2025 July - A South Island Winter

It's the 1st of July and we can tell that it's mid-winter being -2° overnight and both of us now have chesty/sinusy colds. We woke to a picturesque white, with icy puddles and frozen ground in the Kaiapoi NZMCA Park where we stayed put for another 6 days. It's so handy being a short walk to town, the laundromat, New World, nice cafes & restaurants not that we eat out much. 

A spell of golf

Chilling by the lake

Despite the coughs we still tried to do as much walking as we could manage down the river, round the little lake where there were vast, new plantings of natives, to the Food Forest round the corner and to the little Museum in the library complex which detailed the stories of the effect the big Earthquake had on Kaiapoi. Not being that well we had a yummy Thai takeaway from Saigon Sister, fish and chips for the first time since being on the road, a muffin, coffee and a good chat with the owner at the Riverlands Cafe after a circular walk. Saturday the 5th was a home day for me but Len was recovered enough to do a good walk, after which we watched the NZ Black Ferns and the ABs play France. He also replaced the seal on one of the toilet cassettes which had started leaking slightly when he took it to empty.

Templeton Golf

By Monday I was feeling much better and so my residual cough didn't stop us playing 18 Holes of golf at the Templeton Course which surprised me as I haven't had the breath to play a full 18 for months! It was a cold day at 8° but no wind and the course was flat with good greens. It was muddy in places underfoot and there was work being done on the course causing quite deep tractor marks. The sand buckets rather resembled dirt buckets. We liked chatting to the man in the ProShop who also owned a motorhome which he kept at his daughter's place in Sydney. We stayed the night at the Club going to Novus Glass the next day to finally get our roof vent replaced. It had taken months to arrive from Germany.

Then more golf! At Ellesmere this time with Len playing 18 Holes but me returning to 9 having felt pretty exhausted after the previous day's 18. My golf is poor at present and I do lots of shots! It was very very cold but the course was flat which suits me and we were able to stay the night.

Wednesday 9th July - Len's Birthday!! He was very happy with the Iron Horse rechargeable torch and whisky which I had managed to buy and keep concealed for about 2 weeks. We had lunch at Cafe 99 in the Ashburton Library and he enjoyed the Thai Salmon Curry which I made for dinner followed by his favourite double caramel magnum! That night we stayed at the Mayfield Domain, out of Ashburton, where there are squash and tennis courts, a rugby field and swimming pool. Just $10 a night to stay and we were the only ones there to admire the beautiful deep red sunset which my camera couldn't quite capture. The next day we found that they had just the best toilets there, further down the drive - very modern with full tiling on the walls and floor, a Dyson dryer and all very clean. A nice surprise.

It looks like this is a golf week as the next day we drove not far down the road to the Mayfield 9 hole course. It turned out to be a bright, sunny day and we were soon stripped down to our T shirts. A flat, pretty, parkland course with trees, bunkers and good greens. The compressed air at the Clubhouse was a bonus for getting our trundlers clean before folding them back into Heidi. The House of Hop Brewery on the way to Fairlie with its large parking area was a good POP to park up in for the night along with 3 or 4 others. We had a delicious dinner of fillet steak and well-presented vegetables in the modern restaurant which is aptly known for its ambience and friendly staff and leaving us very impressed. 

The next morning Len kindly glued back together a favourite dish of mine which my talented sister-in-law, Judy, had created and colourfully hand-painted for me. It was probably a silly thing to bring with us but I love it and found it handy to keep our fruit in, apart from also being a baking dish. It had an unfortunate accident as Len braked suddenly when he nearly missed the turning into the Mayfield Domain by falling from the cushioned seat onto the floor and ending up into about 7 pieces plus some pottery "crumbs". I'm so pleased he mended it even though I'll no longer be able to use it in the oven.

We were surprised to find that the hard stands at the Fairlie campground down the road were fully booked as normally at this time of year the camps are very quiet but there happened to be a Half Marathon event on that weekend and the town was busy. There had been a lot of rain and the ground generally was wet and boggy looking. We couldn't take any risks after our last experience of being stuck! However they found us a reasonably firm unpowered spot to park on that night, right by the toilets, and we were able to move to a  hard stand the next day which was a relief.

No entry for "rubber neckers"

We were woken early the next morning by the town fire alarm sounding with flames coming from the historic ex-library, now a restaurant, not far up the road. Such a shame. I found that the town power supply was out for a few hours, when I tried to do a load of washing. The fire brigade had isolated the overhead cables until the building chimney had been secured. We were pleased that we had moved to a hard stand with 2 Maui vans getting well stuck the next morning and having to be towed out. Len was able to lend his phone to the 2 anxious young men from Hong Kong whose phone had no connection and they needed to call for help. They had to be at Christchurch airport that afternoon to board their flight to Sydney. 

Len & the other pipers tuning up

We had a walk through town and watched some of the Mackenzie half marathon, the part along the edge of the river being very muddy and slippery. Of course we had to have a pie from the famous Fairlie Pie Shop which was established in 2010 by Hans Lieber. It can sell up to 4,900 pies in a day and typically sells 2,500 - 3,000 daily! Len really enjoyed his signature pork belly and apple pie with crackling on top but silly me just went for an ordinary mince and cheese one which I could tell wasn't Hans's speciality. Next time!!

By the time we got back to the camp the Hongkongers, to their relief, had been towed out of the mud and were just about on their way. It was good to watch the Black Ferns beat Aussie and then the ABs defeat France 43-17. On Sunday we played golf at the Fairlie Golf Course - 18 holes for Len and 12 for me, the last 3-4 holes being somewhat better than the first 3-4 fortunately.The course was nice and flat with the 7th and 8th fairways being across the road.  It was a very cold day being only 2° when we started out but luckily there was no wind. We stayed the night in the big car park on the edge of the road and the club kindly left their nice, big, new toilet open 24 hours. A very freezing night!

Good to get a game here

What a difference in temperature the next day when we headed up the road to the Mount Nessing club which we used to belong to 12 years ago when we were first on the road but had never played on as it was closed over the month that we went. It seemed to have its own little micro-climate and although the temperature was only meant to be 13° it was sunny and we were soon down to our T shirts. The course was in pretty good condition for a little club and was only $10 to play. It looked fairly flat but after the first couple of holes when we were heading back towards the clubhouse my breathing soon told me that, yes, there was a bit of a hill but we enjoyed playing on it. There was no-one else about the whole time we were there. After lunch we drove back through town where we stopped so I could buy some much needed gloves and a warm jersey for Len for the very wintry days and then continued on our way to the NZMCA Park at Lake Tekapo where we were hoping to waken to a white wonderland of snow similar to the fall they had there a couple of weeks previously. It was very sunny when we arrived and we had a nice view of the lake. Only 4 vans there and before a short walk we had a chat to a couple of other caravanners who were also hoping to have snow whilst there. We had a snowman next to our van which was obviously steadily melting but at least it was proof that snow was possible!

Tekapo NZMCA Camp

Tuesday 15th saw us walking the approximately 25 minute track into town. It was cold but very pretty with the snow on the mountains ahead. We had lunch at The Greedy Cow Cafe where we had a good chat with a local "farmer" mainly about wallabies. We read the interesting facts about all the planets on The Solar Walk and had a quick peek in some of the shops which seemed to be mainly run by Japanese with exorbitant prices on everything. Asians seemed to be the main people who were actually buying anything. Since we were last here there has been a new footbridge installed over the river. When we arrived back at Heidi it was still freezing cold at 2° and I was pleased I had nearly all my clothes on! Len continued on along the track past Pines Beach while I tried to warm up indoors.

Willow Bay walk

Willow Bay walk

The following morning we had a good walk for about 90 mins along the track to Willow Bay, past Pines Beach only seeing one other person in that time. On returning we decided that seeing there wasn't any forecast for snow we would head to Twizel stopping for a game of golf at the McKenzie Course on the way. Well, we found the entry to be narrow with trees overhead, boggy in the small, empty parking area and the fairways covered in quite deep snow so any thought of playing had to be abandoned. We were just pleased to escape without getting stuck. 

Is it unplayable?

Driving on towards Twizel we stopped at a scenic picnic area overlooking Lake Pukaki. Unfortunately there was low cloud hanging around with just the odd brief patch of clearance, unlike the astonishing views we had 6 years ago. There was cloud over Twizel as well which wasn't surprising as a fellow traveller at the dump station in Lake Tekapo said they had just spent 12 days in there and they hadn't seen the sun through the heavy fog in all that time. We stayed in the Combined Services Club carpark that night, the temperature getting down to minus 5° = cold!  We woke the next morning to a heavy frost but unfortunately no snow. My friend Jude popped in for lunch on her way back to Lake Hawea from Christchurch - a good catch-up and we were pleased they the day, after the heavy frost, had turned out nice and sunny although it was still minus 1.5° at noon. Who would live there!!

Apart from our friends Shelley & David of course as she is a fabulous, well-known photographer and the scenery is perfect for capturing her wonderful shots. We had a lovely roast dinner and a slightly burnt apple and berry crumble from me (I'm still not quite at one with the oven!) at their house and parked on their drive that night. It was a really lovely evening in their company - lots of laughs which I think we have been missing for a while. That night it was down to minus 7°, our coldest night yet and a very hard frost but at least the sun was shining again in the morning. After a walk of an hour or so following the Twizel River which we have done before and is not the most interesting we had a wander around the little town, returned the new gas bottle that wasn't working and settled back into the Combined Services Club carpark where we made ourselves comfortable in front of the welcoming hot fire and succumbed to fish & chips in the Restaurant.

It rained in the night so there was no new frost in the morning but still patches of lasting old frost and more snow on the mountains. However it was another beautiful, sunny day! The Freedom Camp at Ruataniwha West overlooking the lake and the mountains beyond, was our next port of call. 

Lake Ruataniwha

The ground was a bit soft so we had to be careful where we parked, a little away from the only other vehicle/caravan we could see at the time, belonging to Bill & Kay who house-sit. Walked from here down the road to the Ohau A Power Station (1979) which takes water from Lake Pukaki and then a loop along the lake, scrambling up a very steep slope to bet back to base. The sunset that night was just beautiful and the next day our surroundings were picturesque with another minus 6° hard frost. 

Hard frost with B & K's at the front

Turbine water feed pipes from Ben Ohau canal 

Len went for a walk to the top of the dam whilst I made our favourite fruit cake but I still haven't got the hang of baking in this gas oven - a bit of burn even though I had tinfoil on top. Next time I need a much lower temperature. After lunch we drove to the High Country Salmon Farm where we bought enough for 3 meals, one of fresh smoked salmon which was delicious and 2 frozen kinds which we weren't so keen on. Further down the road we walked partway round Kellen Pond before trying to drive to Longslip Station POP which turned into one of those very  special adventures where you get lost. 

Lost up a beautiful valley

Our GPS wasn't working properly because of poor internet reception and it took us about 13km up a beautiful, picturesque valley following a brilliant blue river with surrounding mountains to a farm entrance with a padlocked gate. I tried our usual NZMCA code and it didn't work and overall it just didn't feel right. With no phone reception we couldn't contact  anyone so the choice was to turn around and go back to the end of the road and make a plan from there. By sheer luck I saw a little NZMCA sign virtually out of view on the property right at the beginning of the road which was a relief. 

Morning sun on the mountain

We were the only ones there for the night and woke to a lovely dawn sky to both the East and the West. We were hoping to walk down the edge of the very swiftly flowing nearby river which I would not want to fall into but as there was no proper path it was a good time to set off through the Lewis Pass to Wanaka.

I tried ringing the Ceilidh POP to see if we could stay the night but had no response after 2 phone calls and with leaving a message until we were entering the Glendhu Bay Campground, around the Lake from Wanaka town. We were so pleased we spent 2 nights here as we loved our  quiet stay, being right on the edge of the lake with beautiful views. After arriving we walked clockwise until we were barred by a stream with no way of getting across but after lunch which we had outside in the sunshine, but still with several layers of clothes on, we walked in the other direction towards Damper Bay which was just under 2 hours return. The scenery was stunning and although the snow was still just high up on the mountains the reflections in the lake could take your breath away. 

Two bids at Glendhu Bay

After our 2 nights there and returning to town where I bought a lovely, much needed warm hooded jacket at Mountain Warehouse for $49.99, down from $129.99, and Len a nice shirt for half price, we stayed 2 nights at the Lake Hawea Camp, right down by the water - a nice spot but with it's tired, outdated facilities, not a patch on the Glendhu Camp. 

The first night we enjoyed having dinner with Jude, an old Physio friend, and Evan, walking 30 minutes to their house around the lake path in the freezing cold and carrying dessert. Evan was very kind and drove us home, giving us a little tiki tour of some of the  new housing sprouting up away from the lake. On Thursday 24th we played golf at the 9 hole Hawea Golf Course which we had also played 6 years ago but I somehow forgot about all the tricky little streams running across, usually just before the greens - I think I went into 5 which doesn't help your score. The course looks flat but does slope away from the clubhouse. There was still frost in shady places with ice covering the pond coming off the 9th except one small patch where the swans were huddling.

Later we visited my nephew, John Jervis, on the farm where he is renting a house from his friends, and enjoyed a cuppa with his 'landlords' Leanne & Ross. whilst we admired the artistic carpentry that Ross  had incorporated into his house. The following day I loved the massage that I had in town before looking around the Wanaka shops at all the very expensive clothing etc. That night we joined Jude & Evan for soup and savouries and the movie "The Quartet" at the Hawea Community Hall which we loved. And all for $15 proving that not everything in this area is expensive. We had a quiet night in Heidi, parked on the  road  outside J&Es.

Another campground for us the next 2 nights, this time at the Hampshire Park in Wanaka itself, having dinner out at the nice, new, very busy  Bambino's Restaurant on Saturday night with Jervis and his friend, Mazuki, from Japan, who has done a lot of travelling around the world. We did some walking around the lake, sometimes at different times from each other as I was working on this blog and trying to remember things from several months back. Len went as far as Waterfall Creek.

On Monday morning it was great that I could join Jude, Mary and Chris, who were also in our Physio class, for their weekly morning coffee catch-up at Scroggin before we drove on to the NZMCA site at Lake Dunstan where there were only 2 other vans. I can't explain it but I didn't have a good feeling about this campsite and had an extra bad sleep although the walk to Pisa Moorings and back was fine. 

Walking out from NZMCA Park

Lowburn's excellent freedom camping area

The next day, after doing a picturesque 10 km cycle along the lake to Cromwell, having a delicious lunch at Fusee Rouge, buying half price jeans for me and a party shirt for Len (we didn't bring many clothes with us so are looking out for nice bargains!) and cycling back to Heidi we moved on to the Freedom Camp at Lowburn Harbour, a beautiful spot overlooking Lake Dunstan and with a much better 'feel' about it. Luckily the bees that were trying to get into our roof vent before we left the NZMCA Park didn't follow us but by this time it was raining lightly with heavier falls during the night. There were about 7 or 8 other vans spread out over the large area, a bonus of travelling in winter as normally many vans would be squashed in. The next day started off misty and cloudy but the rain eased and we walked around the Lowburn inlet before Len did the steep walk up the 45th parallel which was part sponsored by Rotary and had widespread views from the top with the clouds having cleared.

45th Parallel top

A lovely, handy parking spot at our friend's, Derek's, holiday house on the edge of Lake Hayes was our next home for 3 nights and after being welcomed by Jules, his neighbour,  we had a little walk around the lake before Len decided to catch the free bus into Queenstown to get our hand held rechargeable vacuum replaced at Bunnings as it had suddenly failed. This was achieved and he arrived back happily carrying a new one and was pleased to have avoided the terrible traffic in Queenstown for a little longer.