Karen and I have just finished one of our bucket list items..going on a camper van holiday. We spent the last week in a Jucy van traveling around the lower South Island and staying in holiday camps and motor home camps for six nights.
Both of us have wanted to go for a holiday in a camper van for years but with Covid and the dearth of international visitors the prices for this type of holiday have fallen to a point where it was a practical reality. The total cost of van hire, insurance, campsite fees and petrol for six days was around $1500. That is not much less than you would pay to stay in motels, book-a-bach's etc. for the same length of time.
We had a look at all the camper van companies several months ago and finally settled on Jucy Vans as the company we would book with. Jucy camper-vans are a bit smaller than some of the other rental campers but they were very competitively priced and had all the conveniences we needed for the two of us. We had a self contained Jucy Chaser van with seats for three people (if one of them was a small child), two beds, a toilet, kitchen and shower.
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| Jucy Chaser: the fridge and seating arrangement in the interior |
The van had a refrigerator in the back and a set of bench seats with a removable table so you have somewhere to eat your meals. Because we were staying in campgrounds each night we never needed the toilet or shower as the campgrounds had these facilities available. If you can avoid using the cassette toilet you don't need to clean it....
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| Jucy Chaser: light and airy inside the rear of the van |
I am a tall bugger so we had to sleep on the top bunk as it is a bit longer than the lower bunk. It was not so easy to get my 50+ year old carcass up there...I had to slither into bed like a snake each night!!!
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| The top and bottom beds made up in a Jucy Chaser |
The van was right on the minimum size two people need to camp but both Karen and I agree that if we go for another campervan holiday we will hire a much larger van as we both found it a bit cramped at times.
Arthurs Pass and the West Coast...
We picked the van up from the Jucy depot at Christchurch Airport and set out on our first day of the trip. We were going to Hokitika on the West Coast via Arthurs Pass. We made good time across the Plains stopping for the obligatory pie at the Sheffield Pie Shop (Steak and Mushroom for me and Lamb and Rosemary for Karen...).
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| On the way to Arthurs Pass with distant clouds... |
It was wet and rainy between Sheffield and Arthurs Pass but cleared a bit as we crossed over the pass so we stopped for a look at the Otira Viaduct.
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| Looking down on the Otira Viaduct from the lookout |
We made good progress and arrived in Hokitika around four pm which allowed us to go to the supermarket and stock up for the first couple of days. Because of the lack of storage in the van we were buying food only every 2-3 days so we didn't have too much loose gear in the back of the camper.
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| Jucy Chaser: parked at the old Hokitika Mental Hospital |
We stayed that night at a very alternate campsite at the old Mental Health Hospital on the hills above Hokitika. They are using some of the old buildings for backpackers accommodation and have powered and unpowered sites around the grounds.
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| Great views of the Hokitika Coastline from our spot |
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| Karen is rummaging in the Jucy Chaser cab |
There are excellent views of the coast line from up near the hospital and we had a gorgeous sunset that first night.
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| Lovely sunset at the end of day one... |
We awoke on day two to rain from early in the morning so after a quick shower we packed our gear and went for a nice breakfast down in Hokitika. The town was very quiet and we picked up a couple of items from the hardware store for the van..a big sponge to mop up any rainwater on the floor, a bucket to use as a bin and a mat to set outside the door.
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| Karen packing gear at the start of day two in Hokitika... |
Day two was our longest driving day and it took us most of the day to drive south to Haast where we were staying for the night. We had planned to do a number of walks along the way but it absolutely pissed with rain the whole day so all those walks got cancelled.
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| In the Jucy Chaser enroute to Franz Josef Glacier... |
We still managed to stop at a number of spots along the way...we drove up to the Franz Josef Glacier carpark and looked at the views from there. We stopped at Fox Glacier for lunch before continuing down the coast stopping at the various lakes which lay just off the state highway. We visited Lakes Ianthe, Mapourika and Paringa on the way and quickly jumped out to take photos between the heavy rain showers.
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| At Lake Ianthe between Ross and Harihari... |
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| Lake Mapourika...north of Franz Josef |
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| Lake Paringa campsite north of Haast |
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| A Bellbird we spotted at the Lake Paringa campsite |
We stayed that night at the
Haast River Motels and Holiday Park and it was very nice with a hard pad for the van, good showers and a nice cooking-camp shelter to use in an old converted aircraft hanger. Over night we had a massive thunderstorm with heavy rain, wind and lightning from around 9pm to 6 am in the morning. We slept o.k. but it wasn't so nice going to the toilet at 4 am with all that rain falling.
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| Our Jucy van at the Hast River Campground and Motel |
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| The camp cooking shelter and amenity block at Haast |
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| Amenities at Haast River Campground and Motel |
The next morning the weather had cleared a lot so after breakfast we went down to Haast Beach and walked up the coast for a couple of kilometers. We were the only people in sight for kilometers in either direction and the beach was stormy, windswept and remote as only this region can be...
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| At Haast Beach on the Haast-Jackson Bay Road- view south |
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| At Haast Beach looking inland to Marks & Mataketake Ranges |
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| At Haast Beach looking north along the West Coast |
Before setting off for the day we visited the DOC Visitor Centre in Haast and I got a brochure for tracks and walkways along the Haast-Lake Hawea Highway that we put to good use later on...
Haast Pass and Wanaka...
On day three we were driving to Wanaka over Haast Pass...I haven't travelled this way in over twenty years and it was interesting to see how the road has changed in that time. The last time I went over Haast Pass it was a gravel road from Makarora to Lake Hawea....not anymore.
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| At Thunder Creek Falls, Mt Aspiring NP |
SH 6 travels right through the heart of Mt Aspiring National Park and there are a great many sites to visit along the route of the road. We stopped at a number of locations along the highway to go visit the various waterfalls and bush tracks on offer in this valley.
It was raining for most of the time we were on the western side of the divide so we couldn't do the longer walks to the Blue Pools and the Roaring Billy Falls as they were just too far away in that very wet weather.
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| The Jucy van parked at Fantail Falls, Mt Aspiring NP |
We did visit the Thunder Creek Falls, Fantail Falls, Gates of Hast and the Cameron Creek Track which I will cover in a number of posts over the next couple of weeks.
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| Fantail Falls, Mt Aspiring NP |
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| Cameron Creek Track entrance...Mt Aspiring NP |
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| Cameron Creek from the lookout... |
We eventually arrived in Wanaka and went to the
National Transport & Toy Museum it has an odd collection of old toys, vehicles, aircraft and machinery over several big hangers.
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| A early model Centurion Tank at the National Transport and Toy Museum Wanaka |
It is an impressive but quirky collection and had some historically significant items like a working Bofors gun, a set of Cadillacs El Dorados from the late 1960's to the mid 1980's, a Lockheed C60 Lodestar, a replica SE5a WW1 fighter, a running WWII era Bren gun carrier, a 1970's Jensen supercar, Star Wars/Star Trek toys, a collection of original 1950's Airfix models (in their boxes), a Mig 15, Mig19 and Mig 21 and a collection of fire appliances from the early 1900's right up to modern times.
Go have a look you will be amazed with what they have in there...wow!!!
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| One of the few remaining C60 Lodestar aircraft in the world...SE5a replica... |
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| Another eclectic mix of vehicles at the National Transport & Toy Museum Wanaka |
We also visited the lake shore and the supermarket we settled down for the night in our spot at the Wanaka Top 10 Holiday Park.
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| At the Wanaka shorefront...nice weather for a change! |
This was the most expensive campground we visited at $45 per night but the amenities were lovely with a brand new cooking/living shelter, toilet block and laundry.
It was well worth the price of the camping site...
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| The Jucy van at the Wanaka Top 10 Campgrounds... |
That night we could hear all the people yahoo-ing down at the bars in Wanaka but the campground itself was very quiet and peaceful and we both had a good nights sleep. In the morning we did some van maintenance...emptying the grey water tank and filling up with fresh water. The other task you might need to do is emptying the toilet but as we were not using it I didn't get to do this most lovely of jobs...
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| Mt Alta from the Wanaka Top 10 campground... |
We visited the famous Wanaka tree...then had breakfast and we also had a look around the shops in Wanaka. I got a MSR salt and pepper shaker for my tramping trips and a cheap pair of Icebreaker gloves in a sale at one of the outdoor retailers.
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| The famous Wanaka tree with the Buchanan Peaks to rear |
On the way out of Wanaka we visited
Puzzling World for about an hour and a half and I have to say it was one of the best attractions we visited on this trip. It has a awesome maze and a whole collection of weird and wonderful optical illusions that will bend your mind. If you ever go to Wanaka go have a look as it was very interesting and quite cheap at $25 per adult.
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| Exterior of Puzzling World in Wanaka |
We will be coming back to Wanaka some time in the near future as we could easily have spent several days there. There is the Warbird Collection, wineries, a quirky movie theatre and lots of interesting walks and tracks we didn't get to visit.
Aoraki/Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo...
From Wanaka we set off to Aoraki/Mt Cook along the Mackenzie Highway...we stopped in Omararama for a break but other than that we drove straight to the Hermitage. Karen has never visited Mt Cook before and I have not been here since the early 2000's so we were both looking forward to it. As you can see in the photo below it was a lovely clear day and we had an unrestricted view of the Cloud Piercer...
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| Aoraki/Mt Cook from SH 80...Mt Cook Highway |
We got to Aoraki at 3 pm so we didn't have a lot of time to do any of the varied activities available there. We had a drive around the village and then went to the White Horse campsite to walk the Kea Point Track. From Kea Point you have an excellent view of the Mueller Glacial Lake and the Mt Sefton Massif.
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| The Jucy Chaser at Mt Cook with Seally Range to rear |
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| Moraine wall of Mueller Glacier, Kea Point |
We were staying at
Glentanner Park that night...I looked at the White Horse Campsite but it has few amenities while Glentanner had excellent brand new ones. The campground had two cooking shelters, a very nice BBQ area, new amenity block and views out to Lake Pukaki and the surrounding mountains. There was a school group from Dunedin staying in the campground but they were cool and not too noisy.
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| Nice tree covered sites at Glentanner Park Campground... |
We were only 20 km's from Mt Cook village so it was a simple 15 minute drive back to Mt Cook the next morning to visit the Hermitage. We visited the permanent Climbing/Edmund Hillary museum there and had morning tea in the Old Mountaineers Cafe. We have a trip booked to Aoraki/Mt Cook for early June so come back then to see more posts about the area. We will be staying at the Hermitage and walking some tracks..weather permitting of course!!!
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| Mt Cook Hermitage...Glencoe Wing |
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| Mt Wakefield from the Old Mountaineer's Bar, Hermitage/Mt Cook |
We stopped at the Lake Pukaki lookout on the way to Lake Tekapo to look back up the valley towards Aoraki/Mt Cook. There is an very nice information kiosk there with a perfectly framed photo opportunity of Lake Pukaki.
There is a salmon shop there as well and they had some beautiful looking products. We would have brought some but I didn't fancy hauling expensive salmon around in the inefficient fridge we had in the van. Go have a look at the information kiosk and shop the next time you are passing through.
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| View to Aoraki/Mt Cook from Lake Pukaki Dam |
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| Information Kiosk at the Pukaki Dam lookout... |
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| Plenty of information about the area in the Pukaki Dam Information Kiosk |
We spent most of a day in Lake Tekapo which was our last stop for this trip. We were staying at the
Lakeview Motels and Holiday Park next to the new hot pool complex along the shore of Lake Tekapo. The camp has had a lot of work done on it recently and is now graced with top notch facilities. We had a lake front site and could see down to the lakefront and out to Mt John and the Two Thumb Range on the far side of the lake.
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| Many camper-vans at the campgrounds, Lake Tekapo |
We went down to the Church of the Good Shepard (no crowds at all...) where I proceeded to disassemble numerous shorefront rock cairns much to Karen's amusement. Have a read of my post about
the damaging effects of unnecessary rock cairns I posted late last year. We visited the Dark Skies Centre and had a look at the various shops and the new 4-Square supermarket along the main drag.
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| The Church of the Good Shepard, Lake Tekapo |
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| The Two Thumb Range from near Lake Tekapo Village |
We went out to dinner as a treat for our last night in the camper van...our meal was at a nice Japanese restaurant called
Kohan and we had some Kirin beer and sushi, tempura, tonkatsu and breaded lamb chops all of which were delicious.
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| The side entrance to Kohan Japanese Restaurant, Lake Tekapo |
The next morning we drove up to the top of Mt John for the spectacular views off the whole Mackenzie Basin. It costs $10 to drive up this private road to near the observatory but it is well worth it as you can see for tens of kilometers from the hill top carpark and café.
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| Lake Tekapo Village from Mt John, Lake Tekapo |
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| A rainbow visible from the top of Mt John, Mackenzie Basin |
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| Lake Alexandria from the carpark on Mt John, Lake Tekapo |
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| Our Jucy Chaser at the upper carpark, Mt John, Lake Tekapo |
We stopped in Fairlie on the way home for lunch and had a pie and jam donut from the famous bakery/pie shop there. They were magnificent and the bakehouse is rightly well known as a great place to eat. There was a line out the door and up the street as we were leaving...
We both enjoyed this trip and would like to do more travelling in a camper van or motor home. Karen and I are already planning another camper van holiday...this time to the north west of the South Island. We are thinking to go up the West Coast to Karamea via Lewis Pass and Westport...we might possibly walk the first day of the Heaphy Track. Then drive back down the West Coast to Punakaiki for a night before heading to Hokitika for a couple of days and thence to Christchurch.
We are looking at August of this year so keep an eye out for that trip....
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