Driving on the left in a 22’ rolling home

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At the Beginning of our journey down the east coast

So here’s the agenda we had. Day 1: picking up the camper van at 08:00 and driving south 235 km (147 mls) from Christchurch to Oamaru, plus a stop for groceries and a "Penguin Express Tour" in the evening to watch the penguins coming in from the sea. (Please remember I'm writing this after seven days on the road).

Thursday, 4th April - Day One

After we threw the luggage into the camper van and had a run-down of what there is to know about both inside and out, we still had little idea of how it worked except that the automatic shift has only N for neutral and A for drive plus a hand-brake. Although it’s self-contained, we probably won't use the shower which is above the sink which clips to the wall, which is over the toilet (make that a porta-potty). The all-in-one brightly lit cubicle is so small that we use the facilities at the campgrounds, which so far, have been incredibly good. Most of them have lovely clean showers and toilets and in addition, large communal kitchens, which are well used by other campers.

We also have full hook-ups, which actually means that we have electric, unlike Stateside where full hook-up means water, electric and sewer, so it’s a real learning experience for us. It seems that we’re staying in some of the top-notch campgrounds, as many of them don't have this luxury. What would I do without an electric kettle for tea? We could use the propane (known here as LPG or liquified petroleum gas) but it would take much longer to boil on top of the stove.

Driving on the left is a new experience for some in our group. In Kiwi land, the signs are in kilometers, not miles. We must remember to look right before entering a roundabout or crossing a road, but we have to think KEEP LEFT, KEEP LEFT. For Howard and me it’s much easier having driven in the UK for years.

We stopped quite often the first day as it was Tim and Ellen’s first driving experience on the left so we led the way navigating with the use of an amazing Trip Log with directions, landmarks, road hazards, places of interest, cafe’s, etc., giving us complete guidance from one city to the next. The tour company make this for every person on any of their trips and it’s been invaluable, much like the Alaskan “Milepost”. A GPS was also installed in each of the vans , which was of great assistance when I missed a right-hand turn for lunch and toured the pretty backstreets of Ashburton to reach the main road again.

We were the last people to reach the first camp ground that evening - not unusual for us but we missed the bus trip to see the penguins and even with the extra evening it took me three days to figure out where to put our belongings!

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