We traveled south from Collingwood to Murchison.

Here’s an interactive map of our route, with some of the stops marked:

A sunny morning view from our site:

A seagull on the skylight:

Leaving Collingwood:

Since it was rainy when we visited Te Waikoropupu Springs the previous day, we decided to stop by again on the way past; very glad we did, as it was much more clear without rain:

Takaka mural:

Old farmhouse:

Takaka valley:

Weka:

Interesting rocks:

Hawkes Lookout track and viewpoint:

Suspension bridge:

Kohatu Flat Rock Cafe for lunch:

Snow-capped mountains:

Nelson Lakes National Park Visitor Centre:

The very iconic Lake Rotoiti Jetty:

Eels:

Arriving at Murchison Motorhome Park:

Buller River below the campground:

Our site:

We traveled northwest from Nelson to Collingwood.

Here’s an interactive map of our route, with some of the stops marked:

I like campgrounds that have separate rooms for each bathroom:

Free shower with timer:

Heading out in the rain:

Dumping waste tanks on the way out:

Motueka valley:

Roadworks, with time to green light:

Curvy road:

Nikau Cafe for lunch:

Interesting rocks:

Abel Tasman Monument:

Labyrinth Rocks:

Te Waikoropupu Springs:

Welcome to Collingwood:

Collingwood Holiday Park:

Our site:

We walked into town to get fish & chips takeaways from Collingwood Tavern:

Then took it back to our site, and enjoyed eating with a nice view:

We traveled from Wellington to Picton, which involved taking our van in a large ferry between the two main islands of New Zealand.

Here’s an interactive map of the ferry route, starting from Wellington (on the right) and ending in Picton (on the left):

And a map of our driving route from Picton; the campground for the night was very near the ferry terminal, but we were early, so decided to take a scenic drive down the coast and back before checking in:

Heading to the ferry early in the morning:

Vehicle check in:

We were very early indeed; this all filled up before boarding:

Coffee vending machine:

Boarding the ferry:

We had booked the Premium Lounge, which included comfy seats and a buffet:

Cattle class wasn’t bad looking, though, albeit noisier:

Outside seating:

Lots of vehicles:

Arriving in Marlborough Sound in the South Island:

Arriving at Picton:

Disembarking:

Vineyards:

Nice hills:

Lake Elterwater Wildlife Refuge:

Coast:

We stopped for a coffee and snack in Kaikoura:

Heading north again:

Arriving at Parklands Marina Holiday Park:

Campground map:

We dumped the toilet cassette again:

We got to choose our site:

After parking, we took a 10 minute walk down to the marina for dinner at the Jolly Roger Bar and Cafe:

Back to our site:

We traveled from Castlepoint to Wellington.

Here’s an interactive map of our route, with some of the stops marked:

Scenic sunrise; not a bad view out our side door:

We didn’t enjoy using the shower in the van, so used campground showers each day after that:

At the campgrounds in the North Island that we went to, the showers had timers, this one with a coin required:

Filling our water tank; the hose the rental company provided was rather short, so we usually had to move the van to reach:

Castlepoint homes:

We parked the van on the sand:

Beach and lighthouse:

Seals:

Looking back to our van:

Walking up to the lighthouse:

Fossilized shells:

Castlepoint:

The campground:

Masterton Golden Shears; proud of sheep shearing:

Entice Cafe for lunch:

Carterton:

Featherston classic hotel:

A glimpse of the Interislander ferry, that we’d be catching the following morning:

Wellington houses:

Wellington is a hilly city, with many tunnels:

Wellington selfie:

We met up with two sides of extended family, one at a cafe, the other at an uncle’s house, then spent the night stealth camping on the road in front of the house.