Sally Caboche
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Fox Glacier ▷
Lake Matheson Walk
May 2107 Walked in the late afternoon, so no problem with crowds.
Again blown away by the fantastic condition of the DOC tracks. This a great short walk as you wind around the lake, regardless of whether you see the reflections, which will only be seen in the optimum conditions. If you see the famous reflections it is a bonus, but enjoy one of the best short walks through a beautiful rainforest environment catching views of Aoraki Mt Cook and Tasman. Loved this meandering walk with the sun glittering through the leaves ... one of my favourites.
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South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷ Wanaka Township ▷
Rob Roy Track
May 2017 Checked with locals in the outdoor shops, DOC and the information office for advice about taking our campervan along the road to Raspberry Flat for the walk to Rob Roy Glacier.
There had been some heavy rain and we didn't know the depth of the stream crossings. It turned out the issue wouldn't have been the depth of the water so much as the longer wheel base of our campervan may not have made over the dips where the streams flowed. There was no shuttle service running that day so we hired a small 4WD which, for the one day rental, was much cheaper than if we had used the shuttle for two of us. So glad we did. 1. we could drive at our pace and stop whenever we wanted to. 2. the shuttle pick-up allows 4 hours for the walk and we took longer. 3. still not sure if our van would not have got hung up on a couple of those crossings towards the end of the road. We picked up hikers who had left their vans a couple of kms from Raspberry Flat carpark.
Road from Wanaka was a picturesque drive around the lake, then up the remote valley through farms and wandering livestock and the mountains growing on either side. There is 55 kms of gravel road with 9 stream crossings but only the last 2 or 3 dips are a bit dicey for some vehicles.
Some people have noted it is a 3 hour hike, but we took our lunch and spent quite a while at the top so 4-5 hours is more realistic if you want to take it all in. We are moderate fitness in the 55-60 age group. There are some steeper sections of the track through the beech forest and after a couple of hours you pop out into the open ground at the base of the glacier. A toilet is just before the top of the track. DOC keep tracks and facilities so well maintained. It was about 8 degrees at the carpark and about 3 degrees at the glacier. We cooled off quite a bit eating our lunch so bring layers. The glacier cracked and groaned to keep us enthralled. This was a brilliant day out and a really great walk for variety in scenery and terrain.
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Milford Sound - Fiordland National Park ▷
Key Summit Track
May 2017 We overnighted at Kiosk Creek to make the early cruise on the Sound, which set us up perfectly to stop at The Divide for the afternoon on the way back into Te Anau.
Both hubbie and I had walked the Routeburn over 30 years ago, so were looking forward to reliving some of our steps. Back then, finishing the Routeburn at The Divide, as with many walks if you are trying to make transport connections, you tend to rush the last part. This time, we could take our time on this segment of the Routeburn before heading up to Key Summit track. On the way up we stopped to enjoy every view we could and once on top of Key Summit, we took our time to take in the glorious panoramas as the cloud swirled around us. A steady climb, but very manageable for us (age 55-60). Don't rush, do the nature trail as well. As with all the walks we did, the tracks are so well maintained. Traveling in the off season, we rarely encountered many other walkers and savoured having the stunning mountains to ourselves.
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Te Anau ▷
Te Anau Lakeview Holiday Park & Motels
May 2017 The park was very quiet so there we no campervans near us ...
busy season and the vans are pretty close together, but we're new to campervanning so aren't quite use to that yet. The park is really clean and well maintained and the staff were super friendly and helpful. After staying in quite a few freedom spots and DOC camps, I absolutely loved the clean, modern shower block (hairdryers provided). Plenty of free hot water! This park was by far the best of all the commercial van parks we stayed in. Enjoyed the early morning view across the lake then walked the path around the lake's edge into town only a few minutes away.
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Te Anau ▷
Kiosk Creek Campsite
May 2017 Kiosk Creek campsite is in the Eglinton River valley on the Milford Road.
The mist hangs low over the river and settled heavily with very cold, damp air as the sun was going down. This was the coldest night we felt in the campervan. Mountains, stars and solitude. Plenty of room for camping and vans, drop toilet was clean. It was just over an hour to Milford, so a perfect overnight spot to get you closer to the first boat cruises of the morning.
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Springfield ▷
Lake Pearson (Moana Rua) Campsite
April 2017 This was the first night of our 2 week road trip around the South Island.Having clambered around the rocks at Castle Hill until late afternoon, Lake Pearson was just a short 20 mins up the road
. The wind picked up a bit through the night but we were relatively sheltered amongst the trees right on the lake's edge. We woke to a fresh dusting of snow on the peaks and were greeted by a spectacular view and friendly ducks ... and yes hoppy was a keen visitor with us, too. The site was beautiful; there were a handful of other vans and all was quiet. The long drop was clean and the hand sanitizer was a nice touch. It was the best free campsite of our trip and rated in our top 3 of all sites we stayed at.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Cron street ▷
Otto/MacDonalds Campsite
April 2017 We arrived at Otto campsite in the dark.
I'd read the reviews so we chose Otto rather than MacDonald, but was not prepared to find that Otto was really just a carpark more than a campsite with vans parked close either side. Flushing toilets and running water facilities clean and tidy. The thrilling surprise was waking up and wandering down to the edge of the lake and WOW the view across the lake!!! It was calm with a light mist hanging above the water and the stunning alps reaching up. A beautiful start to the day before heading into Franz.