It’s day 9 of our campervan trip on New Zealand’s South Island and today is our last 24 hours of our van journey. We’re leaving the teal blue Tasman Sea waters of the West Coast and headed inland, toward Arthur’s Pass National Park.
We backtrack from Punakaiki and the Pancake Rocks south to the turnoff in Kumara Junction and head into the mountains on highway 73. Like much of our trip, we could spend more days out here exploring the many hiking trails, many with above-treetop views of the snow-covered Southern Alps.
We opt for a fairly easy hike to a gorgeous waterfall, then head to Arthur’s Pass Village for a relaxing lunch and to try yet another New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc on a sunny restaurant deck. After, we try another short hike then head to our space for the night – Jackson’s Retreat Holiday Park.
The couple who runs the place toured the world by sailboat before buying and running the park, which sports a few cute ADU-type cabins, nicely-spaced plug-in campervan spots and open, grassy camping areas. Like the other holiday parks we’ve visited in New Zealand, it sports nice and clean shower facilities, a comfortable cooking and eating area and some supplies you’ll need on your journey far away from cities and stores. They even have a few glow worm dells you can visit at night and a hike to a waterfall.
Set on 15 acres in a soothing valley rainforest, with views of the Alps and Taramaku River, this was no doubt our favorite spot of the trip. And, we’ve got wine to finish off with our camper-cooked sunset dinner, so we enjoy the last evening with the campervan just hanging out in our little grassy area picnic table.