East Coast of the South Island plus a tour of our RV

After arriving on the South Island, we looked around and realized we were in Malborough, New Zealand’s wine country. It was hot and dry and felt just like the Okanagan Valley. So we seized the moment and stopped in at a lovely winery called Cloudy Bay in Blenheim, where we sampled some Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir while the kids ran off some energy on the picturesque property.

We kept heading south to Kaikoura, where we settled in for three nights at a campground right by the beach. We had a lovely spot overlooking the ocean and were treated to a gorgeous sunset on our second night.

While in Kaikoura, the kids played at the campground’s zip line between homeschool sessions and they befriended the local cat, which they nicknamed Witty.

We also played mini golf and wandered about the town.

We went on a hike around the peninsula, where we saw tons of seals, including an adorable pup.

We sampled some local seafood including blue cod and crayfish, which is very similar to lobster.

The highlight was probably the whale watching tour. We saw a massive sperm whale, floating on the surface of the water.

The captain of the boat tracks them using sonar technology; he listens for their clicking sound. It worked!

They guarantee a whale sighting, but not the wave. Lucky for us, the whale did salute us before it slowly dipped back below the surface.

We also saw a huge pod of Dusky dolphins, and a smaller pod of Hector dolphins, both local species. And we saw several albatrosses.

We hit the road and went inland from the coast toward Hanmer Springs. Not long after we had started driving around 8 am, we came upon a flock of sheep on the road, being herded by a dog. This definitely felt like an “only in New Zealand” moment.

Eventually we just went around them on the shoulder.

The drives have been a highlight of this leg of the trip. We haven’t done many big road trips in the past five months and we picked a great place to enjoy the scenery.

We’ve been listening to a few great podcasts, like Titanic, Ship of Dreams, and Trivia For Kids. We just finished the book on tape Blended, by Sharon M. Draper.

We arrived today at Lake Tekapo, a turquoise blue lake surrounded by snow capped mountains. It’s lupin season and they are abundant here.

We’re staying right on the lake, where we’ve encountered several ducks trying to enter the camper van. Seriously, they are emboldened.

Overall, we’re loving life in the RV. It’s a tight space and we have to watch our heads constantly. Jon and I both have a few bumps. We have to take turns in the kitchen and keep our belongings packed neatly away. We sometimes cook in the van, or in the common kitchens at the campground. It’s fully contained so we can set up anywhere but need to refill the clean water and dump the grey water every few days. The kids are helping out and they love the campgrounds since most of them have lots of space for them to run around.

Here is a video tour of our motorhome.

And this is what it actually looks like when the kids are sleeping (the beds extend slightly and they have bedding).