Mad Campers: New Zealand Road Trip - Part 5

Crossing into Central Otago, we visited another old mining town, Cromwell. Like many similar towns, it was established in the 1850s gold rush. However, it has an interesting history. In 1992 the Clyde Dam was built, creating Lake Dunstan.  The flooding of the valley meant that one third of the town had to be relocated to higher ground and some of the older buildings were used to create an historic precinct on the shore. The well restored buildings now are a mixture of reconstructions of the original businesses along side new art galleries and cafes. The whole place had an almost wild west feel to it.

Before leaving Cromwell, we had a quick photo stop at the gigantic fruit sculpture built to pay tribute to the area’s extensive stoned fruit growing industry.

From Cromwell, it was a short drive to Bendigo Conservation Area. This was a quite remote and desolate landscape. During a walk around the reserve, we came across the remains of mine shafts, batteries where the rock was crushed and small miners’ cottages. The place gave us an idea of how hard life would have been for the early pioneers.

The park also has numerous hikes and trails. Whilst in the area, we managed two of the shorter ones: the Hooker Valley and the Tasman Glacier. These tracks gave us a flavour of the mountains; swing bridges over icy, blue grey streams leading to glacial lakes with mini icebergs.

For our final night win the park, we treated ourselves to a night in the Glentanner Park Centre. Still in our little van, but we had great facilities with an even better view.

In contrast to Glentanner, our next night was a freedom site right on the edge of Lake Pukaki. The only facility here was a long drop toilet, but our site did have a stunning view!

We decided that this was the perfect place for Mad Camper Challenge 8: Drink a ‘longest drink in town’. This challenge took some research and we discovered that it is actually a brand of a milkshake. Finding the syrup in the supermarket, we made up our own and supped it with another view of Mount Cook.

Leaving Tekapo, we headed along State Highway 8, through Burkes Pass and stumbled upon Three Creeks; R oa uniqueadside collection of American retro-collectables, artwork and furniture.  We stopped for a great coffee surrounded by classic cars and a 1950s service station.

We like to visit unusual places and Putangirua Pinnacles fit the bill.  A walk through these towering formations of crumbling clay and rock was like being on another planet.

Another great find was the small town of Fairlie. Here we utilised the laundry, complete with shower while you wait – what a brilliant idea. Our stop in Fairlie also gave us the chance to complete our final Mad Camper Challenge; number 8: Eat a pie. In all honesty, we had actually eaten quite a lot of pies during our 6 weeks in New Zealand, but the Fairlie Bakehouse was supposed to be the best. It did not disappoint. Delicious!

Another great place to visit on a wet day is the International Antarctic Centre. Christchurch is an important departure point for expeditions  to Antarctica and the centre is a perfect place to learn about the icy continent. It is very interactive, complete with an Antarctic snow storm, little blue penguins, huskies and a bumpy ride in a Haggund.