Hit the road early in the morning as a way to maximize the usage of sunlight. Next destination is Punakaiki located on the west side of South Island. We took the road Kaikoura - Lyford - Culverden - Hanmer Spring - Reefton - Inangahua - Westport - Punakaiki. It was a challenging route to drive and yet the view have not failed me yet. It was another 6hours drive with a few pitstop along it. It is wise to stock up and fill-up your gas in Westport as there will be no other gas station till you reach Greymouth.
Punakaiki lies at the edge of Paparoa National park. Check-in at the only motorhome available in Punakaiki which situatued near to the beach. Rainy night and I hate it. Its just too cold. Here I met other two lady from Germany enjoying their holiday maker moment for 6mnth in NZ. The main attraction here is the pancake rock and blowholes. The Pancake Rocks are heavily eroded limestone area where the sea bursts through a number of vertical blowholes during high tide. Unfortunately, we only manage to get a glimpse of the magic.
Spent another night in Greymouth. We did another stock up on gorcery & fill up the tank full which was about NZD140 and head south to Franz Josef.
Franz Josef
Another amazing place which mesmerized me! Stunning view and a cozy small little town. Park our campervan in Rainforest Retreat Holiday Park. As night fall, we walked out to Rainforest pub for nice cozy drinks while watching the Rugby World Cup game on big screen. Though its a little town, but it was packed with stores, bars, pubs and extreme activities for adrenalin junkies. Sky dive will cost you around NZD300 till NZD600++ (inclusive of souveniers). Ice climbing with minimum 6hours on the glacier is about NZD260. Its freezing here at night. The next morning we had a walk up to Sentinel rock Wall with scenic view. And again it was amazing despite the glacier has been shrinking by day.
Next stop for the night is in Wanaka. Beautiful reflection lake and it was quite a big town with plenty of holiday park choices.
Cardrona
From Wanaka we took a road thru Cardrona towards Arrowtown. This road only open to public under certain road conditions. Heard from friend of mine, the road was closed during winter. And yes, we gamble our way and we reached the top of the Crown Range Summit, is the highest sealed road in New Zealand at 1076m above sea level.
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