K20 adventure thread
 

Hi everyone.

As promised, and inspired by FlyNavy30's adventure thread, here is my K20 adventure thread. For a bit of background please see the 4x4 Suburban thread here.

With summer time here in New Zealand, school is out and the country pretty much shuts down for two-to-three weeks from Christmas. It's a great opportunity to get some genuine time away from work knowing there won't be any emails or phone calls coming through.

This year my wife and I, with our two daughters aged 12 and 10 (where does the time go) decided a two week road trip around the South Island would be a nice change from our usual Christmas break at the beaches in the Coromandel Peninsula. We usually do an annual ski trip to the South Island and decided it would be great to check it out in summer. I'll be posting some Suburban-themed daily updates here in this thread.

Day one: Wellington to Kaiteriteri

We live in Wellington at the bottom of the North Island so it was a nice, quick trip to the ferry terminal. We caught the 8:45am sailing which takes three hours to cross Cook Strait and land in Picton - it was a full trip with the ship at capacity (around 1,400).

Below I've posted some shots of the ferry and travelling through Tory Sound, which is one of a collection of Sounds at the top the South Island. The last shots are the ferry swinging around with Picton in the background.

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Day one continued

From Picton we had a 200km (120 mile) run to out first stop at Kaiteriteri. My wife is originally from the PNW and having spent some time there, the roads here are a lot different with plenty of corners and elevation gain - I would love an interstate system here but the countryside just doesn't allow it without some massive investment. The roads weren't designed with a ~50 year old Suburban in mind, but she ran like a dream!

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Day one continued

We have booked AirBnB's and have really lucked out with the weather with fine skies, little wind and a nice 75 temperature. Here are some shots from the place we are staying at, including a Pohutukawa tree, which is a native tree and is called the New Zealand Christmas tree given its flowers peak in mid to late December.

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Day one continued

We were keen to burn some energy off the kids and took a walk down to Split Apple Rock which took about 15 minutes. Apparently the official word is it was formed 120 million years ago when water got into the rock and froze during the ice age, splitting it in two. It's pretty impressive in person and a really nice way to wind out our first day. Tomorrow we'll be exploring more of the local beaches and I promise to do better with the Suburban shots.

Re: K20 adventure thread
 

Great stuff! You have mentioned PNW several times And I have to keep reminding myself it is a different PNW. There are similarities in the terrain, but if one looks close the difference in the flora and ferry boats is evident.
From the photos you have posted the roads look to be just whar 50 year old Suburbans were designed to run on when new, not the mulitlane asphalt jungles that are every where in America now days.
Looking forward to living vicariously more in the future. Thanks!

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Great Thread! I have always wanted to go to NZ or Au. Looks like this would be a good time of year for your area.

Thanks,
LockDoc

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Great thread...looking forward to the updates! (I really need to get my Corvette finished and get the Suburban back in the garage).

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Day two: Kaiteriteri

Good morning gentlemen.

Thanks for the kind thoughts, it's much appreciated.

Day two and we took a 10 minute drive to the Southern entry point of Abel Tasman national park. The full coastal hike is around 40 miles and takes 3-4 days, so we spent the morning exploring the different beaches and bays over a couple of hours. Another fine day and a nice south-west wind to help keep the temperatures under control.

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Day two continued

After some lunch we headed back South to Kaiteriteri beach which is a great beach for kids. There is a fantastic estuary (in the second picture) where you can hop in and the current takes you 300 feet and deposits you in the shallow ocean. Several kids weren't seen again, but all in all a great day!

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Hi Leon.

Thanks for all of your help on the forum, I've found a number of your posts really helpful, especially getting my rear lock fixed!

Summer time is the best time to visit New Zealand with the longer days (sunrise around 5:45am and sunset at 9:00pm at the moment), warmer temperatures and more consistent weather. I'd really recommend February or March which are our hottest months. Everyone also has pretty much gone back to work so there is a bit more breathing space at the tourist spots.

Australia is great and we love visiting there. Sydney and Melbourne are great cities and we love relaxing in Noosa north of Brisbane. Culturally it's very similar but a very different landscape and climate - New Zealand is pretty much the PNW whereas Australia would be Arizona by the ocean, i.e. really nice if you like the heat. The only thing it is missing is a wide variety in the landscape compared to what NZ has in such a small area. Plus everything there is in a biological arms race and is trying to bite, sting or poison you, and we're far more friendly here towards Americans :-)

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Hey mate. That corvette is bad ass and I'm looking forward to seeing it once it's all wrapped up!

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Hi HO455.

Portland - I love that place! My wife lived there (SW and N Portland) most of her adult life and we really enjoy visiting.

You are spot on with the road comments - driving around the windy and hilly roads today it struck me how much the Suburban loves to plod along between 30 and 50mph. She'll tick along all day at 60mph on our open roads here, but pulling around in fourth at 1,200 rpm on a back road is a real sweet spot and quite relaxing...

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Me too! :lol:

My wife and I were in NZ for Christmas a few years ago....rented a small Air B&B with another couple on Wiheki (SP?) Island off the coast of Auckland, and spent Christmas day biking around the island visiting all of the Vinyards and Wineries...one of my best Christmas memories ever (don't tell my mo)!

I cant wait to go back for a longer period and have the chance to explore the north and south island!

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Subscribed, New Zealand is on my bucket list. But I'll just watch for now.

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Day three: Exploring Golden Bay

Hi everyone.

Another day in Kaiteriteri so we thought we would head up and over Takaka Hill, which has some great views, and check out Golden Bay. It was another day of winding driving with the 35 miles to Takaka taking 1:10.

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Day three continued

We checked out Te Waikoropupu Springs just north of Takaha and it was a nice 10 minute stroll around some native forest before we arrived at the springs. Water clarity is just over 200 feet which puts it close to optically pure water. The springs naturally flow up to and 'bubble' the surface, so it's not like looking into a vast bowl, however its was a really nice site to check out and spend a bit of time with the family.

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Day three continued

After some lunch in Takaka we headed out to Tata Beach where we spent an hour lounging around before heading back up and over Takaka Hill for the drive back to Kaiteriteri.

The Suburban is going really well with the only point of note is the front left brake wear indicator is letting us know it's time to get some new pads shortly.

Tomorrow we'll be heading south down the west coast. I've enjoyed Kaiteriteri but am really looking forward to a change in scenery and landscape. Next stop is Greymouth to help break up the trip south - see you tomorrow!

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Hey mate.

Waiheke is a cool little island! I haven't spent too much time on there with just a couple of work functions, but I love the scenery and how easy it is to get around. You picked a good spot to check out!

Let us know if you do ever come down to NZ. It's a 'big' country and can take some time to get around and check out everything, meaning you can travel most days and finish feeling more tired than when you arrived. I'd be happy to share some of the top spots to check out which will give you the full NZ experience whilst providing some time to relax and unwind .

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I’m on board. Looks like a fun trip with amazing scenery. Cheers!

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Much appreciated! I may take you up on it in a few years. I retire from the Navy in 2023, and the wife and I have discussed doing 3-4 weeks in NZ before figuring out what to do with the rest of our lives.

Love the updates! I wish more people posted threads like this, but the few we've got going have been great.

Evening chaps. The wifi is patchy here in Greymouth so I’ll look to upload some photos tomorrow.

In short a big drive at 200 miles that took around five hours with the consistent winding roads - beautiful scenery at a relaxed pace made for a really nice drive. It’s really interesting seeing how you feel after a longish haul in an older Burb - physically my neck and back have definitely had a workout and the mind is a bit more tired than when driving a modern car!

Tomorrow we’re heading further south down the west coast to Frans Joseph. It’s only a two hour drive so the kids will be getting into the local pool and hydro slides in the morning before we head off.
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Day four: Kaiteriteri to Greymouth

Hi everyone.

Thanks for your patience while I get to some decent wifi and cell coverage.

Day four was a 200 mile run from Kaiteriteri to Greymouth. The drive through the Motueka Valley and Buller Gorge was amazing. Very winding but some incredible scenery. It is a bit off the beaten track so there is hardly any traffic and what is there drives at a relaxed but decent pace which was perfect for the Suburban.

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Day four continued

We stopped off along the way at the Buller George swingbridge to stretch the legs with a walk around the native forest. In one of the photos there is a Kahikiatia, which is one of NZ’s native trees. A really beautiful scene. Our girls love a bit of adventure so took the comet line back across the gorge.

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Day four continued

From there the gorge heads out to the coast. Like everyone else we stopped at the Punakaikai rocks which were fun to see. The tide was a bit low for the blow hole to be working, but overall a recommended 30 minute stop.

We stayed the night in Greymouth which is a fishing, mining and forestry town. It’s the biggest town on the West Coast with a population of around 10k. We had a nice meal out and called it a night.

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Day five: Greymouth to Franz Josef

Day five was a shorter 110m drive to Franz Joseph, which is a small town (about 400 people) built around the tourism of the local glacier. Some beautiful scenery driving down and not much traffic at all. We stopped off in Haast and did a tree walk which was really fun.

Hard to believe it is the end of 2019. We headed out for dinner and the little town was busy. It’s really interesting observing the different demographics. Kaiteriteri was a mixture of locals on holidays and tourists, Greymouth was pretty much just the locals, and 99% of people in Franz Josef were international tourists. It was really good to see a small, isolated town pulling in so many international visitors.

The west coast receives the predominate westerly wins across NZ and with the southern alps not far away the weather often turns to cloud and rain. This makes for some stunning greenery but some significant rainfall too, with up to 25 feet of rain annually up in the mountains. Overall a really nice way to round out the year with the family.