A timelapse of driving our rental campervan from Franz Josef to Hokitika in New Zealand.
NZ: Franz Josef to Hokitika
We traveled from Franz Josef to Hokitika.
Here’s an interactive map of our route, with some of the stops marked:
We started the day with a helicopter flight, as shown in the previous post. After that, we went next door to the Full of Beans Cafe for a second breakfast; this sign shows a sampling of Kiwi expressions:
Amazingly, they had a potato top meat pie, so I had to have that (potato top pies seem to be becoming hard to find, unfortunately):
Whataroa River:
A long one lane bridge with passing lanes:
Another one lane bridge:
Weka:
We went to the West Coast Tree Top Walk, and had lunch at their cafe:
Yes, another pie; gotta get as many as possible as our trip comes to an end:
Then we did the tree top walk; here’s the map:
And stop info:
Unfortunately a school trip was on the walk at the same time; they were having fun making the cantilevered portion bounce:
Onward; some cows going through a tunnel under the road:
Arriving at Shining Star Beachfront Accommodation:
Our site:
Shower:
Dulcie’s Takeaways for dinner:
We took the takeaways to eat with a beachfront view; a classic Kiwi experience:
Shipwreck memorial:
Hokitika downtown:
Back at the campground, we walked along the path to the beach:
NZ: Franz Josef twin glacier helicopter flight
As one of our last big excursions on our NZ trip, we booked a helicopter flight from the town of Franz Josef over Franz Josef and Fox glaciers.
The flight route:
The Helicopter Line office:
Going to the helipads:
Our helicopter coming in for a landing:
Our helicopter awaits:
Taking off:
Selfie:
River:
Snowy mountains:
A peek of Mount Cook:
Glacier:
We landed on the snow:
Taking off again:
A parking lot and river; this is the closest one can drive to the glacier (which is getting further away every year as it shrinks):
Coming in for a landing:
Our helicopter taking off again:
A fascinating experience.
NZ video: Lake Hāwea to Franz Josef campervan travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our rental campervan from Lake Hāwea to Franz Josef in New Zealand.
NZ: Lake Hāwea to Franz Josef
We traveled from Lake Hāwea to Franz Josef over Haast Pass.
Here’s an interactive map of our route, with some of the stops marked:
Lake Hāwea:
One lane bridge:
Mountains:
Another one lane bridge:
Snowy mountain:
Spiker Cafe in Haast for lunch:
“Two Passing Bays Ahead”:
A stop at Ship Creek:
Some interesting rocks on the beach:
A dolphin:
Knight’s Point lookout:
Monument celebrating the highway connecting Westland with Otago:
Flax:
Snowy mountains:
Another long one lane bridge:
Maori Beach:
Yet another long one lane bridge:
Snowy mountains:
Arriving at Orange Sheep Campervan Park:
Our site:
NZ video: Queenstown to Lake Hāwea campervan travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our rental campervan from Queenstown to Lake Hāwea in New Zealand.
NZ: Queenstown to Lake Hāwea
We traveled from Queenstown to Lake Hāwea.
Here’s an interactive map of our route, with some of the stops marked:
Shockingly, another scenic drive in NZ:
We explored the Cromwell Heritage Precinct, which saved some historic buildings when the main street of Cromwell was submerged due to the construction of the Clyde dam:
Coffee and a slice at the Seed & Grain Store:
More exhibits:
Clutha River:
Cromwell stone fruit sculpture and sign:
45th Southern Parallel marker, halfway between the equator and the south pole:
Vines:
Interesting rocks:
We were going to stop at Wanaka Lavender Farm, but there wasn’t convenient parking, and most of the lavender wasn’t in bloom, so we skipped it:
Puzzling World is a cheesy tourist trap; we never intended to stop there, and didn’t:
We did stop at the Mount Aspiring National Park Visitor Centre, more our speed:
Of course, we had to take some pictures of That Wanaka Tree (along with several other people):
We had lunch at Scroggin in Wanaka:
A one lane bridge with a traffic light:
Arriving at our campground for the night, The Camp:
It was laundry time again, so we tried the laundry facilities at the campground, but most of the machines were out of order:
The showers were very basic too:
A cabin with a view:
Lake Hāwea:
Outdoor fireplace:
Dome:
Our site:
Since the campground laundry was unusable, we went back to Wanaka to do laundry at a laundromat. Which was a useful experience; we found that taking our laundry to a laundromat was easier than using a campground laundry, since we didn’t need to fuss with coins or small unreliable machines.
After laundry, we had dinner at Hello Ranger:
Then back to our site for the night:
NZ video: Arrowtown and Glenorchy campervan travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our rental campervan from Queenstown to Arrowtown, Shotover, Glenorchy, and back to Queenstown in New Zealand.
NZ: Arrowtown, Shotover Jet, and Glenorchy
On a day trip from Queenstown, we enjoyed a scenic drive, explored Arrowtown and Glenorchy, plus experienced a Shotover Jet boat ride.
Here’s an interactive map of our route, with some of the stops marked:
But first, we stopped at Moinho Cafe for breakfast:
Followed by Woolworths for groceries; again it was nice to be able to load the groceries straight into the van.
Then we headed to Arrowtown:
We explored the Arrowtown Chinese Settlement historic village:
And downtown Arrowtown, a cute little town that embraces its history (and is very touristy):
Coffee break at Patagonia Chocolates:
Then on to Shotover Jet, where we did a jet boat ride on the Shotover river (fun fact; jet boats were invented in New Zealand):
Boarding the boat:
We got front row seats:
Edith Cavell Bridge, under which the jet boats travel:
Crossing the bridge:
Shotover River and a jet boat from the bridge:
Heading to Glenorchy:
Welcome to Glenorchy:
The iconic Glenorchy boatshed:
Glenorchy wharf:
We went to Mr Glen’s Taphouse & Tapas for dinner:
Back towards Queenstown:
A very scenic drive.
NZ: exploring Queenstown
We did a little exploring of downtown Queenstown, meeting up with Karan and her mum. We took a ferry from a dock near our campground to downtown, and back.
Here’s an interactive map of our walking route to the local ferry dock:
Part of our walking route in downtown Queenstown:
Walking along the lakefront:
Floating shops:
Aboard the ferry:
Tourist subs:
William Gilbert Rees, founder of Queenstown:
Downtown shops:
The famous Fergburger:
Steps up toward the gondola:
Snack:
Selfie:
Looking over Queenstown:
Mountains and paraglider:
Fergburger again, with a long line (we didn’t try it; no burger is worth waiting that long):
The TSS Earnslaw, a 1912 steamer:
Baja Mexico for lunch, we were curious what NZ’s interpretation of Mexican food would be like:
On the ferry back to our campsite:
Queenstown was smaller and less touristy than I expected. Still very touristy, but practically subtle compared to US touristy places.