Day 1 started early with an uneventful drive to Wellington followed by one of the nicer ferry crossings I have had. We spotted dolphins as we were leaving Wellington harbour and enjoyed a scenic cruise through Queen Charlotte Sound into Picton. The final destination for the day was Blenheim Top Ten Holiday Park for the first of many nights sleeping in the back of the van.

With only 3.5 hours drive to complete the second day we started with an easy mountain bike through Wither Hills Mountain Bike Park. The tracks were quite good, but they clearly haven’t had much rain in Blenheim for a while as the ground was very hard packed and dry. We hit the road again to Kaikoura with the mandatory stop to check out the seals, and even splashed out for a feed of crayfish for lunch. Forgetting that no supermarkets were open on Easter Friday we had to gather what we could from various service stations before heading to the race venue near Cheviot for the night.

Ready for a quick pedal through Wither Hills Mountain Bike Park

Lunch stop in Kaikoura Park

It was an early start for round one of the New Zealand Enduro Nationals. I had a mixed day with a good morning but made some costly mistakes in the afternoon. I ended up finishing the day in 9th overall and 3rd in class. After the race we hit the road again to Christchurch Top Ten Holiday Park; after parking up we headed straight for the pool.

Getting ready to start in Christchurch

Day 4 we continued south through to the next race venue just south of Mosgiel.

Another early start on day 5 for round 2 of the NZ Enduro Nationals. I was feeling confident I could improve on my position in Christchurch but unfortunately it didn’t happen. I got stuck in a bog in the first timed test and tangled in wire in the second test. After the early dramas I could only manage 17th overall and 7th in class. After the event we still had another two hours of driving to do down to a friend’s place near Gore for the night.

We swapped a box of Waikato for the use of the water blaster and washing machine and after getting everything cleaned up we could finally click into holiday mode. Around midday we were back on the road again, we headed through Invercargill, up through Te Anau and arrived in Milford Sound at about 5pm. The Milford road was awesome with towering mountains and hundreds of waterfalls coming down the huge rocky cliff faces.

Looking out to Milford Sound from the shore

It was an early start again the next morning as we met our guide for the day at Roscoes’ Milford Kayaks HQ on the edge of Deepwater Basin. We were on the water before the sun was up but when the sun finally did appear through the fog it revealed just how mysterious this place is. We kayaked the full length of Milford Sound and were picked up by a boat and ferried back in. Milford Sound is a unique place; definitely a must see for any adventurous kiwi. That afternoon we drove out of Milford on our way to Queenstown. We arrived in Queenstown late afternoon and checked into the motel, it was good to get into a real bed after six nights crammed into the back of a van.

Kayaking through Milford sound

Over the next couple of days we really made the most of what the adventure capital had to offer with a ride up the Shotover River in the Shotover Jet, AJ Hackett bungee, mountain biking at Skyline, Rude Rock and Dream Track, hiked up the Remarkables, Furgburger, drove into Skippers Canyon and even spent an afternoon in Arrowtown.

Leaving Queenstown we stopped at the famous Cardrona Hotel for a beer before continuing on to Wanaka. With only one day to spend in Wanaka we had a quick stop off at Puzzle World before getting the mountain bikes out and heading to Sticky Forest. We ended the day chilling out by the lake with some fish and chips.

The next day we headed north. We stopped for a look at the Blue Pools, Fox Glacier and the Pancake rocks to break up the drive and finally arrived in Westport at about 8pm. We prepped the bikes and packed and repacked our packs ready for a long cycle the following day.

The Blue Pools north of Wanaka

Pancake rocks

We were greeted with sunny blue skies for our first day of the old Ghost Road. We were doing the 85km track over two days, staying the night in the Ghost Lake hut which is about 30km in. The first day was a long climb but was easily manageable thanks to the easy gradient and well maintained tracks. We arrived at the hut with plenty of time to relax and enjoy the views before the sunset over the hills.

Lunch stop at Lyell saddle hut

Just before sunrise from Ghost Lake hut

The second day started with a technical descent down to the skyline steps before it mellowed out to a nice flowy trail, although we still had a couple good climbs throughout the day to keep us on our toes. It was a good feeling to reach the end but we still had a small ride to get to our accommodation for the night at the Sedddonville Hotel. Burgers and beers have never tasted so good.

At the top of skyline steps, 5km from the Ghost Lake hut

We were picked up the next morning by our shuttle and headed back to Westport. We were soon on our way back to Picton, crossed the ferry and into Wellington for the night. We had a chill morning checking out Wellington before heading to the race venue, not far from Upper Hutt.

Another early start for round three of the New Zealand Enduro Nationals; I had a good day even though I had to deal with bent handlebars all day after an early crash. I got reminded quickly that my moto handles a little differently than the mountain bike. I enjoyed the tracks in Wellington and ended the day in 6th overall and 3rd in class. After the race we headed home. We arrived home (Cambridge) at about 10pm. After 17 nights away it was good to be out of the van and back in my own bed.

If you haven’t experienced the South Island you need to get down there. I ticked off a lot of things that were on my bucket list but also added a lot of things to do next time and can’t wait to get back down there. Van life was awesome and we saved so much money staying at campsites instead of motels (we only stayed three nights in a motel the whole time we were on the road). I would like to say a huge thanks to Torpedo7, Sportsfit, NV Motorcycles, MotoSR and Golden Tyre for making the trip possible.