NZ 2011day by day

-03- On the Road

The last couple of days I did spent in Auckland, on the North Island.
Looking for something real special. But that is a different story.

Really bad weather. Heading back to Christchurch.
While waiting for my flight a nice plane arrived at AKL.
„Crazy about Rugby“ - that’s New Zealand. Everybody is excited as the Rugby World Championship comes up in September. Something we Germans in general don’t realize. I don’t know why? In Germany football has taken the full scope and leaves no room for Rugby?
Rugby is a real man’s sport.
I ran into a Rugby team the other night and you could see their 150% dedication to fight on the marks left from the game.

NZ-back2CHC-2

***
Back South.
Changing plans. Weather forecast shows a full week of bad weather on the South Island. The only region with some sunshine is up North.
Picton, Nelson, Abel Tasman area.
***
Got the Camper on Friday 27th, packed the fridge and hit the road towards North in pouring rain. It is 1:30pm and
Christchurch to Picton is 313km distance.
A stop over for the night in Kaikoura looks reasonable & promising too. This is one of the best places for whale watching around NZ. If the weather is fine tomorrow, maybe worth it to be on the boat?
***

Kaikoura-4312

The weather was fine until boarding. But they had to cancel the trip as a severe weather front was approaching way too quickly.
No changes to be to expected in the next hours.
Heading towards Picton. The front arrived and deep hanging clouds trying to crawl over New Zealand’s Mountains. That means foggy, misty, drizzling rain. But even then the colors are unbelievable. The light is phantastic. The scenery deserves such a light.


3N5A4338

ClarenceRiver-4367

Kegerengu-4382

Ward-4396

Ward-4406

Ward-4415

Finally I needed 7 hours for the 150km of the day. After each corner nature was just stunning.
Arrived in Picton almost in the dark.
Checked in to a Top 10 Camping grounds. They are spread all over NZ and offer wireless internet directly in the camper. Not to forget a warm shower in the morning, as nights are cold in a tin can.






2011 HPTrum