It's been a while since you heard from me. Not because I had nothing to say but because I went on a road trip to the end of the world. The whole point of renting a car was to go to places the bus don't go and these places usually don't have internet. Most of them didn't even have cellphone or FM radio reception. But they are unbelievably beautiful. In those 10 days I did see a lot of nature and wildlife but almost no people. That probably was a good thing because I only had 2 showers in 10 days (DOC camp sites usually only have a long drop toilet and untreated water supply). A few times I didn't make it to a camp site and I had to sleep in the car along side the road. Not everything was great and awesome, I've been lonely and I had some very bad times. But there was never a bad day because every day I ended up in some place that made my jaw drop.
The best thing about driving around the South Island is that the scenery changes so quickly. I drove about 200km a day and every night I was in another world. One night I saw the sun go down at a mountain lake, the next one I was at a beach littered with weird rock formations and the next night I slept on a cliff with a lot of grass and sheep on it that looked like the Irish coast. That cliff was the southern most point of my trip and about as close to Antarctica you can get without alpine skills. The wind that blows there chills you to your bones. That night I slept with all my cloths on. I also went to Invercargill where I saw the start of the Tour of Southland, a 7 days cycle race and considered the toughest in New-Zealand. There are a lot of wind, rain and mountains to endure before that race is over. I saw the fossils of whale bones on top of a hill, 40km in land and I played David Attenborough with 5 sea lions on a deserted beach. I went to see 'the angels' share' in a cinema that hasn't rows of seats but a wild collection of sofa's, Chesterfields, train benches and even an old Morris Marina to watch the movie in.
My inner-hobbit was not neglected either. With the car I could go the more remote movie locations. So I drove through the plains of Gondor, I visited the ford of bruinen (where Frodo and Arwen cross the river to Rivendell with the black nights on their heels) and the location where they filmed the pilars of the kings. I also visited Fangorn forest and I even camped 2 nights in Ithilien.
The most beautiful thing I did was an overnight cruise in Doubtful Sound. Doubtful Sound is a massive fjord in a rain forest. It is very remote, most tourists visit the easy accessible Milford Sound. the ship I was on was the only one in the fjord. We saw all the wild life there is to see (dolphins, penguins, seals) and we made a kayak trip in the fjord. Added bonus was the buffet diner which was decadent. I had been living on bread and humus for 5 days by then and I ate until I couldn't move any more. Doubtful sound is the high light of my New-Zealand trip.
Driving in New-Zealand is an experience. They don't have real motor ways over here. The state highway is a 2 lane road. There are always sharp bends, hills to go over and hidden corners. There are also many gravel roads and they are even worse. I once saw a short cut on my map and I decided to try it. 17km on gravel road and almost an hour later I got to my destination. The alternative of 30km by sealed road would have got me there in under half an hour. There is also a lot of road kill in New-Zealand. Rabbits and Possums are an introduced pest and there are many millions of them. Because they are pest nobody really minds to run them over. They say that even vegetarians wear possum fur in New-Zealand.
Driving in New-Zealand is exiting, challenging and great fun if you are a good driver. But we all know I'm a terrible driver, which I proved by parking my car into a bridge. I lost a tail light and broke my bumper. Luckily I have good insurance and the rental company gave me a new, smaller car.
Now I'm back in Greymouth in the hostel I worked in earlier. I wanted a shower and a real bed and in Greymouth I could get it for free, but I had to help paint the lounge. I love the West Coast. There are great forests over here and the people are friendly and down to earth. And this time around the sun is even shining. As usually there is a lovely bunch of people hanging around Neptunes Backpacker. The place attracts a certain kind of people I guess. My kind of people. By far the nicest thing about working in a hostel is that you live together with your co-workers for a few days and you can talk with them about normal stuff, not only the usual 'where are you from, where have you been, how long are you gonna stay' kind of conversation.
So all in all the experience of renting a car was great. I saw some beautiful things and I learned a few things about myself, but I'm actually pretty happy that the next time I travel I can let the bus driver drive.
The best thing about driving around the South Island is that the scenery changes so quickly. I drove about 200km a day and every night I was in another world. One night I saw the sun go down at a mountain lake, the next one I was at a beach littered with weird rock formations and the next night I slept on a cliff with a lot of grass and sheep on it that looked like the Irish coast. That cliff was the southern most point of my trip and about as close to Antarctica you can get without alpine skills. The wind that blows there chills you to your bones. That night I slept with all my cloths on. I also went to Invercargill where I saw the start of the Tour of Southland, a 7 days cycle race and considered the toughest in New-Zealand. There are a lot of wind, rain and mountains to endure before that race is over. I saw the fossils of whale bones on top of a hill, 40km in land and I played David Attenborough with 5 sea lions on a deserted beach. I went to see 'the angels' share' in a cinema that hasn't rows of seats but a wild collection of sofa's, Chesterfields, train benches and even an old Morris Marina to watch the movie in.
My inner-hobbit was not neglected either. With the car I could go the more remote movie locations. So I drove through the plains of Gondor, I visited the ford of bruinen (where Frodo and Arwen cross the river to Rivendell with the black nights on their heels) and the location where they filmed the pilars of the kings. I also visited Fangorn forest and I even camped 2 nights in Ithilien.
The most beautiful thing I did was an overnight cruise in Doubtful Sound. Doubtful Sound is a massive fjord in a rain forest. It is very remote, most tourists visit the easy accessible Milford Sound. the ship I was on was the only one in the fjord. We saw all the wild life there is to see (dolphins, penguins, seals) and we made a kayak trip in the fjord. Added bonus was the buffet diner which was decadent. I had been living on bread and humus for 5 days by then and I ate until I couldn't move any more. Doubtful sound is the high light of my New-Zealand trip.
Driving in New-Zealand is an experience. They don't have real motor ways over here. The state highway is a 2 lane road. There are always sharp bends, hills to go over and hidden corners. There are also many gravel roads and they are even worse. I once saw a short cut on my map and I decided to try it. 17km on gravel road and almost an hour later I got to my destination. The alternative of 30km by sealed road would have got me there in under half an hour. There is also a lot of road kill in New-Zealand. Rabbits and Possums are an introduced pest and there are many millions of them. Because they are pest nobody really minds to run them over. They say that even vegetarians wear possum fur in New-Zealand.
Driving in New-Zealand is exiting, challenging and great fun if you are a good driver. But we all know I'm a terrible driver, which I proved by parking my car into a bridge. I lost a tail light and broke my bumper. Luckily I have good insurance and the rental company gave me a new, smaller car.
Now I'm back in Greymouth in the hostel I worked in earlier. I wanted a shower and a real bed and in Greymouth I could get it for free, but I had to help paint the lounge. I love the West Coast. There are great forests over here and the people are friendly and down to earth. And this time around the sun is even shining. As usually there is a lovely bunch of people hanging around Neptunes Backpacker. The place attracts a certain kind of people I guess. My kind of people. By far the nicest thing about working in a hostel is that you live together with your co-workers for a few days and you can talk with them about normal stuff, not only the usual 'where are you from, where have you been, how long are you gonna stay' kind of conversation.
So all in all the experience of renting a car was great. I saw some beautiful things and I learned a few things about myself, but I'm actually pretty happy that the next time I travel I can let the bus driver drive.
Gondor
Lime stone formations near Oamaru
Weird rock formations in Mouraki
Sea lions, these guys are bigger and faster than they look
Tour of Southland. I love the photographer
Lake Manapouri
Doubtful Sound, I like it even more in the rain and mist
12 Mile river near Queenstown
Clutha river near Wanaka
Lake Wanaka
Both of my cars
Awesome!! Ben je geen natuurlijke warmwaterbronnen tegen gekomen waar je in kon relaxen/wassen? :) Da lijkt me echt te gek!
ReplyDeleteHave fun Brother S.!