Camping in a postcard - Winter off grid camping | Ashburton Lakes

Hey everyone, welcome to another advenuture. We were up at the Ashburton lakes a year ago in similar conditions. Absolutley incredible place and I had no problems making this video again. This time we ventured out to Lake Heron as well. We had some very moody skies, with the low cloud streaming past the caravan for a day, which was very cool to look at.
#lakes #offgrid #greatoutdoors

[@karenstrong8546]

Gorgeous , no words express this beauty enough, we are all connected to that which has been created for us by a loving God ..

[@leopardsgowild]

its a slice of paradise alright.

[@nickbenfell4327]

Thank you for reminding me just how beautiful our country is.

[@leopardsgowild]

Oh man, I have to pinch myself sometimes. We're so lucky here.

[@bryanbadger6841]

Let me help you out Mike. The reasons you and the family are down south here,. 1. There is a bigger land mass than the other island. Tons of room to move. 2. More people living in Auckland alone, than the whole South Island. 3. Nth Islanders think with their brains. 4. We Mainlanders think with our hearts. 5. The Mainland provides the best rugby team in the World. 6. The Mainland has the best scenery. and best viewing platform for Aurora Australis. 7. Finally, and I'll leave it at 7 reasons to come south, "The Mainland" speaks as a unit... "We are the waka (canoe) and punga (anchor) for the rest of NZ. There you go mate, that's enough to go on with for now. But seriously Mike and family, thanks for coming down south. You are welcome. Thanks for showing us off to the rest of Nz. As you've shown, there's some pretty great sights. Safe travels. And all the very best.

[@waynefergusson9987]

To be honest ' as much as I love the south Island and most people are really cool , I have met some odd critters down there ..

[@bryanbadger6841]

@@waynefergusson9987 yeah mate. I've met them too. We call them imports.

[@leopardsgowild]

There are some wonderful places, and people in the South island, the scenery is incredible and there are a lot of great places to explore. The North Island also has some wonderful places and lovely generous people as well, we've defintiley experienced the lovely New Zealand culture, our country is well known for in both Main islands of NZ.

[@hymertimesnz]

To be honest, we just love New Zealand. It is easy to find problems with any country, but this one is our home, and we love it from north to south.

[@bryanbadger6841]

@@leopardsgowild absolutely agree 100% with your response to my comment. Of course you realise it was tongue in cheek.!! A lot of places you visit are now very much on my "To Do" list. Again take care and safe travels.

[@RoseKerin]

Wonderful to see as I am going there over this weekend. Well done with the Video and the music😆.

[@leopardsgowild]

Awesome you'll have a great time taking photos through there, looks like you'll have plenty of snow around you as well.

[@LittleCamperNZ]

We had a laugh when you said "Not a breath of air". 😂😂 Very very beautiful scenery.

[@leopardsgowild]

ha ha, we almost suffocated in this spot, what a place to go aye...

[@robinknight6122]

Great place. I spent many happy teenage years waterskiing and fishing on Lake Camp before all the trees grew. In fact my father actually helped plant the early ones. Lake Heron was a great place for landlocked salmon.

[@leopardsgowild]

Oh nice, I love hearing about family history in these remote places. I talked with a guy from twizel the other day who built the road through, in order to start the hydro build. he said the twizel river, used to be a braided river, the only trees were the ones next to the river. I love hearing about how these places used to be.

[@tonyanderson9777]

What a wonderful ambassador for New Zealand you are, thankyou so much for sharing. Good luck

[@leopardsgowild]

thanks mate, Canterbury has been putting it on for us big time, Winter wonderland, with snow, hoar frosts, I have a lot of catching up todo with these videos.

[@ajjuney]

Lovely views. Fun video thanks.

[@leopardsgowild]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@jennideans]

Great videos , great editing so interesting..?thank you

[@leopardsgowild]

THANK YOU, its a pretty amazing spot out there.

[@RadRoadAdventures]

What beautiful crisp scenery. We do need to stay there at some point, never have. I have seen the place in summer with motorbikes hooning around with bogans with their boxes of beers. Definitely more my thing when quiet too. Great video

[@leopardsgowild]

Yea mate, me and Soph think this spot would be better in the winter... I hear there are 1000's out here over new Years and they destroy the place, which is pretty sad. We're glad we've benefitted from this spot.

[@michaelzwiener1756]

Got that spot on my bucket list for sure. Greetings from summery Germany where we visit friends and family. Have a good trip and good luck with that -10 :)

[@leopardsgowild]

Hello Germany from New Zealand... You will have an awesome time hanging out here.

[@dennismatthews6660]

You did NZ proud! What beauty. And a joy to see your family having it all to themselves. Thank you

[@leopardsgowild]

thank you, the winter time is some of our favourite camping for that reason, so quiet, and well atleast no crowds.

[@shanehatfull9122]

Absolutely love your guys work some of the best footage I have seen my family watch every episode on our big screen. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@leopardsgowild]

Oh thats so cool I love that families are watching together, thats awesome.

[@81ee]

I live in Christchurch and have been to all those lakes before, but I could watch you drive those roads with beautiful views and soft music all day. Great video and thanks so much for sharing.

[@leopardsgowild]

Yea, it's an incredible spot, I'll often go back and rewatch videos from some of my favourite places and times we've had on the road. Still so many awesome places to go to and return to.

[@peterb4620]

Just beautiful. Great photography. Thanks for sharing your adventures.

[@leopardsgowild]

thank you, its a pretty stunning spot, so easy to capture some nice shots in a beautiful place.

[@TomRigginsAandO]

Well done , again ! Thanks for sharing your beautiful country . Brutally hot here-so its refreshing to almost feel the cold where you are.....

[@leopardsgowild]

@@TomRigginsAandO thanks Tom, we've been in really cold weather the past 3 weeks I don't know if we've even gone above 40f, so turn the AC down a bit on the upcoming videos... That NC heat is next level, hope your finding ways to stay cool. Thanks for watching as always.

[@christinekirkby-sing7398]

What an amazing place! I'll be adding it to my 'visit-one-day list'. 👍

[@leopardsgowild]

Yes, it's well worth the drive just a couple of hours from Christchurch, but you get it all for free. Hope you lot are enjoying your new adventures back in the Bay.

[@catherinecarr3506]

Drone footage as always, epic!! Love seeing you guys out in our beautiful SI enjoying it all through the seasons. Winter is my fav down there too :)

[@leopardsgowild]

Thank you, hard to beat a birds eye perspective aye.

[@markdixon215]

Good to see you’ve had a good week of weather. Some stunning scenery and interesting to see the key holes. Have a great week. Cheers

[@leopardsgowild]

Yea it's really cool to watch what the weathers doing up, there does some more dramatic things. You have a good week also.

[@DB-thats-me]

🤬. I thought I knew NZ pretty well, DOH! This is DEFINITELY going on my bucket list! Great secret gem. 👍

[@leopardsgowild]

yea man, this place is pretty epic alright, just love how quiet and peaceful it is out there.

[@Lisamitchell-jm4kc]

Incredible backdrops as always-magic

[@leopardsgowild]

almost seems fake it's so stunning... Literally camping in a postcard.

[@Teresa-mu4kw]

I love the views from Lake Heron!🎉 it’s beyond description 😮 and the other lakes in the Ashburton area are so beautiful also, thankyou te whānau Leopard for showing that neck of our tiny country off🎉 arohanui nā Teresa, one day I will get to see this part of Te Waipounamu❤🎉and I love Sophie’s Jandals and socks combo, she rocks my socks❤🎉

[@leopardsgowild]

ha ha, got to Love Sophies Socks n Jandels. Ashburton Lakes are pretty stunning, right into the interior of some beautiful Maungas, love it up there.

[@hymertimesnz]

Love the mountain reflections! Not a bad coffee montague as well, haha. Look forward to your videos, great job. Russell and Amanda

[@leopardsgowild]

ha ha, coffee n a view, would be a good spot to sell some coffees and scones in Summer. Although I hear there are thousands of people out there then.

[@Kiwibikerbuddy]

The flower in the Kettle Lake is a Snow Gentian. I'm surprised to see it flowering in winter as I've always seen it at higher altitudes in summer. Along with the Mount Cook Buttercup & (NZ) Edelweiss, it is one of my favourite alpine flowers. The Canterbury winters are much milder now than they used to be when I was a young lad on the farm; less frost, ice & snow. I love seeing your joy & passion for the beauty we are blessed with here. I've never taken for granted the simple pleasure of watching the mountains turn pink during a winter sunrise & the calm day that surrounded me. It's wonderful that you brought your children out to see & experience the incredible world you're exploring as a family. May you all have plenty more fun adventures in Nature's classroom.

[@leopardsgowild]

thanks mate, pretty awesome little flowers growing in the kettle hole. We talked with one of the local station owners at Mt Heron who told us how they used to ride horses across lake Heron years and years ago, Not sure it would even freeze right over these days, must have been a hard place to work and live, cold enough when we were there. It's great to experience some proper winter though and I'm sure these are part of the memories we will all remember.

[@lisaoliver4254]

I love watching your whanau videos. I have missed not seeing one for a bit. I too live in Dunedin. I was born here. Spent 20 years up in Tamaki Makaurau and Whangarei. Finally moved back here with my kids. So much better. Keep up the awesome videos.

[@leopardsgowild]

oh thanks for watching, we love Northland, haven't spent much time in Whangarei cause we like to go out to the beaches up there, we also love Dunedin, that place is underrated, so many nice beaches, and a lot of wild life and walks.

[@robinmills5827]

I thought of you when I heard that the pond at the Teetotal campsite had frozen enough for ice skating. I haven't yet explored the Ashburton Lakes. That's on the must do list for my autumn camper van holiday next year, but not wearing socks and jandals! Sophie must have great circulation in her feet. Thanks for a beautiful video.

[@leopardsgowild]

I think she had her thickest socks on lol... It was really cold, we and i mean us adults were normally only outside for 30 min at a time, unless we were on a proper walk or something, day time was only about 2 - 4 degrees at the warmest, so it's quite the experience. Still only just reached the middle of winter as well, yikes.

[@jaredford8440]

Spellbounding scenery 😮❤ that tray of roasted vegetables looked dang good too😋

[@leopardsgowild]

ha ha, yum roasties, some good hearty food to help fight off the cold.

[@jaredford8440]

@@leopardsgowild carrot kumara and pork casserole while I watched your episode 👌🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

[@caravantheworld]

We Love lake Camp ! great music, shots and transitions in this one Mike

[@leopardsgowild]

Its a real gem there, totally rate it, especially for a winter spot, I here it's very busy in the summer. Although you'd want heating, it's freezing in winter.

[@user-rp7lj4tv7x]

You're definitely selling the Ashburton lakes area well. We need to get away and chill somewhere like that for a bit. So awesome you got the amazing snow and then frosts not too long after this and the great winter experiences have continued into the Mackenzie country

[@leopardsgowild]

Yea it's a magical place mate. Pretty harsh in the winter to be honest, but I love it when it's quiet and am happy to go do the walks / runs knowing the place is all for me. So many more great things to show, I just clicked over 1100 videos on the go pro, yikes...

[@erinmadsen8401]

Stunning!! Thank you

[@leopardsgowild]

your welcome and it sure is an incredible part of the world.

[@gavinhiggins8081]

Hi guys nice spot we heading south in a couple months weather should be warmer but have you rapped you water pipes under your van

[@leopardsgowild]

@@gavinhiggins8081 hey mate you'll have longer days that's for sure. Yes we lagged all our pipes last winter, doesn't stop them from freezing though, but I'm sure it helps

[@karenhealey935]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ stunning location

[@leopardsgowild]

It really is.

[@tinyhousehybrid5210]

Nice guys we are looking forward to getting down that way soon!

[@leopardsgowild]

It's a magical place, just go driving around down the different rds so much exploring.

[@lukeduke3001]

OMG Stunning

[@leopardsgowild]

yea it's really mind blowing how good it is.

[@hopaea7]

Oh, wish I had known you were there - would have told you how to find a local LOTR site. Great little hike, kids would have loved it ☺️

[@leopardsgowild]

OH NO... don't worry let us know what the walk is we're not to far away, we might back track a bit since your recommending it, so it must be awesome.

[@katrinatikey4513]

You chose the perfect name for this video ... "Camping in a Postcard".

[@leopardsgowild]

I know right, camping in a postcard, photographers paradise out there.

[@catherinedeseton964]

agree

[@stevepiper1925]

Well done Mike, beautiful scenery. Was the road ok out to the lakes? Keep it up love your videos.

[@leopardsgowild]

Road out there is a peace of cake, about 10k of gravel to lake clearwater, once you meet the gravel, you also meet the turn to lake Heron, which is all gravel but the roads are pretty flat, so minimal corrguations.

[@waynefergusson9987]

Another goodie vid ! I wrote a song "living the dream" a year or two back and I think of that when I watch your videos

[@leopardsgowild]

Oh nice, I think we def feel the vibes of living the dream in these places aye, especially with such great views. Canterbury definitley continues to give us great sites.

[@waynefergusson9987]

@@leopardsgowild Are you planning to explore banks peninsula ?

[@leopardsgowild]

@@waynefergusson9987 unlikely chch is hard work

[@waynefergusson9987]

@@leopardsgowild Haha ' don't need to go through chch to get there

[@user-le7ld5sg2d]

Another great video Mike showing off the awesome South Island scenery! Out of interest what is the brand / model of the inside / outside temperature display you have ?

[@leopardsgowild]

Hey there, it's just a trade me weather station, it's nothing to high tech, but it does a good job.

[@CHillAdventures]

great job on another vid!!! you got some great panoramic shots of youre spot and the mountains !!! pretty awesome spot for sure! hope youre not too deep in editing to enjoy the time! talk to yah soon!!!

[@leopardsgowild]

oh mate, i'm so far behind with my videos, We've just been in a winter wonderland in the hoar frost which melted today, got over 1000 video files to go through prob about 5 or 6 episodes. But thats cause I've been living in the moment and not stuck behind the laptop... Hope your enjoying your mid summer mate.

[@CHillAdventures]

@@leopardsgowild epic cheers bro!!

[@paulo49252]

A couple more places added for my next trip. We are so lucky to live in a paradise on our doorstep.

[@leopardsgowild]

Oh yea, great spots for sure.

[@lifeontheroadnz6900]

Another awesome video guys, what a stunning place. Just wondered where you got your weather station from?

[@leopardsgowild]

Hey team, the old weather station, it's actually just a trademe job, but seems to be pretty accurate, nice to see what the temps are doing any way.

[@mikedew380]

Hi Mike. Where did you get your temperature read out guage from? Another great video showing off New Zealand and the mainland.

[@leopardsgowild]

Hey there, mate, it's just a Trademe job for the temp gauge, just search for weather station, lots of options there. If I was at home, I'd like invest in a more expensive one, but this ones good for the road.

[@allantaylor3288]

Lake Heron is a nice place to stay in the summer and gets fairly busy considering it’s a wee way of the beaten track. Is this footage from before you headed south Mike. Great scenery a. Great video mate

[@leopardsgowild]

This video is quite far behind the real time. All the Real time stuff is on facebook and instagram, we've just been in Twizel for the Hoar frosts for the last week, which were amazing.

[@allantaylor3288]

@@leopardsgowild hi Mike I follow you on Fb also so I keep up with where your at each day…cheers

[@davekerr8133]

Wow. That is beautiful. You've probably mentioned it before, but what sort of heating to you have in your caravan?

[@leopardsgowild]

It sure is mate stunning... We have a diesel heater, which keeps us pretty warm.

[@vladimirjar3800]

visit the masterton fablab

[@leopardsgowild]

Is that in the North Island>

[@vladimirjar3800]

@@leopardsgowild yes next to the library monday and friday 1-5

[@Kelly-gn7vr]

All the lakes are so low . Bit of a worry.

[@leopardsgowild]

There are so low lakes around the place. Lake Emma and Clearwater were full, I think Lake Camp has an issue of a river which flows into it, taking a different course now, so it's not getting topped up.

[@taipaboyz]

Don't forget to get some Fairlie pies😂

[@leopardsgowild]

Oh I sure did. I got the hearty Beef, bacon, mushroom and cheese, I think thats what it was.

[@christchurchstuff9688]

Can we have titles of the music you use. Love the folk music. Also interested in your home schooling

[@leopardsgowild]

Thats an admin headache for me... All my music is from Musicbed.com... You can also google a few lyrics and google should bring up the song likely on a KZbin video. Home school is through Te Kura, the New zealand correspondence school.

[@christchurchstuff9688]

The education your kids are getting can't be taught in a classroom. Love how your living life.

[@leopardsgowild]

they have some great outdoor skills now thats for sure, not to mention fitness.

[@doublehelix109]

are you guys headding to 4x4 expo chch?

[@leopardsgowild]

Na, wrong direction.