Jeremy flips pancakes on the stove and puts one on the plate in front of me. It’s steaming, fresh, and full of blackberries I harvested from a bush last night.
I found the bush on accident as I was collecting driftwood Jeremy was tossing up to me from the beach below to start a bonfire. Our dinner – sausages over the fire 😋
It’s day 2 living in the van. I look over at my best friend while sipping a cup of coffee (with cream!!! A delicacy I’m not used to having on trail) We both chat and laugh light heartedly while the waves crash a few feet from the van.
Jeremy’s eyes are bright again. I can’t see my own eyes, but I imagine they have ‘that glow’.
The kind that only comes after a long, good night’s sleep after a summer day in the sun.
I feel like a new person!
This was for sure… our best idea yet!!! 🚐
The beginning of a new adventure
We started our route in Queenstown and headed for the West Coast, stopping at the Blue Pools on the way – to sleep and go for a brisk swim.
When we reached the West Coast we headed straight for Jackson Bay, an out of the way fishing town with 2 permanent residents and the only “tourist attraction” being a little Lobster Shack called the Craypot.
From there we plan to make our way up the West Coast, but we really have no idea exactly where we are going and we take each day as it comes!!!
For this reason, this blog will be different! Instead of being broken up into days, I will tell you the story of our impromptu road trip on the South Island of New Zealand mainly through pictures!
Sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and let your mind run wild of what can happen when you let the plans change suddenly!
This blog covers March 18 – March 26 (Day 54 – Day 62)
Loving Life on the Coast
From Jackson Bay we headed north towards Bruce Bay. We parked right by the beach and spent the afternoon walking on the sand and picking blackberries from some bushes right by the beach entrance.
The next morning we made a longer drive to Greymouth. We were typically always the last ones to leave a spot for the night. We let ourselves sleep in and slowly sip a cup of coffee every morning!!!
After a week on the road, we returned the van to Anthony, a local legend that we rented Big Bee from.
Now the big question was in the air…
Do we continue on the trail?
Even after an entire week off my foot was still giving me issues. For the sake of our bodies and the fact that from here on the scenery was flat and boring (we figured we could hike Indiana back home if we wanted flat and boring!), as well as our time running out – we decided to end our trail journey in Wanaka.
All in all we hiked around 500 miles 🥾
I am so proud of us and all we accomplished!!!
It was such a fun journey, full of memories and amazing mountain top moments ❤️
Thank you so much for following along on the journey! Stay tuned for more adventures to come 🏕️
Comments
One response
Jess & Jeremy, What an amazing “Plan B” on your trip! The photos and description are awesome and help us get a sense of what it’s like where ever you’ve been in New Zealand! 500 miles of backpacking is an incredible feat! Thanks for sharing and taking us along on the adventure! Best wishes as you continue the journey! Larry Compton