2017 New Zealand

After a 3-day layover in Hong Kong followed by a 3-week stay in Australia, we finally made it to New Zealand which was the main event of our 2017 Antipodean adventure. We had two goals. Firstly, of course, we wanted to see what we could of the iconic sights of New Zealand. Secondly, we were keen to experience life touring in a campervan in the hope that we might see what all the fuss was about. We gave ourselves four weeks, starting with one week on North Island followed by three weeks on South Island, where the majority of the iconic scenery is.

Our driving force was pure tourism. Carol was particularly interested in the swathes of lupins and it was the lupins that really defined the timing of our trip. I, of course, am always interested in dragonflies and would take my opportunities as and when they arose. However, New Zealand really has only 15 species and being early-ish spring, that number was even more restricted. I came up with a potential hit list of eight species.

We flew into Auckland where we picked up our campervan, who became affectionately tagged “Busby”. After a week on North Island, we crossed from Wellington to Picton via the Interislander Ferry for three weeks investigating South Island. After 5000kms in Busby enjoying four weeks of mainly very good weather, we finished our tour in Christchurch ready for our return flights.

Being a completely new experience in a completely new land, it was the trip of a lifetime; a most enjoyable and educational experience.