Kaikoura to Picton - 20 March 2025

When we pop our heads out today, we know why it was so damn cold last night - there is a fresh layer of snow a 3rd of the way down the mountains.  The sun is out thank god and we pack up this morning so we can move north to Picton to catch the ferry at sparrows fart tomorrow.  After taking Goochie for a walk, we hit the road again.


Definitely snow up there



We have gone from 33.6 degrees to snow - it is a bit early for this to be happening it is only March!





There is a number of roadworks along this part of our trip but we make it into Picton and get to our camp. Tasman Holiday Parks, which is a good camp and very friendly.  The lady on reception tells us about Waikawa, which is the just down the road we are on and the local pub and marina, so after a bite and we are all set up we go for the short drive down to this side of Picton that we have not known about. The marina is very large and pub looks good - also another nice looking campground there.



The Sounds




Campsite tonight







Indian takeaways tonight - an early start as we are on the 7.30am sailing in the morning.  Check in from 5.30pm!

After dinner, we go for a walk with Goochie over to the marina by the town centre as the camp is on the other side of this.

Daryl instructing Goochie

Our ferry is in now also


Autumn colours starting to show

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Taupo - Day 2

Image
Another beautiful day in Taupo and we head down the the lake after breaky to take a walk.  A flat lake and sunny sky make this just lovely and after wading along the shoreline, we drive down around the wharf area for a wander and decide to book a cruise to the Maori carvings in the rocks, which are only accessible by boat and neither of us have seen before.  After going back to camp and having a bite for lunch, we return to catch the 12.30pm Ernest Kemp cruise, which is a 2 hour cruise. The boast cruises down the golden mile and our round the bend towards the rok carvings.  The island in the middle of the lake is half way between Taupo and Turangi.  A great cruise with fantastic service. Back to camp for a dip in the thermal pool before Daryl tackles the bent motor movers by taking these out and straightening them in the camp workshop - working okay now but will have them checked out when we get home.  After dinner, we head down to the lake again to catch the su...
Read more

We hit the road

Image
2025-02-12 - Day 1 was a bummer... Setting off we leave home an hour later than Daryl had planned but with plenty of time to get to Taupo, only 2 hours south of us.  Goochie has been watching with bated breath to ensure that he is not left behind and is bundled into the truck with us. As we are cruising down past Atumuri, we see something on the road but have nowhere to go to avoid it due to the narrow road and oncoming traffic.  Klunk, thump thump thump.....  With nowhere to stop we drag this some way before did makes final banging thump and drops out the back, hopefully not flicking into someone else behind us! Continuing until we are able to safely pull over, we cannot see any damage and think we have got away with no damage.  Nothing left of what caused it (we think a center road cone). Arriving in Taupo, we find our campground (Top10 inner city) and got to set up only to find the motor movers we have not long installed have been bent and basically are having a h...
Read more

Fox Glacier to Haast - Down to Jackson Bay - 9/03/25

Image
Travelling down the west coast, we stop at a popular spot along the beach front for a stretch. Some of the scenery  Knights Point Viewpoint   Some of the locals fishing We arrive at camp just before 1pm and are allowed in early as long as we do not use any facilities which suited us as we had been told about Jackson Bay and thought we would head out there.  The lady told us the Crayfish pot was open from 11am to 3pm.  The road was a bit washed out The Crayfish Pot 1 Kilo of mussels in Thai curry for lunch Jacksons Bay is about 50 km south of Haast down the coastline and is one of the most unspoiled areas in NZ and just beautiful.  The Crayfish Pot was also great and would definitely come back here again! Jackson Bay Jackson Bay Wharf A bit of Early History on Jackson Bay More scenery  Tried to help some stupid Aussie who thought he could drive on the beach in his rental. This took about an hour as Daryl would not be beaten, while I sat in the car (being the...
Read more