Texans in Transit: Road Trip part I: The south of the South Island and up to Mt. Cook 12/6/12

For the duration of our road trip we camped two nights at a simple Department of Conservation campground, which offered no showers or means of cooking, and was either free or $6 each.

Our dinner set-up.

We ate cheap hot meals while on the road for lunch (lots of meat pies), and made big salads for dinner (we actually really liked this to get our veggies for the day).

Every 3rd night we camped at a holiday park where there were complete bathrooms, water, SHOWERS, kitchens, grills, and even TV rooms if desired for about $14 - $17 NZD each. And we actually got to cook hot meals for dinner :-).

Our first couple of nights, in the south, we had to put up with lots of rain and the cold. The cheap sleeping bags we bought really were not meant for anything below 50*F, and it was well into the 40's. It was all part of the experience though, and worth it to drive through some of the most desolate areas of NZ along the south. We had plenty of views of sheep, farm land, forests, waterfalls, and coast line.

Once we rounded the south we made our way towards Mt. Cook with a stopover at Lake Tekapo. We stayed at a great holiday park right on the lake. We were able to grill some dinner and have a beautiful setting for our 3 year anniversary and our halfway point of the trip! Our campsite was located close to a hike that lead up to the observatory on top of Mt. John. The hike back offered great views of the pristine bright blue lake as well. The Lake Tekapo area was breathtaking.

After our hike that morning, we drove to Mt. Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand, where our campground was in a perfect spot with great views of the nearby glacier and mountains. It didn't get dark until about 10 P.M., so after our dinner we were able to take a quick walk to a view point overlooking the mountain tops.