Livin' in a van down by the river

Well, we're not always by the river but we are living in a van.  A small converted minivan.  Renting a camper van is a popular way to see New Zealand as it provides a lot of flexibility and an easy way to see the famous scenery.  It allows us to be more independent and get out into the countryside.  (For that reason we have little access to internet, blogging, emails, etc.)  Our new home has two benches that can be converted into a bed at night.  Underneath the benches is some storage space for our clothes, back packs, cooking supplies, and food.  In the trunk area we have a tiny pump sink, cooler box, and gas burner.  It's wonderful to have our bags unpacked and feel like we have a home.  We bought some bins and trays to make the most of the small storage space.  Mom would be extremely proud.

We landed in Christchurch (on the east coast of the South Island) late on Valentine's Day and spent 2 nights there.  We were able to meet up with our friend Sasha who lives about an hour north of the city.  She recently spent 2 months in a camper van so it was great to get advice from her, catch up, and hang out.  Then we picked up our van and started driving south and west across the island.  The country is incredibly well set up for this kind of travel with lots of public bathrooms, picnic areas, and cheap campsites.  They have free maps and brochures to help you find camping spots and good walking trails.  Our first night was spent under some trees on a beach in a cove.  Another night we just pulled off the road into a turn-off and spent the night next to the beach and crashing waves.  Our first few days in the van we drove through some quaint gold mining towns that still look like they did in the 1860s.  The drive across the island was full of expansive valley and mountain views with almost no houses in between the scattered small towns. 

We arrived in Queenstown (near the west coast) which is situated on the shores of a bright blue lake with huge mountains rising all around.  It's a very popular place to do adventure activities and we hadn't seen so many people in one place our whole time here.  We met up with our friends Alex and Matt who planned their own vacation here in order to do a trek with us.  We soaked up the sunshine in the park with New Zealand wines and enjoyed Western meals. 

Our trek was one of New Zealand's most famous: the four day Milford Track which is on the west coast and ends at the Milford Sound.  There are only 40 independent "trampers" allowed to start the track each day.  We had to book it back in August!  Each night we stayed in a hut that had a kitchen area with gas burners and bunk rooms.  We carried our clothes, food, cooking utensils, and sleeping bags.  Being with Alex and Matt made the trek for us.  It was great to have time to talk while hiking and to share the experience with friends.  We hiked through beech rainforest and along rivers and lakes through the valley floor.  Our third day of hiking provided our best views.  When we reached the highest point we could see down into two huge valleys lined by green mountains and waterfalls.  It usually rains all the time but we got very lucky and had clear views into the distance.  During the hike we also saw several birds including the national bird, the kiwi.  The walk ended at Milford Sound which was carved out by glaciers and is now flanked by mountains covered in waterfalls.  We took a boat cruise out on the water to get a better view then headed back to civilization.

Alex and Matt flew to the North Island today while we returned to our van to continue touring the South Island.  We'll be heading up the west coast, through some national parks, and then cross to the North Island for our final week.  Since we are usually in remote areas we don't have consistent access to internet so our next blog may not be for awhile.  But we'll be able to share our stories in person soon!