Hi to everyone. Last time we left you we were huddled down at the bottom of the South Island in the rain. Now we have made it back to the boat and I’m writing this sat on the boat in the Norsand Boatyard in the Whangarei River. So let me tell you all about the rest of our mega road trip and the journey back home to the boat.
I put together a video of the whole road trip below. It’s the main highlights of a seven-week trip in about 25 minutes!
We have definitely seen some amazing places and landscapes and fallen more in love with this place.
Having explored the Catlins at the bottom of South Island, we started to make our way back North again along the East Coast. We drove through and stopped for a quick look in Dunedin and then headed further north to the little town of Oamaru.
This was a little gem of a town to explore, famous for its steampunk art. We stayed in the campsite right next to the harbour and very close to the centre of town. The harbour area is like walking into a Victorian time warp. During the late 1800’s, this was a boom town driven by trade through the port and gold mining around the region. The money was invested in to building some very grandiose buildings using the abundant white limestone. 30 years later and for various reasons the town economy collapsed, investment ended, and the buildings fell into disrepair for 50 years, leaving the legacy of a past time. Now they have been restored and repurposed with a great selection of restaurants, breweries, museums and art galleries.
We spent a couple of days enjoying the sights. We also got to see our first penguins of the trip too that evening as they came up the boat slip way in the harbour and hid for the night in all the boats on the shore. We also enjoyed some good beer at two of the local breweries!
With good weather forecast for the next few days we took the spectacular drive inland to go and see Mount Cook.
We camped for 2 nights about 20km away down the valley next to Lake Tasman. We were blessed with not a cloud in the sky and beautiful views of the mountains right from the front door of our tent.
We drove up to the Mount Cook Village the next day and joined the many hordes of people doing the Hooker Track which takes you right up to the termination lake of the glacier at the foot of Mount Cook. This was a spectacular walk across three swing bridges with breathtaking views of the peaks all around the valley and Mount Cook at its head. With not a cloud in the sky it was a perfect day for the hike, and we stopped for lunch and photos with views over the lake and glacier.
The next day we took the drive towards Christchurch, another spectacular drive through the Southern Alps and mountains.
At the recommendation of some friends we stopped in a little town called Fairlie to sample the pies at the local bakery. They were delicious!
We ended up on the inland scenic route on the East side of the Alps at a place called Mount Somers. We tried to find a very remote campsite at a place called Lake Heron only to find it was closed after a 40km trip down a gravel road! However, the trip was worth the effort for the views. After that we ended up freedom camping for the night in a nice camp site next to the highway.
The next day we stopped and did a walk to Sharplin Falls at the foot of Mount Somers. A great track through lush beach tree forest that criss-crossed the creek up to the falls.
A short drive after that took us to the little town of Oxford, about an hour from Christchurch where we stopped at a campsite at a place called Ashley Gorge next to a river. We headed into town that night and had a lovely meal in the local country pub and got to see some live music too. There were more pies to sample too!
The next day we took the drive up to Hanmer Springs, a lovely little town nestled in the mountains on the East side of the Alps. We stayed in a caravan for a couple of nights, and we were glad we did when the next day it poured it down with rain for 24 hours. At least we had managed to get one walk in the previous afternoon in the forest on the edge of the town.
We took a drive up into the mountains but there was not much to see in the rain. Thankfully the caravan was warm and dry, and the campsite had a large library of free DVDs for us to watch to pass the time.
We booked the ferry for a couple of days’ time back to Wellington, so we took a long drive back up towards Picton and found ourselves back in Havelock for the night, a place we had stayed a few weeks ago. Time to taste some of those amazing mussels again and then a chance to spend a day exploring the area around Queen Charlotte Sound before catching the ferry that evening.
We took a long drive that takes you up the side of Kenepuru Sound. We both agreed that this top end of South Island is one of our favourite places to visit. We hope to come and sail this area one day.
We walked for an hour or so along a section of the Queen Charlotte track with some views out over Kenepuru Sound and also Endevour Bay, where Captain Cook had anchored.
A late afternoon drive took us to Picton and we joined the queue for the ferry back to Wellington. Unfortunately, it was delayed! So, once again we did the trip in the dark and missed the views. Another reason to come back and sail it ourselves.
An overnight stop in Wellington and we were on our way again and we stopped overnight at Mount Doom. We had not managed to see this out of the cloud yet and were finally granted that privilege the next morning when the cloud cleared.
We also got to see another Lord of the Rings film location at a place called Tahani Falls. This is where they filmed the scene where Gollum is caught by a pool next to a waterfall when he is fishing.
The next day we did six-hour drive back to Whangarei and Azimuth in one day. It probably sounds like we did this second leg pretty quickly, and truth be known after 7 weeks on the road we were ready for a good night’s sleep in our own bed again!
We left the marina after a few days of catching up and sat at anchor for a week with a little trip down the Whangarei River.
It was a chance to see what was broken and what still works on the boat after is has been sat at the dock for 5 months. On the plus side, the sails that we bought in coromandel second-hand from a broker were fit for purpose, we took the boat out for a spin. We didn’t break any speed records though; I had dived under the boat in one anchorage to find the bottom had become our own personal coral reef. That would explain why she was so sluggish in the water. Yesterday, we were lifted out of the water in a local boat yard, and as we suspected, the bottom looks terrible!
So, it’s back to boat jobs again after many months off from sailing and getting things ready before we fly back to the UK at the beginning of May for the summer.
Catch you again soon!
Dom & Ailsa on Azimuth
Hi Dom Ailsa, Great Video and photos, watch it on TV lot better. Like the beer is it out of the wood, not the lager beer, I hope. Safety boots in the mine. The Azimuth given you plenty of seafood for a few months. Been snow here as well this year. Like Madeira but on a bigger scale. Are you flying from NZ to UK or sailing north for a few weeks? We go back UK 22 May until September. Did you get close to a glacier or only a long distance away? The South Island is amazing, like you had it all to your self. Thanks again for the photos and sharing your adventure. Love to Ailsa Maria xxx sends her love take care Doug