their own, and we got some snacks and a functional souvenir for mkl, and then the two of us were on our way, yet again!

Shot from the parking lot, next to the gift shop. See the white peaks above? That’s Mount Tasman (left) and Mount Cook (right). Mount Tasman looks bigger because it’s closer. Also starring: Camper Van Beethoven

Our plan was to make the 2.5 hour drive to Hokitika, check out the Gorge, and camp in the free carpark there for two nights. The drive was breathtaking, both for its beauty, as well as its potential danger.

We passed many kilometers of storm-damaged landscape on the way in – mkl had learned from a female semi-professional netball player, on our flight from Australia to NZ, that the area was recently hit by several powerful cyclones). All of the mudslide areas, toppled trees, and uprooted plants made me quite nervous for the stability of the ground, ie: roads, walkways, etc. There were, afterall, many places on the road with “danger” indications, rock-clearing work, and “missing” chunks of land.

Threatening skies

Less threatening skies over a beautiful river (yes, it was actually that color)

Pretty much status quo, but still…yikes.When we arrived at Hokitika Gorge, the skies looked threatening; however, Hokitika was on my “must see” list, so, onward we pressed. Guided and reassured by mkl, we headed along the trail to the Gorge. First, was a viewing platform overlooking the waterway – beautiful! Then, we crossed a swing bridge spanning the waterway – so cool! Then, we tramped to the rocks and scrambled as close to the water as we felt comfortable, and took a ton of photos!

What’s so special about this area, you ask? Well, the main attraction is the water – it’s a pure, turquoise/aqua/tiffany blue opaque color. It is so beautiful, words cannot even describe it!

A terrible photo showing the science (geology) behind how this happens – basically, it’s due to mineral-rich glacier dust!

All-too-soon, the sandflies (major nuisance here) began swarming, so we had to get going. It was probably good thing, as we may have stayed there all day, it was so peaceful and awe-inspiring, and we had the WHOLE place to ourselves!

Back at Beethoven, we reassessed our plan to stay the night in the carpark at the gorge. It was still daylight (surprisingly) and the weather was good for driving, so I decided that we should head onward toward the next recommended camping spot. A few hours later, we were pulling into a picnic area off the highway, that faced a gorgeous stretch of beach.

The sun was just setting over the water (well, behind the clouds, anyway) and it was a serene scene. That is, until I contemplated sleeping on the side of the highway for the night (like, literally, five feet from the two-lane, 100 km/hr road). Hmmm… the ocean waves crashing in the background…tractor-trailers banging along the highway in the foreground…hoping they stay on track (and awake!). Nah, I decided again to continue onward and find a better spot for sleeping.

Although it was beautiful on the left, the highway is just to the right of our camper.

Just a few kilometres down the road, we reached the park where the Punakaiki (Pancake) Rocks were, which was our next planned stop. It was pretty much dark at this time, so we went in search of a place to sleep and found the local Beach Camp to be open and available. We booked a spot for the night – it was right on the beach, and FAR from the highway! Plus, we had electricity and water! The campground was peaceful, sparsely populated, and had some great amenities, including a huge drying room, a sizable and well-equipped kitchen, and a few neat little sitting/working/game-playing nooks, heated by an old wood stove. (none of which we utilized, but they looked decent!).

There was no wi-fi or phone signal at our camp, so after mkl made dinner (Ricotta Basil Ravioli with Chunky Pesto Sauce – and I enjoyed a glass of red wine that was a gift from a friendly Kiwi), he laid down on the bed for a pre-sleep nap and I stayed up a wee bit longer to draft the next post for the blog. Within the hour, I was falling asleep at the laptop yet again, so I mustered enough energy to wash up and then I crawled into bed, amidst the sound of nearby crashing waves and the occasional birdsong.