Just one of countless picturesque New Zealand landscapes…green fields full of content grazing sheep and towering mountains in the distance. How am I not wowed by scenes like this?!?

Our classy and discreet campervan. There is a camaraderie among the drivers of these Jucy vans…a shy wave as we pass each other on the road, as if to say “Oh…I’m sorry, you’re stuck driving one too?”

There isn’t much they aren’t using shipping containers for…housing, shopping malls, even a church. Here they are being used to hold up an old building facade. Note the artwork on the buildings in the background, including the statue of a guy on the roof.

There are efforts across the city to find temporary uses of vacant lots where a demolished buildings once stood. Anything to fill the voids. This was my favorite – the “Dance-O-Mat.” Just insert a few coins into the washing machine and the lights come on, the music starts and an impromptu dance party begins!

Sanctioned and unsanctioned street art can be found everywhere you look. I walked past this building awaiting reconstruction several times before I noticed it was covered with a photograph of the other side of the same building. A clever trick.

The flowers were in full bloom at Lake Tekapo, known for its aqua blue waters.

The vast, glacial moraine filled Tasman River valley. There is an amazing bike trail called Alps to Ocean that starts in this area (and includes a helicopter ride over the river!) and continues for nearly 200 miles to the coast. Definitely something Glenn and I would like to go back and do some day.

The clouds lifted for a bit and we caught a glimpse of the mountains behind the beautiful blue Lake Pukaki. We never got to see Mt. Cook though.

We turned off on a side road following a small sign that said “clay cliffs” and were treated to a great hike through these interesting formations seen in the distance here.

The river valleys were full of blooming flowers.

Interesting roadside limestone formations. These had historic Maori artwork at their base (well, at least what little art remained after scholars and others chiseled much of it away to be shipped off to Europe and other distant lands).

These interesting formations are known as the Elephant Rocks, located in a sheep farmer’s field that the public has been granted access to. 

Here you can barely see Glenn hiking down the steep trail to Tunnel Beach, which we thought was aptly named for the rock formation extending out to sea…

…only to find that there was a somewhat hidden tunnel that had a steep staircase leading down to the beach. Timing is everything though, as the last 1/3 of this tunnel fills with seawater at high tide!

A couple of young male seals were playing off the tip of the Otago Peninsula.

We took a beautiful hike through the Okia Reserve through a landscape that is being restored to its natural habitat.

The Okia Reserve hike took us through huge flower covered sand dunes to a secluded beach that we had to ourselves.

We found this big guy on the beach which is known as a resting area for large seals. He would lumber across the beach at full speed for about 30 feet, then fall flat on his belly to rest for a few minutes…then get up and do it all over again. He covered quite a distance before he eventually entered to the sea for an evening of hunting.

Seal tracks to the sea – a nice straight line…

…unlike Glenn’s wandering tracks.

I loved the reflection of the green field on the wet beach in this photo. If you look closely you’ll see a solitary penguin on the beach.

All that is left of the sternwheeler called the Victory (which Glenn was calling the Defeat).

Nugget Point Lighthouse.

Glenn at Nugget Point looking for wildlife. The rocks below were covered with sleeping fur seals and sea lions.

Purakaunui Falls at the end of a short hike through a beautiful forest.

A petrified forest is exposed during low tide at Curio Beach. The long straight line is a petrified log, and the little bumps sticking up out of the water are petrified tree stumps. Very cool.

Four large seals taking an afternoon nap below the Waipapa Lighthouse. They’d occassionally flip sand to on their backs with their big flippers – presumably to help protect them from the sun.

Any motorcycle buff will know that the town of Invercargill was the home of Burt Munro and his famous Fastest Indian motorcycle. No visit would be complete without a trip through the local hardware store…which also happens to showcase countless vintage motorcycles and cars (including the actual Fastest Indian) throughout the store. Here Glenn buys a multi-tool amongst a few of the displayed motorcycles…and lawnmowers and chainsaws. Such an entertaining place.

I’m so lucky to be here seeing the beautiful countryside of New Zealand…and to be doing it with my best friend!