After a night of torrential rain, wind that shook our camper and thunder booms that woke us from our sleep, the day broke with fragments of blue sky trying to cut through the grey. The plan is to go see the Blue Pools and walk the track and then then do whatever else takes our fancy.
We head off over the Haast pass and the camper poltergeist’s were back in full force, as the pot cupboard flew out and of its runner and across the floor like a scene from an exorcism. We are now so used to the cutlery drawer poltergeist that we no longer blink an eye as it jangles open, then jiggles about until it shuts itself again when you go around an opposite corner.
The Haast pass was lovely with its waterfalls and bush. We bounce in and out of our camper doing bitsy walks to check out the next attraction.
We arrive at the Blue track and it has the obligatory swing bridges, the sign on this one though is great and reinforces my point I made in yesterday’s blog. 10+1 and it’s all over rover.
We arrive at the Blue Pools and it seems par for the course this trip but of course they are not blue but a deep green. Evidently the sign says that after heavy rain they can turn Green instead of Blue because of all the sediment washing down from the hills but in a few days they will be Blue again, and we will be somewhere else. They are still very beautiful and we enjoy watching the trout swim around in the river below.
Its onward and upward as we head to Wanaka as I wish to take a picture of the Wanaka tree. Despite being to Wanaka several times I have never taken the obligatory pic. Its windy and the pic is not that great but the moment existed and is now captured in time.
We spend the night and then decide to reminisce our way through Central Otago. We leave in the rain and it chases us all day, ever threatening but never quite making landfall. It adds another dimension to the landscape.
We head through Dads old haunt of Omaka and Lauder. We check out the old Ophir bridge a quaint little one way bridge which begs to be photographed however we are bailed up by a very unreasonable and grumpy man who came from the opposite direction and demands that us in our camper and the lady in front of us must reverse despite him being on the give way and a straight line reverse, whilst we have to back up around a corner. We all play a Mexican stand off for a while but his agitation is far greater than the problem and you can only think that he has to live with that inside himself and take pity as he marches across the bridge shaking his fist, his red face contracting. The lady in front of us is not so forgiving and her language and gestures match the grumpy old mans. We reverse and don’t get a picture of the historic Ophir bridge.
We move onto Lauder hoping to grab lunch at the pub but its closed up. We chat to Graham and Esme who run the local B&B and they remember dad well and his days of holding court in the corner of the bar. They say the pub will open at 6 but we won’t hang around that long. They suggest we go to Saint Bathans and have lunch there as its interesting. So we do.
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We have the best cheese scone ever and wander around the ghost town of Saint Bathans. It is interesting and quaint and really of another place and time. We chat to the farmer having lunch in the pub and the publican behind the bar, swapping stories and drinking our flat whites. Then we decide that’s it, our road trips for 2020 are done and we begin our trip home.
I cant sign off without my tips for campervan road trips having now completed three.
Always remember that plans are never perfect, even good ones.
Check out the camper fully before you leave. Including fridge and awning.
Pack a simple kitchen kit eg picnic salt and pepper, teabags, small container of laundry detergent (+$2 coins), marmite (or vegemite), small bottle dish washliquid, extra tea towel. If you dont do this then you end up buying big bottles and throwing them away so take little ones with you.
Take a map as internet is not always available.
Pack your things in packing cases that you can put in the top cupboards.
Take a toilet bag that can hang on a hook or put your toilet bag in a duffle that will hold that and your underwear etc. Not all campground have great places to put things in the showers but they all have hooks. Although showering in the campgrounds saves WH emptying the water all the time I always take the antiseptic wipes:-)
When you take the grandkids make sure they bring there gumboots in winter or jandals in summer. Send them to the kitchen blocks to do the dishes, they get the experience and you get 10 minutes of peace.
Try and get a camper big enough that you can set the bed up and leave it that way, whilst still utilising a table.
Get a good road trip playlist.