hiking – Away From Home NZ

Timaru and Tekapo and return

May 30, 2025 by awayfromhomenz

We had to proceed onwards from Oamaru as time is running out for our time down south. Our best man, Bob Woods, lives in Timaru and we had made arrangements to catch up with him.

We met him for lunch, and then headed off to take the dogs for a walk and to check into our lodgings for the night – another castle. This time we were to stay at Claremont Castle which is a Park over Property. We headed there, following Google maps and it seemed to take us a long time to get there. All the time we were driving, our next meeting with Bob (to his place for dinner) was getting later and later.

We finally got to the Castle and the instructions were to go around the back and park.

Well, Bruce carefully drove around the back and decided to take a sweeping turn over the lawn (instead of doing a 3 point turn on the driveway) and promptly got stuck! We had some traction mats in the back but that meant half unloading the boot, which Bruce did, retrieved the mats, and then put it all back again. Fortunately the mats worked but we made a bit of a mess of the poor owner’s lawn.

In addition to all this frustration, the place looks pretty run down, so we decided to let the owner know that in addition to us tearing up his lawn, we would not be staying as it was too far out of town. He looked a bit surprised but said OK, and we headed off again.

The reality was that google took us a different route into town and it was not far at all! We arrived quite late for our meal with Bob though, and when we left his place that evening we headed for the free parking at the Caroline Bay wharf area. That was another mistake. Firstly, it wasn’t free – it was $20, and the container port was very noisy. The container cranes, and the containers they carried clattered and banged profusely. The noise stopped at 1am and started up again at 5am so little sleep was had that night, and Beau was not very happy about the noise either.

The weather was looking good for a few days, and there was a possibility of snow in the highlands in about 3 days time so we decided to head back to Tekapo and experience it. I was so glad we did. The day was clear and there was already some snow on the hills that wasn’t here the last time, so the scenery was amazing, and a lot of photos were taken.

After visiting the usual places Bruce drove us out on a minor road on the western side of Lake Tekapo. It went for a long way, and was clearly a farm road, albeit a public road as well, but it was narrow and tricky to find a place to turn around when we eventually wanted to head back.

The scenery was out of this world.

Up that road is Lake Alexandrina and Lake McGregor. Lake McGregor looks a bit on the stagnant side.

Lake Alexandrina was bigger and had a camp at the side of it. There were lots of aquatic birds (not natives though) and dogs were banned, so we had a look but did not stay.

We had a slow drive back into town because the scenery was just as spectacular on the return trip, but we felt the dogs needed a spell in the dog park. This time the autumn foliage was there and it was lovely as well.

Our final visit for the day was to the fairy forest across from the dog park. People have gone to a lot of trouble on this little section of the forest, and we knew that Maia and Elodie would have loved it.

We settled in to camp for the night and planned another day of exploring tomorrow.

Fate had other ideas. Bruce got up and put his shorts on the couch. He noticed they were wet when he went to put them on, but assumed he must have dunked them in the dogs water bowl when he went to put them on. He laid them out to dry, and put them on later on. I later put my clean socks on the same piece of couch and when I picked them up they were also very wet. That was when I realised one of the dogs had had an accident during the night – the first time in all the years we have been travelling with them. When Bruce realised he was wearing “dog pee” pants he was pretty quick to change them.

Then came the problem of how to fix the mess. The squab underneath the covers was quite wet, and while it was easy to wash covers it was not so easy to wash the squab, so we headed back to Timaru, with a few grumbles from me.

The laundromat at Fairlie was on the way and was well set up so we washed the covers there. On the trip there we noticed that the scenery here was also pretty spectacular.

The way we decided to wash the squab was to take it into Animates in Timaru. They gave us permission to wash it in their dog wash – the bonus was that the dogs got a wash too. The problem now was how to get it dry. We gave it a couple of rounds in the dryer at the laundromat, but it was still very wet so I realised this was going to be a longer term project. We stood it up in the shower until we came up with a better idea.

This time we spent the night at the Golf Club at Timaru, which was a charming stay, and then we had to decide on what was next!

Pinders Pond and Roxburgh

May 17, 2025 by awayfromhomenz

It was with some regret that we left Gabriels Gully and Lawrence and headed towards Pinders Pond and Roxburgh.

The last time we were in this area we had the drama of a flat tyre, so it was really nice to enjoy it this time without the drama.

Pinders Pond is also a gold mining area, alongside the Clutha River. The pond is where diggings once were. In the autumn colours it is very pretty and a lovely freedom camp.

As it happened, the van parked next to us also had two schnauzers, as well as a black lab cross. We had met them before at Waipapa Light House where I had the run in with the sea lions. Princess Di (as she calls herself) and Dennis arrived the day before us and the schnauzers enjoyed a bit of a play.

It was a quiet night, and the next morning we were able to make use of the cycle track alongside the river, which was pleasant for both the dogs as well as us.

After the dogs were a bit tired we headed into Roxburgh for a look and gravitated towards Lake Roxburgh and the power station. The only place we could drive to for a look had a big sign that said “Danger – for people with implanted medical devices”. That was enough for me, and we were off pretty quickly, and too quickly for Bruce to get a photo.

Just outside Roxburgh was a sign saying “Historic Bridge” so we went to have a look. It was an interesting place as the old bridge was a wooden structure that still looked pretty sound, although it was apparently built in 1887. The new bridge is alongside it, and if you stand in the right place it almost looks like they intersect (an illusion). The new bridge is pretty flash though.

The area is prettily landscaped and made a nice stopping place for lunch.

Roxburgh was a pretty enough town, with dramatic hills alongside the Clutha River, but there wasn’t enough to stay on for, so we headed on down the road towards Alexandra.

Gabriel’s Gully

May 14, 2025 by awayfromhomenz

After leaving Kaka Point and Nugget Point we headed inland again, and had a one night stay in Balclutha so I could buy a couple of balls of wool – I wasn’t happy with the ones I had purchased in Ashburton. From there, the next morning, we headed further inland towards a place called Gabriel’s Gully.

It is said that Gabriel’s Gully was one of the first sites where gold was discovered in New Zealand. In this case, it was discovered by a Mr Gabriel Reed, in May 1861. It was only a matter of months after that the whole area was a sea of tents, where miners all had a small claim, marked by mounds of earth, where they dug for gold. Gabriel Reed said that he found gold by digging in the soft earth, to a depth of about 2 1/2 feet until he hit a layer of slate, and there was the gold glistening like stars in the sky.

Bruce and I went for a trek following the gold trail. The track was supposed to be an easy grade, but no, it climbed and climbed to a height of 120 metres – almost twice the height of Shakespear cliffs at home, over about 800 metres! It was a narrow track at times, and covered in a lot of leaf litter, so we weren’t sure what terrain was going to be underneath that layer. Sometimes it was firm ground, other times mud. However, we managed without falling or tripping.

We took the dogs with us on the walk which was about 2.8 kilometres long and they seemed to enjoy it. There was an open metal set of steps at one point, and both dogs flatly refused to go down them, so we had to carry a dog each.

When we got near the top we were able to see across the gully. Hard to believe it was all mined, and a sea of tents!

There were various signs along the way pointing out areas such as caves used for storing gunpowder

We made it back in one piece, and the dogs settled down for a sleep, while we drove further down the road for a look. There was a freedom camp next to the water storage lake for the gully. It was beautiful, and there was a couple and their kids camping there.

Our camp for the night was the Equestrian Club, just outside Lawrence, and that was a delightful park over property. I took the dogs for a walk the next morning and met the most beautiful horse, who just wanted lots of affection. Hunter certainly wasn’t keen on the idea, and Beau wasn’t sure, but I enjoyed it.

Later on we strolled through Lawrence, which is a very old town, established in the gold rush to meet the needs of the miners.

From there we traveled on towards Roxburgh.

The Points – Kaka Point and Nugget Point

May 12, 2025 by awayfromhomenz

There is a delightful Park over Property at Kaka Point. We had stayed there before and were keen to do so again. The place is a farm, just across the road from the beach, but is sheltered from the wind and OK in the rain. It was raining again when we arrived, and it did so for most of the night.

Nugget Point is just 8km down the road, but we decided not to go there until the next day when the forecast was for a sunny day. That proved to be the case, but before we went anywhere we had to take the dogs across the road to the beach.

It is a long sandy beach, with a few dunes before the road, and the area is known for seals, so the dogs had to stay on the lead (maybe I should have been also).

It wasn’t long before I noticed the telltale marks on the sand of a seal pulling themselves up the beach. There were three such tracks, and I followed one, and sure enough, there was a seal hiding (sleeping) in the grass.

Each section of beach is separated by a little rocky outcrop. Sometimes there is a way through instead of having to go back up to the road to get around it.

After a good walk we packed up camp and headed towards Nugget Point. We have been there before but as usual, had to go again. There is quite a walk to get there and up and down some steep slopes, so once again my lungs were challenged, but we made it, and it was well worth it.

We spent a bit of time at the light house because the scenery is just awe inspiring – it takes your breath away. What also took my breath away was a young lady running up and down the track several times just for exercise!

After a delightful visit, and the return trek to the carpark, we settled in for the drive inland. No more coastal views for a while.

Slope Point – and seal capers

May 9, 2025 by awayfromhomenz

Next on our list of adventures, was a repeat trip to Slope point and the Waipapa point Lighthouse. The last time we were down this way the light house was all shrouded in plastic wrap as it was being re-furbished. We hoped to see more than just the top of it this time.

Once again the weather wasn’t the best but as it was just showery, I guess it could have been worse. Once again we were lucky in that it cleared enough for us to have a wander around.

At the base of the path up to the lighthouse is a sign warning that there may be sea lions in the area, and to stay at least 10 metres away from them as they can be aggressive. I wandered around the base of the light house and was on one side when Bruce called to me from the other. He pointed out this brown lump in the grass that I had not seen at all having been concentrating on photographing the lighthouse itself. It was a large lump, and at first I thought it must have been dead, but on closer observation I could see it breathing.

We hastily moved away and left it undisturbed.

The beach down from the light house had a big rocky point but also a little sandy cove.

There was a distinct path down to the beach so off I wandered down the path, expecting Bruce and the dogs to follow. The dogs started barking, and Bruce started calling out to me. I looked behind to see what all the fuss was about, and it seemed there was another sea lion in the grass next to the path that I had innocently wandered past. The dogs had woken it up, and it was starting to get a bit stroppy, lunging towards me once, and towards the dogs a couple of times. I was stranded!

Bruce had to take the dogs away, and I kept out of its way to give it a chance to settle down, and then I gingerly picked a path through long grass on the other side of the path, hoping I did not come across any other seal lions in the process!

Thankfully I didn’t, but so much for keeping 10 metres away!

I happened to look down to the beach and saw a couple of big paua shells lying there. Bruce was keen to go down and get them, but that would have meant going past the sea lion again, so I vetoed that!

Once we had recovered our nerves we settled into the motorhome again for the short trip to Slope Point. Slope Point is the southern most point of the South Island, and although we had been there before, we had to go again as we were so close.

To get to the point you have to trek over farmland, avoiding sheep poo and cow pats.

There has clearly been some erosion since we were last here, and the place is still rugged and exposed, with steep drops down to the sea.

We wandered around a bit and enjoyed the view (and the wind) before trekking back over the farm back to the car park.

The trees around this area are legendary in that they are all bent over by the wind. Some of them were judged to be the world’s most beautiful in 2017.

Even the long drop toilets at Slope point are cute.

All done for the day, we travelled on to our resting place for the night at Kaka Point.

Heading further south to Gemstone Beach and Monkey Island

May 7, 2025May 9, 2025 by awayfromhomenz

Once we felt well enough we set out again. I wanted to revisit Gemstone Beach again, because the last time we went there it was almost full tide. We really needed to be there at low tide or an hour or so either side of it. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t looking great and looked worse the more we drove. I guess the plus side was that parking wasn’t going to be too much of a problem because only hardy souls would be out in this.

Once we got to the Beach we were lucky to get a short fine break so we went for a walk.

You wouldn’t believe from the above photo that the stones would actually be so colourful and so varied.

Bruce and I must have spent about 45 minutes fossicking around before the rain started coming down again and with it the cold, so we made our way back to the van. We only had a small bag each so not enough to weigh the motorhome down and make us exceed our weight limit.

We dried off and then headed for Monkey Island, which is a freedom camp only a few kilometers away. By the time we got there the weather had fined up again. We were only the 3rd van there – little did we know that the caravan down the other end of the carpark belonged to Bruce’s sister’s best friend. They moved on before we made the connection.

This time the dogs were able to come walking too and they really enjoyed some off leash time. As we walked further along the beach we spied this curious structure.

The closer we got, the more strange it seemed to be. We were not sure if the house got engulfed by the dunes, or were they building around the dune? You can see a window through the hole in the dune.

It was good to have a nice beach walk again and the dogs wore themselves out. We decided that as we planned on going to the Catlins tomorrow, it would make sense to stay the night in Invercargill again as it would save an hour off our trip tomorrow. We enjoyed as much of the day as we could at Monkey Island and then headed back to Invercargill.

I would have to say that we were impressed with how easy it was to navigate Invercargill, and that helped in the decision making. We were beginning to feel comfortable there. In addition, there are plenty of walks for the dogs, and all the necessary services needed by motorhomes.

Arrowtown and the lake stay

May 4, 2025 by awayfromhomenz

I really wanted to see the legendary autumn colours in Arrowtown, and it was so close that once we left the Driftaway Motor camp, that was the direction we headed. We knew the Arrowtown Autumn Festival was on, but we did not anticipate the sheer numbers of people that would attend. There were tourists everywhere and it took a while for us to even find a parking place big enough to fit us in. However, we did and I think it was worth it.

We did a stroll through the main street (leaving the dogs behind). There was no possibility of getting a photo of the old shops, or for the most part, being able to enter a shop, because of the crowds. We thought we might get a coffee initially, but there was no chance of that. Therefore, we carried on to the old Chinese Miner’s section.

The Chinese were very badly treated by the rest of the gold mining population, and this was not helped by the fact that few of them could speak English. They were not allowed to live in towns, and had difficulty getting the materials required to build their huts. As a result they tended to have their own little villages, with their own shop, and other services eg doctors etc. They were often given the worst plots of land to mine and to live on, and they had to work twice as hard as the other miners. Some stuck it out, and were successful. Others decided to make their money by growing vegetables, by baking bread, and other farming to provide food for sale to the miners. You can certainly understand why when you see the houses that they had to live in, in the freezing cold.

The Chinese Miner’s shop was the biggest building by far.

We had a leisurely walk by the stream to take in the views.

We finally did find a place where we could get a coffee and a scone, before we wandered back to the motorhome. On the way we passed an Asian bride and groom in the main street trying to get their wedding photos taken, but having to contend with people always getting in the way of their shot. I could feel their frustration.

We happily left Arrowtown’s crowds and headed for nearby Lake Hayes. This was once a freedom camping area but that was stopped because of the way the land was treated. We stopped in to take the dogs for a walk.

The track was in really good condition and we were able to walk a couple of kilometres before heading back to the motorhome.

By the time we got back, we had to start thinking about where we would spend the night. We headed back towards Queenstown, bypassing the town, following the road alongside Lake Whakatipu.

As usual, the Remarkables are remarkable. We decided to stop at a freedom camp at the side of the Lake, and managed to get a good spot by the water. It is amazing where you can stay for free in NZ.

We decided to spend 3 nights here because we had a train to catch on Sunday!

Queenstown and Skippers Canyon

April 30, 2025 by awayfromhomenz

We normally avoid Queenstown as it is definitely NOT motorhome friendly, but this time we decided to stay at the Driftaway Camping Ground, in Frankton. This is a fairly new camp, and it was a delight to stay at. Here, we had the chance to catch up on laundry, and have some beautiful hot showers. It was only a short walk through the gate to the lakeside, with extensive walking/cycle tracks. We came across this automatic counter telling you how many cyclists had been this way today – nothing about walkers though.

The scenery from our campsite was beautiful as well.

The camp had amazing facilities for keeping children entertained – ping pong, bouncy mat, a little slide, sandpit etc. Everything was spotless, and the barbeque area had views to die for. The camp was pretty popular and almost full (school holidays I guess).

The next day we took a taxi into the centre of Queenstown (at an exorbitant price), to meet our tour party for Skipper’s Canyon. The road to Skippers is reputed to be the most dangerous road in New Zealand, and our 4wd Jeep was being driven by a slip of a 21 year old girl. However, she quickly gained our confidence and she had been driving this road as a tour guide for the last 5 years.

The tour follows the sides of the Shotover River. The road is a public road, but is not maintained by either Transit, or the local council, so it can be pretty rough in places. Ocassionally, one of the local tour companies will pay for a grader to come through. Although it is seen as a two lane road, there are not many places wide enough to pass if you came across a car coming the other way. This happened to us 3 times during the trip, and each time, our driver had to back up some distance to be able to let them pass.

The countryside is very steep, with almost vertical drops down to the river on one side. The hillsides are predominantly of a slate type of rock which readily falls apart – so very unstable.

There are three permanent resident families in Skippers. One was a squatter who camped on a particular piece of land, continually for 20 years, until he, by law, then became the owner of that land. At that time he built himself a small, permanent house, and he still lives there now.

The house in the photo above was built as a meeting point, halfway into Skippers by a couple who lived further into Skippers but whose children refused to drive all that way to visit them. The halfway house was used for visits while they were alive, but is unused now.

Along the road we also passed the ruins of a hotel, that used to serve the gold miners of the area. The story goes that that the couple who ran the hotel needed help, so they hired a young lady. Her employment lasted 5 days, when she was whisked away by one of the miners as his bride. This happened again and again to the ladies they hired to help, until in the end they advertised in Christchurch for the ugliest woman they could find to help them out. It was to no avail – 5 days later she ran off to be married to a miner.

The Shotover River was an important gold mining area, and that was what the road was originally built for. When panning for gold became less successful, miners resorted to water cannons to erode the hillsides to hopefully reveal more gold. As the result, the landscape was altered substantially, and remnants of their pipes etc are still visible.

The midway part of the tour was the old Skipper’s Canyon Schoolhouse, where we stopped for a coffee and a gingernut.

To get to it though, we had to cross the Skipper’s Canyon Bridge, which is only just wide enough for the jeep. Apparently several wing mirrors have been lost on this bridge.

All this makes you realise what a hardy bunch our ancestors were. Maybe it was worth it – Skippers was once known as the richest goldmining area in the world! We were amazed that today, there were three families camping here for a few nights. Hope they don’t freeze to death.

We made our way back, but stopped along the way to go down to the River where we had the opportunity to pan for gold. Our Guide demonstrated for us, and out of a spade full of sand from the river bed, all she got was one tiny speck of gold. The rest of us decided it wasn’t worth getting cold and wet for.

This was also the site for the Shotover Jet base. We hung around to watch it return.

Overall, it was an educational and interesting trip, but there was no way the motorhome would drive on that road! I seem to remember my Dad saying he took the bus over it but surely I misunderstood. I don’t see how a bus could get around those corners. Apparently, stock trucks don’t use it – all livestock has to be walked in or out.

Once back to Queenstown, Bruce and I were shaking our heads at the queue for Ferg’s Burgs. It was about 50m down the street when we left, and was still about the same when we came back! They must be really good burgers!

We will be sorry to leave tomorrow. The scenery has been wonderful, but I really want to see if I can visit Arrowtown in the autumn.

Onwards to the south

April 27, 2025 by awayfromhomenz

After a peaceful night at the side of Lake Pukaki, we continued southwards. OOOPS – Bruce accidentally sounded the horn as we pulled out of our parking space. Hope it didn’t wake our close neighbours up!

Normally we would stop for a soak at Omarama, but this time we decided to keep driving. I really wanted to go back to Wanaka, to approach a few galleries to see if they would show some of my paintings. The idea was that we would spend a couple of nights in Wanaka but found that as it was still a holiday weekend, the camps disallowed dogs. Therefore, it became a day trip to do a shop, and to visit a couple of galleries.

To get to Wanaka, we had to travel Lindis Pass. This is usually a very scenic trip, but as usual, the skies were overcast, and we could not get the full effect of the beautiful scenery.

In the middle of the Pass is a historic town called Tarras, and we stopped there for another look.

Bruce has decided that this trip is to be the quest to find the perfect cheese scone. The one he had at Otira remained at the top of the the table, but he had to try one from Tarras. Although it was good, it was not good enough to topple the Otira Hotel off it’s spot.

As usual, the Lake Wanaka was beautiful, but there were people everywhere, and we were lucky to get a suitable park at all. The traffic coming towards us from Wanaka was a continuous stream, as the festival Wheels over Wanaka had just finished. We saw all sorts of big machinery coming away from the town – talk about carbon burning.

The galleries I visited had beautiful paintings and they both expressed an interest in my work. I need to develop and proper portfolio that I can email them. The gallery I visited in Geraldine was also keen on my work, but they take 50% of the sale. I am not sure about Wanaka.

Once I had finished my visits we carried on to Luggate, a town not far from Wanaka where we stayed at a Park Over Property owned by Motorhome association members. This was a bonus for the dogs as well, because the lady of the house worked at a petfood factory down the road, and they manufactured dog treats from venison, and we were given samples.

The tube things at the back of the photo are the trachea of deer, stuffed with dried marrow etc. I had temporarily placed them in the fruit bowl, but Hunter thought they smelt really, really good, so he managed to steal one. Luckily, I discovered it before he had scoffed the lot.

After our night at Luggate we are heading towards Queenstown – or rather Frankton, on the other side of Queenstown, where we are booked at the Driftaway Holiday Camp – our first camp stay since we left home.

Lake Pukaki

April 27, 2025 by awayfromhomenz

We left Twizel, but did not actually get very far that day. Just outside of Tekapo is a NZ Army Base – what a bleak area that would be in the depths of winter. Waiouru in the North Island would be no different, so maybe the army uses places like this to weed out the weak.

The road out of Tekapo goes through steep hilly areas, with Mount Mary out to the right and the Tekapo River to the left. It is no more that 30km down the road that the hillsides clear and the road travels alongside Lake Pukaki, which is a big fresh water lake at the base of Mount Cook. Again it was a cloudy day, so Mount Cook might not have been there for all we knew.

We had to stop at the first lookout we came to, and took a few photos, but the second lookout appeared to be a freedom camping site, so we decided we would stop there for a night. We were only the fourth van there but finding a level parking spot was a bit of a problem. In the end we parked at the end closest to the road going further down to the lakeside, and parked parallel to the fence.

The Parking area also ran alongside a cycle / walking track which seemed to be quite popular – lots of people out enjoying the holiday weekend.

We took a few walks with the dogs along this track and wandered down to a beach we could see further on. It was all gravel, so not easy walking, but even so, it was nice.

The only negative about the park occurred when an NZMCA member decided to park no more than a metre in front of our front bumper and less than a metre from a van parked on the otherside. When he pulled up Bruce asked him if he was seriously going to park there, to which he responded that he was. Most NZMCA members know they should leave a space of about 3 metres between vehicles for safety reasons, but I guess he felt that as this was a freedom camp, those guidelines did not apply.