We had been a little slow in planning our route around the South Island in the campervan. We knew we had a fortnight to make a circular loop to and from Christchurch, but it was only when Peter and Margaret confirmed they would be joining us that we really started booking campsites to stay in. We had room for them to travel with us from a to b during the day, but not to sleep so needed to have cabins booked close to our powered site for each night. We had thought we might do some freedom camping, but in fact being plugged into power so we could turn the heating on was needed at times! We purchased Top 10 membership, staying in Top 10 campsites throughout and they were really great.

Natural disasters and weather however made us have to alter our initial plans, having to skip the glaciers on the west coast as it had suffered serious flooding, but in general we were lucky, our new route didn’t cause us any problems. We did an anti-clockwise loop, sadly deciding to reduce traveling time by not going to Milford Sound or Te Anau.

Having a six-berth Mighty came into its own, as there were enough seats for us all to travel together. MoJo really loved having Grandma and Grandad there with us, enjoying singalongs and games as we wound through the New Zealand countryside with Tom expertly managing the twists and turns.

Not surprisingly, Tom excelled in the kitchen as well as behind the wheel, getting into the swing of cooking for six. His best meal was probably the fresh monkfish in Greymouth but most nights we dined like kings – feeling rather smug at campsite barbeque sites as we had roasted vegetables, risotto or homemade burgers instead of standard camping food.

My job was making sandwiches at lunchtime, Peter cooked a delicious spaghetti bolognese and Margaret was always there to help with the washing up! We did eat out a few times too, a memorable evening was at Harbour Light Bistro in Nelson with stunning views of the bay and local fish and affogato.

Our first two nights were spent in Kiakoura where we felt we were lucky with the weather, swimming in the pool and really making the most of the long warm evenings. It was however too windy for our initial whale watch booking, which we had anticipated, luckily having the flexibility to rearrange the trip for the following morning. Our first day was therefore quite relaxed, the girls loving the jumping pillows (a Top 10 signature feature) and playing with a Swedish family considering relocating to New Zealand.

We had a great walk to a fur seal colony round the coast, amazed at how many were just there lying on the beach. I took the opportunity to have a run round the headland.

The whale watching tour was really very rocky, Joanna and I were terrified most of the time and lots of others (mainly adult men!) were using the sick bags…. but it was well organised and worthwhile. When you look on the map you realise there is no land between us and Antarctica beyond the Southern Ocean.

Nathan the narrator was very knowledgeable, keeping a running commentary going the whole three hours we were out on the water. The captain was in contact with other boats and we soon realised we were onto a winner being the second boat out that morning – the captain of the first boat told us exactly where to go.

We soon came up to a giant sperm whale who we watched breathing air through it’s blowhole before it made its signature tail wave and disappeared for a long dive down into the deep. Soon after we were informed by the captain that a family of three orcas had been spotted and within 10 minutes we caught a glimpse of the family which included a large male with a huge dorsal fin. To end the trip we were treated by a huge pod of over 200 Dusky Dolphins, jumping, spinning and flipping around the boat which we enjoyed watching for some time. We were all utterly entranced. Of course the photos we managed to capture do not fully reflect how amazing the experience was!

Our drive up the coast was timed perfectly to stop at Nins Bin for lunch, a little shack right on the rocks made famous by the local Crayfish. Ours was served with parsley butter, fresh lemon and of course a plate of chips – all of it delicious.

Our route took us through Blenheim to Marlborough Wine Country, where it started raining so the perfect activity was to spend time indoors at various vineyard tasting rooms. Result. The rise of the Marlborough wine industry has been incredible – only beginning in the 1970s and yet today it is a market leader, especially in Sauvignon Blanc.

Our first stop was Cloudy Bay, founded in 1985, one of the first five wineries to be established in the Wairau Valley and I’ve been a fan for years. As we hadn’t booked in for a tour, we just spent time in the tasting room, sampling a range of their best wines. In 2010 they produced their first Central Otago Pinot Noir, opening a vineyard in Northburn in Otago in 2014 – but the whites are definitely superior.

Second stop was to Allen Scott Family Winemakers, who were involved with planting the first vineyard in 1973. We decided to accompany the wine with some food here and surprised ourselves by liking the merlot paired with some cheese and quince.

Lastly, we visited Hunter’s Wines cellar door. Jane Hunter is the widow of the founder, Ernie Hunter and a leading female wine producer. MoJo were remarkably patient during these visits, but our Picton campsite made up for it with a playground and giant chess board. We had a kids size picnic table alongside an adult one in our plot which caught the sun at breakfast time.

Tom and I got the best look at Queen Charlotte Sound on a run out to the ‘snout’ (although sadly it was here that my phone slipped out of my hands into the marina water). We all enjoyed a morning coffee looking at logs being prepared for shipment on the docks below.

We were concerned about taking the scenic route along Queen Charlotte’s Drive to Nelson past the green-lipped mussel capital of Havelock overlooking Pelorus Sound, but we managed it surprisingly quickly despite numerous hairpin bends. Clearly due to Tom’s faultless driving. Cullen Point was a nice moment to stretch our legs.

Once again, the rain started as we reached our destination. Perfect timing for an art gallery or café stop: Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū in the Queens Gardens in Nelson complied. We enjoyed the contemporary ceramics and cake.

Next day our route included more hairpin bends and jaw-dropping views past the Abel Tasman National Park. We stopped for a picnic lunch at Motueka by an old abandoned quay, with a ghostly pier and rusty boat.

Hawkes Lookout was a highlight of the Kahurangi National Park.

We were amazed when we arrived at Pohara Beach campsite – we were right on the sand, the bay stretching further than the eye could see in both directions. We had been a little spoilt in Australia with their sandy beaches, in New Zealand beaches so far had been grey and stony – Pohara was a sandy exception and gave us a memorable beach run.

We took the time in the morning to stop at nearby Clifton Grove lookout, billed as being like Jurassic Park, a split rock, quite eye-catching. It was here the girls learnt about the fern being the national symbol of New Zealand (they had already seen it on Michele’s nails supporting the All Blacks).

The drive over Takaka Hill took us along the path of the Buller River and Lake Brunner before going through Charleston where we picked up some Bosenberries (an incredible discovery for us: a hybrid of blackberries, raspberries and other berry yumminess – totally delicious but not exported for some reason) and arrived at Carters Beach.

Cape Foulwind lived up to its name – it was seriously blowy on the beach here and at our next stop, Greymouth.

It was telling to read that Greymouth and Westport had the same founder, the two places had a very similar layout and we found ourselves doing similar runs in each along a beach and around an airfield. Tom found an 11-legged starfish.

The drive down the Great Coast Road to Paparoa National Park took us to Punakaiki and its famous Pancake rocks, with blasting blowholes best seen during high tide.

We were just in time to witness the powerful waves slapping the sides of the rocks relentlessly. Nature at its most compelling.