After pimping our ride with an air mattress in Greymouth we drive north to get a look at Pancake Rocks in Punakai. We really wanted to start driving south but the Maui guide touted Pancake Rocks as a top 100 things a local must do. The ride was stunning along the coast, the sun was shining, I had visions of these rocks being long flat monoliths randomly dealt out on a beach and perfectly suitable for climbing on and playing reptile. Laying on a rock nicely ...

The kids suggest Hanmer Springs where there is massage, hot pools and a water park. The hub and I want to start heading south. The kids emphatically insist. They see sign; I have never been one to suffer in silence. Perhaps it was the institution of a new penal code that led them to conclude my crazy had come out? The code was heinous and unthinkable- whoever ticked me off the worst that day would have to sleep with the vitamins. If I could capture an odor ...

The kids LOVE motorhome hatches and ladders, cloudy campground pools and sand filled playgrounds. On par with any club med chant they have made up a family camping unity song complete with hand gestures. While the echoes of their glee rings within our particle board walls, I wake a dozen times with serious pain and numb limbs. My back is grumbling loud from all the lugging of suitcases to date and now sleeping on the ultimate offense- a bunky board. My back is...

This is the first time on this trip I truly feel frightened. Scared beyond what words can express. 5 people are going into in a small camper van for 2 weeks. Will 5 come back out??? Praying for good weather and feeling a bit stunned in Christchurch, New Zealand at longitude 174 east

The image of the hospitality waiting for me curbside was on my mind. Sitting on the crate stuffed with Tim's things topped with an ancient yellowed pillow was something I was willing to do, but I sure didn't want to. The girls knew my concerns and found the perfect solution- they remembered where they had seen stacks of fresh crates. We grabbed a shiny royal blue one and paired it with a towel from the apartment as the cushion for the top. Tim would not ins...