Cardrona

Often I feel like the only Aucklander who can’t ski – certainly when I am around those advertising folk at work. It is something I wish I had of learnt when I was a child and with James being an accomplished skier I was determined to take the kids to the southern slopes and get them their first skiing lesson.

The road to Cardrona is accessible to camper vans only from the Wanaka end and not the Queenstown end – which was fine for us as we were going that way anyway.

We get to the bottom of the access road to Cardrona and look up…  A steep, gravel, winding road into the mountains with very few guard rails.

“I may just check this one out with Maui” I say cautiously – quick call and they confirm that yes, while not recommended, we can go up there (this may change in future so please do check with your rental company before heading up and make sure you have a confident and accomplished driver – this road is not for the faint hearted in a 6 berth camper).

So up we go – every thing in the camper (including us) shaking and rattling.  The kids, peering over the sides of cliff tops as they shook up the hill were getting increasingly nervous when suddenly the cutlery draw flung itself loose of it’s catch (pulling the screws out of the wood) and Krystal, sitting closest to the know dancing knives and forks, started screaming.

I made my way into the back to hold shut the drawer and Krystal (who now refused to sit in the back) made her way to the co-pilot chair.

Once up the hill we found a park relatively easily and enrolled the kids in a 2 hour lesson.  It was just over $500 for James to hire ski’s and a lift pass and the 3 kids to get lessons and gear so it wasn’t cheap but for me – it was well worth the money.

By the end of 2 hours all three children could go down the beginner slope by themselves, James had a great time on the slopes, proclaiming it the best ski field he had been on and I had a great time taking photos and drinking Chardonnay in the bar inside.

First Skiing Lessons

Skiing Lessons

Step sisters bonding over skiing

Farmers Ute on side of the mountain

We didn’t visit the ski fields closer to Queenstown but I hear Cardrona is cheaper and it certainly has a charm to it that for me made it unique – well worth the visit and if you have children who don’t ski, definitely invest in the lessons.

James says…

It f**n rocks.  A 9 and a half if you get the full day pass.  The snow was awesome – you could carve it up like a steak

James heading off on the slopes

You can check out more here…

http://www.cardrona.com

How we rated it…

Sophia (6 years old) rates it 10/10

Krystal (8 years old) rates it 10/10

Bella (9 years old) rates it 10/10

James rates it 9/10

Cat rates it 8/10

At last its Haast

Leaving Frans Joseph glacier just after 7 we decided that we really should book ahead in Haast as we would be arriving late so did a quick google and found a camp site in Haast.

I called them and they confirmed that they had a site available.  I told them we would be arriving late (about 9 I said – I never was very good with estimating how long things would take) and they said it wouldn’t be a problem and to ring the night bell when we got there.

I diligently bookmarked the camping ground in my phone (learning from my mistakes in Hamner) and off we went.

The obligatory toilet/food stops and we didn’t arrive in Haast until almost 10.  At last its Haast we all said (oh and we pulled out the Haast’a la vesta baby as we left too).

We had no phone reception or internet for the last hour or two.  I expected it to come back on in Haast but no…  Not a single bar….

James – “What’s it called?”

Me – “I don’t know – its on my phone and I have no coverage”

How hard can it be to find a camping ground I said – they said it was just off the main road.

We drove past the Top 10 park – definitely not that one I said – too expensive for a 10 hour stay so on we went.

We arrived at another camp ground…

James – “Is this the one?”

Me – “I don’t know – its on my phone and I have no coverage”

Flashlights out we go up to the very dark looking door with no night bell.  I find a sign that says for urgent service to call this number.  I should point out that at this point we have one child crying she is so desperate for the toilet (we have a strict “no poo” policy in the camper) and we have been on the road for 13 hours so tempers are somewhat frayed…

James – “Well give them a call”

Me – “I can’t – remember, we have no coverage”

Past 10 now we decide to head in to town which as it turns out is a couple of shops (all closed) and thankfully a public toilet.  Maybe we can freedom camp we decide.  Maui very kindly gave us a full pack with all the information that we would need on the road for our trip including how and where to freedom camp.  We in turn very helpfully left it in the Christchurch office amid the hot chocolate covered mess of a meltdown that was check in with children so didn’t have this information any more…  Maps and guides make it harder to get lost anyway I had reasoned to myself.

James – “Can you look up where we can Freedom Camp?”

Me – “NO. PHONE. COVERAGE.”

By this point 13.5 hours into our day with 3 tired children no one is feeling particularly happy so we drive in silence for a while looking for a neon sign saying “Freedom Camping here” when like a mirage in the desert appears the Haast Beach Holiday Park.

It’s almost 11 by this point and again the reception area looks very dark but they do have a night bell.  We push it and wait.  Nothing.  Then James has an idea – we will put a note in the key return box telling them we arrived late with 3 kids and will pay in the morning.

While we were doing this an exceptionally gruff looking Southern Man emerges – clearly not well pleased to be woken in the middle of the night by a van load of idiotic Aucklanders who obviously have no idea about the etiquette of late arrivals (I am assuming there is some – probably in the lost Maui guide book).

I was close to tears by this point so I let James do the talking and fortunately the owner let us stay for the very reasonable price of $50 for the night.

It’s the strangest thing arriving somewhere in the middle of the night in a camper and not knowing what you will see when you emerge so when James peered out the window the next morning and called out “Look, Cat – there’s snow everywhere” my spirits lifted and I raced to the window.

He was of course completely lying and all we had was a brown clapboard building and a washing line out the window.

It wasn’t a long stay but it was a very much needed place to rest and the facilities were clean and it was a cheap stay.

If nothing else please stay here to thank the owners for their kindness in putting up with these inconsiderate Aucklanders – tell them Cat and James sent you.

You can find their details here – just not anywhere within a 2 hour driving radius from Haast because there is as we all know, no coverage….

http://www.haastpark.com/default.aspx

The drive to Wanaka in the daylight made all the troubles of the night before well worth it however with absolutely stunning lakes and rivers for hours.

James says….

We don’t know nearly enough about Haast.  I was pretty happy to be there.  We were in a bad place before we got to Haast – we had some unhappy campers.  They had a sign there that said Crayfish – I feel there was more to this place that we should have explored – it could have been a 9, we will just never know.  If we had of had the dive gear and the fishing gear and this could have been great.

How we rated it…

Sophia (6 years old) rates it 3/10

Krystal (8 years old) rates it 5/10

Bella (9 years old) rates it 4/10

James rates it 5/10

Cat rates it 4/10

Frans Joseph Glacier

After leaving Greymouth we were determined to get as far as we could on our trip to Queenstown before it got too late.

Having only decided that morning to travel down the West Coast (yes, I am very true to my mantra of going without a map and getting lost and seeing where the road takes us) we really had no idea how long anything would take or what we would want to see.  We stopped several times along the way to take photos or have a look around but with the sun about 2 hours from setting we decided it was time to call for help!

Driving the West Coast

My brother drives the West Coast frequently in his classic car so I gave him a call to get some local advice.  Our plan was to get to Wanaka that night but he quickly told us not to even try.  His advise – get to the glaciers in daylight (Frans Joseph being the easiest to access in a camper and the closest) and travel the Haast Pass in daylight because it was so beautiful it was a shame to miss it in the dark (he was right).

We pulled up in the carpark of Frans Joseph Glacier about an hour before sunset and sprinted out down the well maintained tracks to catch a glimpse of the glaciers before we lost the sun.

It was an easy walk to the river bed below the glacier with even the kids having very little to complain about.  The mosquito’s (here and all around the South Island) are vicious so we were glad we had packed our insect repellant!

Frans Joseph Glacier

We walked for about 15 minutes and it was well worth the walk with the glaciers and waterfalls simply awe inspiring.

There are lots of opportunities for photos and the kids loved playing on the rocks and moving them around.

Looking out to Frans Joseph Glacier

Looking out to Frans Joseph Glacier

Drinking from the Glacier

Frans Joseph Glacier

Frans Joseph Glacier

You can check out their website here which has a lot of really cool things that you can do that we ran out of time (and money) for…

http://www.franzjosefglacier.com

Racing back to the camper van we were starving so headed to the small town at the foot of the Fox Glacier – there wasn’t much in the way of takeaways but we did find some good chips at pub in Fox Glacier that they kindly put in a takeaway container for us that we took away with us to have with some marmite sammie (fast becoming our staple diet on this trip) and we were soon on our way to Haast.

James says….

We really needed that walk – we’d been driving a while and I probably would have fallen asleep.  It was a big lump of ice about half a km away but the water tasted nice.  One of those things I’ve always wanted to see and it was pretty beautiful.

How we rated it…

Sophia (6 years old) rates it 5/10

Krystal (8 years old) rates it 8/10

Bella (9 years old) rates it 7/10

James rates it 7/10

Cat rates it 8/10

Shantytown in Greymouth

After 3 hours of driving (which equates to 5 hours with children) we were ready for a stop in Greymouth and decided to head over to Shantytown.

It was relatively expensive at close to $100 for the 5 of us (with gold panning for the kids) but we decided to go anyway for two reasons – firstly, we were there and secondly, it is good to support local communities like Greymouth and tourism is a big part of this.

The last time I went to Shantytown was almost 15 years ago and from my sketchy memory it didn’t seem like a lot had changed – although now of course I was seeing it through my children eyes.

The kids rated it a 10 out of 10 each but at the time seemed pretty quick to move through everything and get to the ice cream shop at the end!

The highlight for all of them was the gold panning and at $7 per child each child is guaranteed to strike gold and get a little bottle to bring it home in (and amazingly they all actually made it home).

Shantytown Gold Mining

We went and saw the hologram movie which they found a little creepy but oddly really seemed quite captivated by the notion that apparently there are still many undiscovered bodies of murdered miners in the West Coast woods (a cheery thought as we explored the woods later that day).

Despite an array of trains on offer James wasn’t overly impressed and thought it was a lot like MOTAT so from his POV didn’t offer a lot that he couldn’t get closer to home and he would have preferred to explore the beaches.

Shantytown in Greymouth is an easy 2 hour excursion and we felt a little rushed in our trip to get back on the road.

My advice – if you are passing through Greymouth and have a spare 3 hours and circa $100 to spend then it is worth a look.  However – just further down the coast there are so many free natural wonders that you may like us wish that you had left more time for them…

From James…

I was forced to do it – we all were.  But we all seemed to enjoy ourselves and even got some lollies, ice-cream and gold out of it.

You can find more details here – and you can also save money booking online!

Home

How we rated it….

Sophia (6 years old) rates it 10/10

Krystal (8 years old) rates it 10/10

Bella (9 years old) rates it 10/10

James rates it 7/10

Cat rates it 6/10

Reefton, a great place to stop

First stop on our West Coast adventure was Reefton.

Up until then I knew nothing about Reefton but now I can not only happily recommend it as a great place to stop between Hamner Springs and Greymouth but also tell you a few of Reefton’s most redeeming qualities….

• Reefton has a great skate park!  James is a bit of a skate boarder from way back and was wishing he had bought his board.  The girls on the other hand didn’t let a little thing like lack of a skate board stop them and slid down on their onesies instead!  They had a ball!
• Reefton has a lovely river out the back of the skate park – great for taking photos
• Reefton has awesome stones – the kids loved them
• Reefton has very friendly people – everyone we met smiled and chatted to us
• Reefton has flags of every nationality everywhere – I assume for the Rugby World Cup but it felt very inclusive
• Reefton has a well stocked 4 Square with pretty much everything you need.

Reefton Roller Park

Reefton – stoney riverbed

So there you have it – Reefton, a great place to stop and you can find out more about it here…

http://www.reefton.co.nz

James says….

Best skateboard park ever but shame I didn’t have a skateboard – or a onesie.  Everyone had a smile on their face.

Sophia (6 years old) rates it 10/10

Krystal (8 years old) rates it 9/10

Bella (9 years old) rates it 10/10

James rates it 8/10

Cat rates it 7/10

Make a U turn when possible

Day 3 is about where we decided to through the plans out the window and get lost….

Laying in bed in the Camper Van in Hamner Springs before the kids had woken up James and I were talking about our route.  The plan  was to go down the East coast and stay at Tekapo and then on to Queenstown the next day – about 7-8 hours drive.

However, James (having worked in Ashburton and traveled frequently to Blenheim) had travelled that stretch a lot but never the West Coast.  Kind of bucket list stuff he reasoned.  Absolutely I said, jumping at the chance to get lost.

A quick (and as it turns out rather incomplete) search on Google Maps convinced us we would get there in about 9 hours – really not much longer at all… [spoiler alert – after 13 hours we finally made it to Haast!!]

Rather auspiciously as we set out from Hamner Springs we found a sign that said “Get Lost” – both James and I agreed – it must be a sign.  We were destined to get lost.

With the radio blasting James, me and the 3 kids were singing at the tops of our voices with the GPS valiantly saying every 5 or so minutes – make a U turn when possible.

We didn’t listen to a word it said….

From James..

I would have liked to have more time and explore more and see some more of the coastline – maybe a few seals

How we rated it…

Sophia (6 years old) rates it 1/10

Krystal (8 years old) rates it 8/10

Bella (9 years old) rates it 5/10

James rates it 8/10

Cat rates it 8/10

Well priced, great family fun at Hamner Springs

About an hour and a half from Christchurch Hamner Springs is an easy drive from Christchurch.

We drove in tandem with James and 5 children (our 3 plus Sarah’s two) in the Camper Van and me and Sarah followed behind having a great old time talking about anything and everything.  From the sounds of things the “Daddy Day Care bus” as it was dubbed by Krystal was the best party bus around!  I’m surprised we didn’t see it rocking as we drove…

Campervan on the way to Hamner Springs

We stopped for marmite sammies and a few supplies at Culverden.  Lots of picnic tables and a well stocked dairy!

Dairy at Culverden

On to Hamner and to my shock and horror I found that they had at least two camping grounds.  As I have said in previous posts, organisation is not my strong point so I had blindly assumed when booking several months before that the Hamner Springs camping ground was THE Hamner Springs camping ground.

In a mild panic I rang the first one that I saw and asked if by any chance they had a booking for me.  They didn’t and didn’t seem overly happy about suggesting other local camping grounds I could try (why ever not?)

Fortunately I hit the jackpot with the second camp ground and they had us booked in to a powered site for night two of our South Island Campervan Holiday.

Camper Van successfully stowed and we were on to the pools.

Amazing variety of pools from the kiddies pools to the lazy river to the super hot (including some adults only) mineral pools.

The spring weather still wasn’t super hot and unfortunately for us the kids preferred the luke warm kids pools to the hot mineral pools so it was a matter of tag teaming between Sarah, James and I to all try and get a little time in the hot pools.

Sophia, despite all her verge eating over the past 3 months, remained half a centimetre too short for the hydra slides (if you have a little one that is on the verge of 120cm don’t promise slides as they are very strict) but could go on the super bowl with an adult.

You get in to the super bowl on an inflatable ring (in my case a double with Sophia) – are sent down a slide and then spun around a bowl several times before being spat out another slide at the other end.  It wasn’t as alarming as it sounds but I was kind of relieved when Sophia said it was too cold to line up for another turn and didn’t even mind that I had paid $5 for her and $10 for me to have just one turn.

Hamner Springs Super Bowl

All in all – it was well priced, great family fun at Hamner Springs.  If you manage to spot the pool photographer definitely call her over.  It’s challenging conditions to photograph in but I wager that most of you won’t be taking your camera in the pool (I know I wasn’t) and she really does capture great moments.

You can find out more about the pools here…

http://hanmersprings.co.nz

In terms of where to stay…  there are a couple of options for camper vans.  The one we went for was really basic (and cheap) and did the job perfectly for a one night stay after a long day swimming.  You can find more information about it here…

http://www.kiwiholidayparks.com/canterbury/pines-holiday-park/?gclid=CjwKEAjwhdOwBRDFsYTfhvzX1hYSJAAfCUcL7AJQQiU9FQYFr8bNkhnQdHrIU9nuAjuJ1J1XaZtR5hoCf1Pw_wcB

From James….

The things that stood out for me where the adult spa, the super bowl and being able to buy a beer.

How we rated it…

Sophia (6 years old) rates it 10/10

Krystal (8 years old) rates it 10/10

Bella (9 years old) rates it 10/10

James rates it 8/10 Cat rates it 8/10

The South Island Road Trip – Packing

Only 3 days until we will be getting lost in the South Island and preparations are well and truly underway for the great South Island Road Trip.

7 days, 2 parents, 3 kids and 1 6 berth camparvan – first stop Christchurch.

Today’s mission – packing.

Packing and children, especially girls, do not mix.  If your daughters are anything like ours they pack pretty much everything except what they will actually need (which coincidentally is what I do as well so maybe that apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree).

We once arrived on holiday for 2 weeks with our eldest child Bella sporting just one (yes one) pair of underwear for the entire trip.  Another winter holiday we found that Krystal had packed only singlets.

Determined not to repeat past clothing disasters and aware that the current forecast in Christchurch is a chilly 2 degrees I decided that supervision was the key.

The problem with most boring things like packing is that they are just that to kids – boring.  So I decided to make a bit of a game of it with an elaborate points system for the person who could get back the fastest with the correctly specified garments.

It worked a treat and in no time at all we had the correct number of hats, gloves, tops and pants – the problem now being how to fit it in the one baggage allowance that I had (in my infinite wisdom) decided was all we needed….

The cat (Monkey) is never far from the action so got in on the action – I did have to check he wasn’t actually in a bag after last weekend getting stuck inside a cushion (seriously – this cat needs a blog of his own) and was even obliging enough to pose with one of my vintage suitcases for this blog.  And no, just in case you were wondering – it’s not the suitcase we are taking….