After arriving in Christchurch, we left. Funny that. Of course we left Christchurch. We picked up a fantastic Jucy campervan (more about Jucy later, including cost) and set course for the famous highland region of Lake Tekapo about 200km southwest of Christchurch. What we didn’t know before we left Christchurch was that Lake Tekapo is an alpine region meaning in winter there is snow on the ground ALL THE TIME.
Snowy mountains on the way to Lake Tekapo
Susan had never touched snow before, so it was awesome to jump out of the car when we first saw the snow and play in it. We actually thought that after seeing the snow we would drive down the mountain to the lake and that the snow would disappear — we were wrong. We drove about another 2km and the lake was right there in front of us surrounded by snow. “This mean we’re going to camp in the snow?” It was quite scary to think that our first night in the campervan was going to be a freezing night.
Susan’s first time in the snow! What would you do?
Lake Tekapo
Snow surrounding Lake Tekapo
The campsite at Lake McGregor has a toilet and that is about it. It is far enough away from town that you can’t see any of the street lights meaning it is pitch black. There was one other campervan and one other car at the campsite. We got there, cooked some dinner on the gas stove in the van, took some night time photos and a timelapse and then went to bed!
Lake McGregor near Lake Tekapo
Moeraki Boulders
PergiDulu @ Moeraki Boulders
I’ve got to say that we weren’t that impressed with the Moeraki Boulders. They are simply about 20 big round rocks on an empty beach. That is about it. So we took a few photos there and because it was getting dark, we departed and started looking for a place to sleep. Dina from Dua Ransel gave us a tip that there was a place on the side of the road not far south of Moeraki that is suitable for camping. Thanks for the tip Dina!
Sunset at Moeraki Boulders
Needless to say that we had an awful night’s sleep. The wind was strong. REALLY strong. So strong we thought the trees were going to blow over. At about 4am we decided that it was ridiculous to try and sleep any more so we moved the van to the nearby town of Palmerston where there was less wind and parked it on the side of the street and slept until 8am. Beautiful. I think maybe Dina and Ryan had a similar experience at that very same campsite.
Dunedin
The world’s steepest street located in Dunedin
After the hell that was sleeping in the van the previous night, we decided to sleep in a backpacker hostel for NZ$65 (Rp480.000) per night. For us, that is more than what we wanted to pay because we are on a tight budget and New Zealand is expensive compared to Asia. But, we did get to have a hot shower… and that is a luxury when you are living in a campervan.
Otago Peninsula, Dunedin
What happens next on this backpackneymoon? Keep up to date on twitter by following us or hitting the FB like button on the right. We regularly post updates and photos there.
you guys are having a great time! Susan, congrats on your first snow! hehehe..
I love that sunset photo! But everything is just beautiful over there, isn’t it? 😀
@Vira – Everything is beautiful over here. It’s a fantastic place and definitely should be on everyone’s todo list. 🙂