Off to the Mountains in the Campervan

Mon 28 Dec 2015 - Campervan collection and journey to the mountains

Our motorhome company collected us from the Southwark Apartment around noon and we left Christchurch city centre to pick up our Ford Transit 2 berth motorhome, fully contained, meaning we have all our own facilities to be able to “freedom camp” which allows us to park up almost anywhere and not to have to use campsites every day. On the way we chatted to Joyce, our driver, about the impact of the earthquake and learned that the buildings we thought had survived were in fact old facades with new buildings behind.

After briefing us on how everything operated and with the addition of a teapot, we headed to our now favourite supermarket, Countdown, just in time for a few  yellow label reductions. The cupboards and fridge were stocked up and we hit highway 1 making our way to Mount Cook village, an estimated journey of 4 - 5 hours.

The scenery was uneventful, sun scorched plains but we did make it across NZ’s longest bridge over Rakaia river and surprisingly Glenn didn’t stop for a photo of it!  Passing by place names of Chertsey, Ashburton, Windermere and Ealing we made our way along the mountain highway stopping at Lake Tekapo for a break.

With the sun shining this massive lake was a stunning turquoise and the locals, still on holiday, were out either water skiing, jet biking or in speedboats. We stumbled across the Church of the Good Shepherd, a tiny chapel opened by the Duke of Gloucester way back when.  The end wall of the alter was a clear window rather than stained glass and overlooked the lake, which must be a (welcomed?) distraction during service.

Setting off for our final destination of Mount Cook Village, we realised our arrival would most likely be in the dark and very late for dinner. With this in mind, we decided to stay about 30 miles short at the local council run “freedom” campsite based at the very south end of Lake Pukaki, another turquoise beauty. The sun was losing its power and getting low in the sky and we parked up away from the shore, and everyone else, and admired the mountain views of where we would be walking tomorrow.  

An old hand at two ring burner dinners, Yvonne knocked up sausages, mash and veggies together with a cuppa using Yorkshire teabags which we had found in Christchurch (yay 50% free too!) Rigging up the bed was easy enough and we settled in for cosy nights sleep.

Lake Tekapo 

Our home for the next 7 weeks 

Swarm of oriental photographers