Last weekend 10 of us rented a van for the weekend with one plan. To have no plan. We got on the road at about 3.30 pm and just took off. I guess the night before we had said that we were planing to head to route 6. Route 6 is right through the souther alps that run along the mid-west coast. After driving through some small interior towns (and the honest to god filming site for Lord of the Rings, the part where the three are running to catch the orcs). To save on money we decided to camp the two nights we were on the road. The first night we stopped and made camp on a farm just outside of Cromwell. It was freezing cold sleeping in the van. I only got a few hours of sleep (as in about 45 min) due to being cramped, cold, and people shooting rabbits just over the hill (needless to say i was the only one concerned about po-dunk farmers shooting riffles at 3 am right by 10 20 year olds illegally camping on private property). The next morning we woke up, made some breakfast and headed to the town of Wanaka a few km up the road. I can say that without a doubt in my mind that Wanaka is the most beautiful place in the world. There are two CRYSTAL clear lakes cut deep into the mountains. It was unreal seeing the sunrise and sunset from there. The second night we found a campground on a small peninsula in the middle of lake Wanaka. We set up the tents and then made a fire on the beach. It was by far one of the coolest moments of my life. Words and pictures cannot explain the beauty of this country. The next morning we headed home.
By far this is the best way to see this country. No plans. Just go. I have some great pictures (my camera decided to be a piece and corrupted all of them, so i am currently working on salvaging them) Hopefully I will get them up soon.
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