2 skiwis on the move

After we grew a bit tired of Christchurch (seeing as everything was still closed), we decided to try and book the camper a bit earlier. This didn't seem to be a problem -wahoooo - so we hit the road immediately. We didn't leave Christchurch before seeing the Willowbank wildlife reserve though. This is a kind of small zoo, where we caught our first glimpse of Kiwi's :-). Such cute animals! They're like big balls of fluff with a large beak and they only come out at night. I had to restrain myself from taking one home, but that wouldn't be so nice seeing as they're almost extinct ... And there's still a long road ahead of me.
From Christchurch we drove in the direction of Methven, after first seeing a bit of the Banks Peninsula. The small village of Akaroa proved very charming but, like almost everywhere we've been yet, a bit dead because of the winter period and the quake. It's located at Akaroa Bay and the views are lovely though.
Going inward, we took the scenic route towards Methven, to find a camping site in order to go snowboarding the day after. The first night in our van (which, by the way, we baptised Tony) turned out to be a success and we love camping and driving around and being able to get out wherever we want!
Mount Hutt (the skifield we wanted to hit) appeared to be closed in the morning for at least a while. Bummer... But Tony took us further up the road and we headed South for Mount Dobson. Seeing as we wouldn't get there in time for lessons any more, we decided go straight for Lake Tekapo. Best decision ever! Sun came out as if it was meant to be, and the views are downright beautiful. Atmosphere is so peaceful and quiet. Everyone in the world should see this place.
Mount Dobson wasn't open as well the next day, due to winds (grrrr) so snowboarding was a no-go after all. We continued to Lake Pukaki and went to Mount Cook, after camping in the very sleepy town of Twizel. The walks in the Hooker Valley and Tasman Valley beneath Mount Cook were very beautiful with loads of glorious scenery.
We have now arrived in Oamaru, a 'big' city -to NZ standards, anyway- and plan to see the penguin colonies out here and the Moeraki Boulders. Fun!

New Zealand is a truly beautiful country, and doing it with the camper really seems to be the perfect way to do it. Temperatures sometimes get a bit low so it gets a bit hard at night, sometimes, but we that's part of the deal I guess. Kiwis are also a big help, anywhere, anytime, really. Just ask and you'll get an answer! That's the way we love it ;-).