After 24 hours of flying with 2 flights and 7 hours of time in terminals and subways, I arrived New Zealand with a flight thru Hong Kong to Christchurch New Zealand.

In discussions with a fellow New Zealand resident during the first flight to Hong Kong, I determined that my original plan to hike and take public transport to do a variety of hikes and South Island travels just doesn’t work. You really need your own vehicle to get around and get out to areas to hike. So once I arrived I booked for two weeks a small camper van which I will use as transportation and sleep/ stay at campsites instead of other lodging.

It’s a bit tricky to drive on the other side and the steering wheel is on the right side but this is really the only way to explore the island.

On the first day of travels I picked up the camper van and north up the west coast of the South Island.