Category: New Zealand

11.11.2016 – 312,6 km

The Catlins are marvellous, even with a grey sky, the rainforest you find all around you will make you alive… and more than this!!!

The lake Wilkie is dark and give you the opportunity to see the different stage of the forest that will decrease until the sea border. Really amazing!

Then on the way the most photographed waterfalls of New Zealand.

At Owaka we had breakfast. The lady of the shop on the move told us that she would come in April 2017 in Italy, from Sicily to Valentino Rossi’s town to have a pizza. She is a fan!!!

We arrived at Dunedin with a grey sky, no sun, so we had just a quick look of this beautiful city,

a drive in Baldwin street, the Wrold’s steepest street

and just drive in the Otago Peninsula until Portobello. I guess that Dunedin will worth at least a day, but we must move and we drive then to Oamaru.

When we arrive to our family, we were really happy about our choice. Amazing location, warm welcome, great children, delicious Shefferd pie and lovely cats and dog. Then we started to play with the children. It made everybody laugh!with the pillow war, one shot total exploded one muffin! 😂😂😂

But we booked the Penguins view in the Blue colony and after dinner we just move to the show…

Yes, the show, this is the right word. NEVER EVER IN MY LIFE AGAIN!!! The commentary was too loud and was completely scaring the penguins, people all over, too close with the animals that was waiting too long to come back to the nest. The tunnels that drive the penguins to the tourists!!! Please do not go!!! Better to wait and to see just one or none, in the wild and not scaring them like in this terrible touristic show!

We met then 2 scared penguins in the road to home… the road should be closed! Those are animals!!!

09.11.2016 – km

We decided to buy a full package with a cruise in the Milford Sound from Te Anau.

I do suggest to do the same thing:

1. You will have finally a day off from your drive and this is a great and amazing think

2. With many rental cars you would not be allowed to drive in this road. It is not so dramatic, but too busy, really narrow

3. You would see everything with the right pace, and you would arrive “just in time” to get the best place in your boat!!!

The “highway” to the Milford sound is amazing, breathtaking, the Sounds itself gorgeous!



When we came back we had just a walk across Te Anau, really beautiful with the sunshine.

We decided to eat something with a good wine in a great pick nick area in front of the lake.

And then we saw the sunset with a little girl that was swimming with her dog while her mother was caressing their home sheep!

05 November 2016 – 566,4km

Takaka is an hippie town and the organic market is every Saturday. You can find really great and delicious product, people are peaceful, happy and smart and worth for sure a visit!

The same I should say about Pupu spring, the cleanest spring in the world. A short track drove us through the bush full of fern until the spring. The water is so pure and crystal clear!

When we arrived to Westport, after 270km, we were quite depressed about the weather and the ugliness of the city… so we decided to leave our luggage at the hotel, where you can feel as being in Biennale

and to drive 100km more in the north to visit Karamea… the end of the world!

The road to Karamea is winding, with plenty of house to sell and a great spectacular path through the rainforest, 

then appear an improbable city, where there should have been a petrol station… but closed!!! So tank before!

All the people wear plastic boots and should remove their shoes to enter into the supermarket…

Close to the beach of Oparara, a men with his child on a Quad, driving like crazy taking the dog out for a run through the beach…

We drove to the end of the road, with a foggy and variable weather, with the complete feeling to be close to the end of the world…

Just few people, some houses, and the magic of being at the end of the world…