3,500 km. Yes, that's what I've driven around New Zealand's South island in my van since I last wrote. 3,500 km. and that's only the South of the South island. And I though this country was very small!!
I lied in my last posting. I didn't start the exploration of the island the day I intended, but the next one. A person with hourly hiccups and daily morning job interviews (some of them non-existent) is to blame for my delay. But we'll get to her later.
My first destination was Mt. Cook National Park, and for the first time since I arrived in New Zealand I could see the sky, which was surprisingly blue, like in the rest of the world. And I couldn't ask for a better day to enjoy the wonderful landscapes that Spring creates in this country. Think of the rarest color you can and some random flower will have it in New Zealand. The landscape was so spectacular that only the narrow roads with no space to stop prevented me from taking pictures from every corner.
There are two color are really prevailing in this country: the green of the grass, and the white of the sheep. I have never seen so many sheep and so many green meadows in my life. Statistics say for every New Zealander there are at least 12 sheep, and I believe it. Unfortunately for the locals, has allowed their neighbors to create a quite uncharming legend of their interactions with these animals, if you know what I mean.
Postcard-like blue-water lakes surrounded by more flowers and snowed peaks also contributed to make my first long-distance trip in New Zealand truly memorable. And finally, Mt Cook National Park and the spectacular Mt. Cook itself, the highest mountain in the continent.
I decided to camp in the official camping site, since it was my first night in the new van. So, after cooking some flavorless nooddles in my brand-new outdoor stove, I went to sleep in my new home. To say that night was the most uncomfortable I can remember is being very optimistic. It was cold, humid and the bed I tried to create using the fold-down seats could have been used to make the toughest Al-Qaeda member spit all the information in a matter of seconds.
Despite the horrible night, with temperatures below 0, I gathered enough strength to do 2 half-day walks in the national park the next day. This time, with the typical weather New Zealand has offered me since I arrive. The views of the peaks, the valleys and the glaciers where, nontheless, spectacular.
So, after another incident with the petrol (the petrol station on the park does not take cash or foreign credit cards; lovely!) that forced me to drive 50 km. with a 10th of a tank using all known petrol-saving techniques, I finally arrived in Arrowtown, in the middle of what already was a thundering storm. I decided to rest in a hostel there, before reaching the next day my destination, the extreme-experiences capital of NZ: Queenstown.
