The Open Road: An Adventure around the South Island of New Zealand by Camper Van

"Take the Adventure, heed the call, now ere the irrevocable moment passes!' 'Tis but a banging of the door behind you, a blithesome step forward, and you are out of the old life and into the new! Then some day, some day long hence, jog home here if you will, when the cup has been drained and the play has been played, and sit down by your quiet river with a store of goodly memories for company." - Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

This is a narrative and pictures from my 23-day journey around the South Island of New Zealand that I undertook in September 2022. I wanted to try out what camper van life was like, and to see for myself some of the splendours of my own country. For much of the time I was alone, and so it was more than just a sight-seeing journey, but one of learning my own resourcefulness, stretching my comfort zone, and seeing some mysteries unfold. The possibilities awakened in me the feelings I had in reading about the animal's adventures in The Wind in the Willows, and particularly, this statement: "Today, to him gazing south with a new-born need stirring in his heart, the clear sky over their long low outline seemed to pulsate with promise; today, the unseen was everything. The unknown, the only real fact of life."
Day after day I was awed by those southern mountains, and the rolling path that wound through them, the rough sea, and the wild places that stretch uninhabited as far as the eye can see. Although I was pleased with some of my photos, none could compare with the experience of being there. Added to that was the sensation that I could move on or stay if I wished, adapt according to the weather, and my rented van became my home on the open road.