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Published: April 3rd 2013
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Hello All. We left off last time having just about landed in Christchurch after 3 days of transit from Bangkok. Luckily we had the foresight to pre-book our camper (and we also had the foresight to take out liability reduction, but we will come to that later...) but we landed at 3am and couldn't pick up the van until 8am...so Alex slept on a bench for an hour or so (maybe) until we got told that we had to sit up! By this point we were just exhausted, and Alex didn't feel well so it wasn't the best experience ever. Eventually 8am arrived and we went to the camper van place. We used Mighty Campers, and we booked a tiny little camper which basically had a bed and a cool box and a gas stove...so we were pleasantly surprised to find that we were somehow given a double upgrade to a really good converted Fiat Ducato with in-built stove, fridge, shower and heating...(the only downside was that it was a much longer vehicle than I had been anticipating, but we will come to that later...) Anyway, we were just relieved to be able to lay down actually horizontally, and we were
so tired that we thought it might be dangerous to drive so soon so we went to a supermarket car-park and had a little nap! And a lovely nap it was - the peaceful, dreamless kind of nap that you only experience after a period of sleep deprivation, and then after only one hour I was awoken abruptly by the sound of Alex saying "Oh my God! I'm gonna be sick! I'm gonna be sick!!!" After such a peaceful slumber, to be woken up with such devastating news, you can only imagine the sense of sheer terror that enveloped me. I was so dazed and confused that I was actually terrified of what was happening. I didn't understand what she was telling me, and in my terror I begged her, literally begged her not to be sick.....but it was too late. We were unfamiliar with the van, we didn't know how to open it, we didn't really know where we were. And before we could prise the door open, the sick just came. It came out right at the back of the van and at one point I didn't think it was going to stop. Defeated and helpless I made
my way to the front seat and sat there until it finished. Then, when the dust had settled, I went to the supermarket and got water, disinfectant, hand-wash and air-freshener, gave them to Alex to clean the van, and went back to the supermarket to do a food shop. Neither of us felt like sleeping after that.
We didn't fancy a big drive either, so we only went an hour or so up the road to Akaroa which was a nice, peaceful little town, and a stunning drive from Christchurch. And after a little walk around the town we went to set the van up so we could go to bed...and then a friendly face came walking over to our van, and that's when we met William. William was about 38 years old and from Switzerland, and it was his last day in NZ before he flew to Australia, and he came over to see if we would help him finish some of his remaining food and drink so that it didn't go to waste. We couldn't really turn down such a kind offer, and we are glad we didn't!!! Not only was William excellent company for the evening,
but he also offered to cook us dinner of Angus steak, rice and salad which was lovely, and he shared his wine and cider with us, and some lovely smoked salmon that he had brought fresh from a farm. And he gave us lots of really good tips on where to go in New Zealand and how best to make the most of our time. We had a great evening, until around 10:30pm when a grumpy old man told us to keep the noise down. We were pretty tired anyway so we bid William farewell - but he was adamant that he was going to give us all of his leftover food. It really was our lucky night I have to say because this is a list of the crazy amount of stuff that he gave us:
x2 Salt Grinders
x2 Pepper Mills
x1 Fresh Chilli
x1 Jar of Chillies
x1 Chilli Flakes
x1 Wasabi Tube
x1 Palm Sugar Packet
x1 Spaghetti Packet
x1 Spaghetti Sauce
x1 Unc Bens Rice
x1 Mixed Herb Jar
x1 Ground Cinnamon Jar
x1 Curry Powder Tub
x1 Bottle Olive Oil
x2 Bottle Balsamic Vinegar
x1 Bag of Oats
x1 Bag of Peanuts (unsalted)
x2 Bags of (unidentified) Seeds
x1 Bag of Shallots
x6 Whole Garlics
x1 Tin of Irish Stew
x1 Tin of Chicken Soup (condensed)
x1 Spray Cooking Oil
x1 Thai Cooking Paste
x1 Thai Dressing
x1 Box Nature Valley Bars
x1 Tin of Veg Soup
x1 Tin of Pumpkin Soup
x1 Tin of Creamed Sweetcorn
x1 Tin of Tom Yum Soup
x1 Pack Tofu Soup
x2 Tins of Coconut Milk
x4 Tins of Baked Beans
x1 Pack Bananas
x1 Pack of Lemons
x1 Bottle of Lime Juice
x1 Bottle of Pancake Mix
x2 Bottles of Maple Syrup (Both Full!)
x1 Jar of Peanut Butter
x1 Tub Manuka Honey
x1 Tub of Nesquick Milk
x1 Pack Twinings Earl Grey Tea
x1 Pack NZ Breakfast Tea
x1 Roll Tin Foil
x1 Roll Cling Film
x1 Tuppaware Pot
x3 Red Bulls
x5 Apple Ciders
So, thats why almost every time we eat now we have to
thank William. He was a crazy guy, but he was good company and very generous and he saved us quite a bit of money!
Anyway, partly on William's advice, the next day we set off towards Queenstown planning to stopover in Lake Tekapo for the night. But it was a day of calamities. First calamity - we tried to drive away from our site with our power cable still plugged in. Second calamity - a door somehow came open while we were driving and our bin fell out. We didn't realise this for a while, but we turned around and found it in the end. Third calamity - our cabinets started dripping with water and we didn't know what the hell it was until we stopped to see that a nail had pierced one of our water bottles, so we had to clear that up. Fourth calamity - Alex was going through William's goody bag when we stopped for a while, and left the bottles of Balsamic vinegar upside down in the bags. I wondered what is that smell...its like......its a lot like.....balsamic vinegar.......why would I be smelling balsamic vinegar.....its really strong.....oh fuck, William gave us balsamic vinegar. Yes, all over the couch/bed. Alex's second day of mopping up began.
So our first couple of days in New Zealand were a bit up and down. But the real point I guess was that through driving from one side of th country to the other, we both began to fall in love with New Zealand. It is just an incredible place. One minute you are driving round winding hills and lakes, and the next minute you are on barren moorland. Then you will see massive mountains in the background, and then all of a sudden you are in a forest, or driving over a ravine, or past a volcanic beach or a bright blue lake - everything just looks unreal, and it is really hard to describe. It is just an incredible feeling, an incredible drive and I feel really lucky to have been able to do it. Lake Tekapo where we stayed the first night is just a huge, bright blue lake set against dark brown hills making it look out of place. Queenstown is a great little town set on big Lake Wakatipu. We stayed there a couple of nights and had a famous Fergburger, and we also went kayaking down the other end of the lake in Glenorchy which was absolutely stunning. And after that we drove to Haast...where... I can hardly bring myself to say it....just when I felt I was getting used to the van, I swung it around in the campsite and scraped it past a fence, maintaining my fairly impressive record of having fucked up (to some extent) every vehicle I have ever driven. But the advice is to take out liability reduction. Because before we did that our liability was $3,500. But now it is only $200...It seems I have learned my lessons in some ways.
But in spite of all those little events, New Zealand has just been amazing and we love everything about it. Camping is brilliant, and even better when you work out how to empty the waste tank! But seriously its so much fun and you can just drive around and rock up at a campsite wherever. We have cooked up a storm on our little gas stove which has been such a relief having previously had to eat out every night for 7 weeks in Asia! We have stopped off and got our own fresh smoked salmon for like $20/kilo and it was amazing. We have stopped at wineries and cheeseries...incidentally, we stopped at one vineyard where we found out that the wine I drank with William was actually a $120 vintage!
And like I said, the scenery is just breathtaking. You drive 20k and you are in a different world. You drive round a corner and you could have flown to a different country. Its just unbelievable and unbelievably beautiful, and fun and you feel free. After Haast we drive up the West Coast and then back over to Christchurch and I am really looking forward to it!
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