[Rakaia Gorge, New Zealand] It’s finally arrived – the start of our road trip. We are not used to being in one place for so long. John and Ingrid arranged a huge fry-up breakfast to send us on our way and thankfully I was feeling up to eating. We piled our gear into the van, waved our goodbyes and headed off north. Within a few minutes we were out of the Christchurch suburbs and on the open road.

We had no real plan but the general idea was to get onto the Inland Scenic route and then head South. After a couple hours we pulled into a campsite Oxford just to see what it was like. It was just about empty with immaculate facilities and manicured lawns. After a quick nibble we set off again. The scenery was beautiful and changeable. The flat (very flat) Canterbury plains are intersected by pristine rivers and to the North deep gorges carve their way to the Southern Alps. Farm fields are divided by huge ‘hedge rows’ – pine trees trimmed perfectly into large rectangular blocks to act as wind breaks (and you need those here). These guys even trim the tree tops to make them look square!

The roads were very good and pretty much deserted all day. For ‘main’ roads they do seem small and the ‘Single Lane’ bridges are unexpected on national highways. At one bridge we stopped to have a look. Clean milky water looked so foreign and stunning with a backdrop of grey stone. We spotted a couple of canoes and a jet-boat (that looks like fun). We passed a number of smaller villages (less than 30 seconds at 60km/h) and then headed onto a dirt road to see lake Coleridge. We drove around the empty picnic sites and past the hydro power station (some 70%+ of NZ’s power is hydro). The climb took us onto roads and through farm gates – not sure if it was allowed but here were no signs. The lake was unbelievable. A cobalt blue expanse, completely deserted (The cell phone photo doesn’t do it justice). Climbing down off the roof of the van (after taking some pics), I got hooked up by my shirt on the antennae – I no longer have a hole free shirt… V’s got some sewing to do 🙂

After 220km we decided to stop at a campsite in Rakaia gorge near Mount Hut (the nearest ski resort, in winter, to Christchurch). The campsite was brilliant. A friendly manager ushered us towards a 100m stretch of river front just for us. Not a single patch of hard, dusty soil – super soft manicured grass along the entire length. Ablutions were as good as home and our little van based facilities let us cook a basic meal.

We couldn’t have wished for a better start to the trip.

[Pictures: Milky waters, Lake Coleridge and the view from our campsite WOW]

– Posted from my iPhone via 3G