New Zealand Travel: Our 12-Day Campervan Trip Around New Zealand

As Betty and I drove through New Zealand's North and South Islands the landscape and horizon changed often. Sometimes it was a sudden change - like when we turned a corner out of a small mountain range and saw the bright blue of Lake Tekapo for the first time - and other times it was slow and gradual - like the misty, mysterious drive up to Milford Sound from Te Anau. I've never known countryside to change so often and to consistently deliver so much with every alteration.

One of the ways I captured the changes, almost by accident, was photographing the different colours, shapes and textures through the rear windows of our van. I'm not sure why I started doing this. I think it was because I wanted to grab a piece of each change in landscape before it passed us by and left us completely.

This consistent framing of an ever-changing backdrop goes a long way to capture what my words cannot... I also love the "mess" in these photos; the bedding hanging down about to fall on the floor (which it did many times), my bikini dangling precariously over the edge of the small storage space we had and Betty's hat contentedly lying on the back seat, ready to be placed on her head. I have some truly beautiful memories from this trip and I go into a bit more detail why in this piece I wrote about campervan-ing in New Zealand for the Travelettes.

(P.S. I miss you Betty x).

Frances M. Thompson

Londoner turned wanderer, Frankie is an author, freelance writer and blogger. Currently based in Amsterdam, Frankie was nomadic for two years before starting a family with her Australian partner. Frankie is the author of three short story collections, and is a freelance writer for travel and creative brands. In 2017, she launched WriteNOW Cards, affirmation cards for writers that help build a productive and positive writing practice. When not writing contemporary fiction, Frankie shops for vintage clothes, dances to 70s disco music and chases her two young sons around Amsterdam.
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