How can you tell if you’re in New Zealand’s countryside or a national park? If you see sheep, it’s a farm. No sheep, welcome to one of many national parks.

When we woke in the morning at Deer Flat, we were treated to sunlight for the first time in days. I took a stroll back to the nearby creek to heal the sandfly bites that were burning my feet. The ice cold water took my breath away, momentarily soothing the bites. I do wonder if that’s not too similar to the feeling you’d get right before frostbite kicks in…

We left Deer Flat campsite around 10:30am with Queenstown 230km away, and plenty of scenery to keep us entertained. Driving through the Red Tussock conservation area, I wondered if these landscapes inspired Dr Seuss’s stories. Driving past sheep, honking, watching them run away. Driving past cows in a paddock, honking, they don’t even bother to look up. Driving past deer, honking… the entire field of deer look up, staring right at the van, through the windows, and into our souls.

When we arrived in Queenstown, we headed straight for Fergbaker to fetch a pie and sausage roll each.

With only a quarter of a tank of fuel left, we didn’t want to fill up again, and had to be careful that we didn’t go over 2,000kms, as this would bump our returning price a fair bit. So, we were searching for a campsite close to Queenstown, with no tourists, and no price tag for our last night in the wilderness.

Using the Britz Roadtrip App, I suggested we head straight for Twenty Five Mile Stream.

Twenty Five Mile Stream, free campsite

This spot is about a 30 minute drive from Queenstown, and with views like this, I’ve got no idea why they haven’t put a price-tag on it at all.

Actually, it might have something to do with the fact that there are no toilets or facilities…

For dinner Mark cooked up thin sweet potato fries, the last of our sausages and wacked them onto bread rolls. The perfect way to use up the last of what we have in the fridge.

And in the morning, before heading back to Queenstown, we skipped rocks on Lake Wakatipu.

[wpvideo u36PLZpo]

Where we stayed

• Twenty Five Mile Stream campsite. 30 min from Queenstown.
• No toilets, no water, no tables.
• Sandflies are a bugger here. Bring bug spray, or just don’t exit the van. If you have a tent, good luck.
• Sandfly rating is a strong 14/10. Those pesky buggers are everywhere.
• Seriously nice views here.