Invercargill

Invercargill

The World’s Fastest Indian In the centre of Invercargill is a large hardware store, E Hayes & Sons. Inside that store, among all the tools, parts and accessories to support a thriving agricultural community, is the Indian Scout motorcycle ridden by Burt...
Te Anau and Milford Sound

Te Anau and Milford Sound

Te Anau Te Anau is known as the “gateway to the fiords” due to its proximity to the more famous Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound. In Maori, it means “cave of swirling water,” a reference to the underground waterways that flow beneath the town....
Wanaka Queenstown and Wine

Wanaka Queenstown and Wine

Road to Wanaka We were considering staying in Wanaka, but because of the Warbirds over Wanaka festival, we couldn’t find a campsite with space. Instead, we stopped on the way over at the Makarora campervan and caravan park, which has a petrol station and cafe at...
Glacier Country

Glacier Country

Franz Joseph There wasn’t much time to hang around. I’d booked a helicopter flight for the afternoon to take us up to the glaciers. The flight we booked was supposed to take us to Franz Josef Glacier, Fox Glacier, Tasman Glaciers, the Southern Alps and the...
Hokitika and Shantytown

Hokitika and Shantytown

Hokitika We drove our van into the Shining Star campsite late afternoon on the 27th of March. Apparently, we weren’t the first Riverside Drive Marina residents to check in here. Only a couple of weeks before, our sailing friend Jeanne Socrates also checked in at...
Greymouth, Blackball and Brunner

Greymouth, Blackball and Brunner

Greymouth We only went to Greymouth to meet Charmaine, one of our Riverside Drive friends who was staying in Greymouth for a while. But we are glad we saw the town too. It has a rugged charm – and some good OP shops from which you can grab a bargain. Hats off to...