Kiwi Adventure Begins

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February 16th 2006

Published: February 19th 2006

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Bens Travels

New Zealand

My first look of New Zealand from the plane

I arrived in Christchurch, the largest city on the south island. They are pretty strict with cross contamination here and I had to wait an hour will my boots and tent had the mud removed off of them and disinfected. With a clean pair of boots, a sniffer dog and x-ray machine later I was ready to start my kiwi adventure.

I met a Canadian called Tom at the airport while waiting for my boots, and he told me how easy and cheap it was to but a car in New Zealand. I already considered the idea of renting and this just sewed the seed for was later to become a reality. I mulled around Christchurch for a few days waiting for Kirsty and Jackie to arrive. After a little persuasion and a brief presentation on the economics of buying as opposed to renting they were sold on the idea and a hunt for a bargain motor began.

Everybody in NZ is very friendly and whilst getting info out of a very helpful woman in an insurance firm, a young guy behind me informed me about his dad’s car that he was looking to sell. I took the details

In The Park

Some obscure animal shape near the pond

and carried on my research. After looking through the local papers we had a few cars in the running. We test-drove the guy’s dad’s Mazda 323 and a Subaru Leone SW. The Subaru won it, and now we are the proud owners of a 1983 Scooby called Godfrey.

The adventure begins with Akaroa, a volcanic harbour east of Christchurch. Kirty and Jackie had their fix of tea for the night while I sipped a vintage cola and watched the sun set. The following day Godfrey got a bit of a service while we walked around the harbour.

We spent the next two nights camping at Geraldine where we dined on fine wine ($20 for 3 litres) and smoked cheese from the local producers. We took our first hike to a gorge at the campsite but were a little dissapointed to find out that there wasn't any water in the gorge and it didn't really look like a gorge at all. My bathers stayed dry.

Lake Tekapo was next on the list. It is a vast deep blue lake surrounded by mountains. The scenery is stunning and we spent a day walking and ventured onto Mount Cook, the

The Gang

The 3 of us with Godfrey

tallest peak in New Zealand. Another campsite, another day without washing! Mount Cook is huge and snow peaked for a breath-taking view in the morning fresh out of the tent.

We hiked a grouling track up the side of the mountain for 2 hours and enjoyed lunch at the top. The weather to date had been very good with only one day of rain at Geraldine. Mount Cook is usually covered in cloud, but we were lucky enough to see it on a perfect sunny and clear day. The sun in New Zealand and is very strong, due to the thickness of the Ozone layer here. It is possible to burn in four minutes, so factor 30+ is essential.

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