Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
….And so, Danny, son of Peter and Laurajayne, daughter of Stephen, of the campervan realm, embark on their quest into MiddleEarth….
CHRISTCHURCH
After spending 3 months in one country it was always going to take some re-adjusting when we did finally move on. Leaving the luxuries of the Hotel Whitehurst to reassume our mantle as dirty poor backpackers was initially a daunting prospect, it felt like we were setting off from the start all over again. So after all of this mental build up it seemed ironic that the country next on our agenda was the place that looked and felt more like home than anywhere else. Driving through the suburbs of Christchurch from the airport, we could have been passing through any well-to-do area in ‘Old Blighty’, it all felt a little surreal – the green grass, the tree lined streets, the traffic signs, old fashioned British style boozers, all reminders of home.
We planned to take it easy for the 2/3 days we had in the city before picking up our next campervan for a massive 8-week stint on the road. Christchurch was the perfect place to relax. It has the look and feel of a place like York or Bath, so strolling around and taking it all in was a pleasure especially as we were there on a weekend, which gave us the added atmosphere of the excellent art markets that spread through the streets. Our ever tight budget even afforded us a few beers enjoyed in the sunshine of a ‘just like at home’ beer garden over looking the River Avon whilst punting boats floated intermittently past. We could have quite easily stayed for a fortnight enjoying the relaxation and tranquil surrounds, we absolutely loved it. But, the inevitable was looming, we couldn’t escape, we had to pick up van number 3.
THE DRIVE SOUTH
Our rental company of choice - ‘wicked campers’ was selected not only for the price, but also for the cool and quirky spray painted ‘individual’ designs that adorn each van. During our 12 weeks in Australia we encountered endless numbers of these ‘street credible’ motors that kept putting our budget pop-top to shame. Full on mural designs featuring the likes of Reservoir Dogs, Pink Panther, Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath and Spiderman were common place Oz side, so our expectations of a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings paint job over in New Zealand were high. Hmmmm.
Upon collection, we discovered that our ‘individual’ design was not only crap and unfunny, but also appeared to have been spray painted by a child that we’re guessing was also probably blind! Once again our hopes were dashed, our van is modelled on ‘Herbie – The Lovebug’, but get this, the word Herbie has been wackily changed to ‘Herpie’ in reference to a sexually transmitted disease – Oh how we laughed. On top of this hilarity a Toyota Townace doesn’t really cut it as a VW Beetle. And so, alas, our ranking on the street cred scale has not improved, but with Dan’s haircut that was always going to be a long shot.
After a couple of days in New Zealand, you realise that camper-vanning is more or less the only way to cover it all, the scenery is quite simply amazing and the steady number of free camping spots on offer as you work your way south make it easy to stop for the day whenever you feel like it without having to worry about covering long distances. Best of all, these spots are usually over looking a mountain range or on the banks of a river or lake – just fantastic. All of this easily makes up for the fact that, due to our ever dwindling funds and the fact that the ‘Lovebug’ isn’t equipped with a fridge (incredible), our diet now consists of a varied rage of tinned product. Step forward Heinz® ‘Cack in a Can’, Campbell’s® condensed soup, corned beef and Spam®. The no fridge situation has also enabled us to perform certain scientific experiments, and we can conclude that un-refrigerated milk will, in one day, become cottage cheese.
So, with culinary delights not on the top of our priority list, we have thus taken pleasure in the great outdoors, which is what this country is all about. We’ve dived headlong into the many fantastic walking trails on offer and mixed it with the immense array of wildlife up and down the country. We’ve seen wild penguins, seals and sea lions who all sit happily on rocks next to the beach, something which we found amazing having only seen these kinds of animals in zoo’s before.
Our first week or so has only made us more excited for the rest of our time here, the camping has been especially tremendous and we love what we’ve seen of the country so far and we’ve not even touched on Lord of the Rings yet, that’s all to come. Who knows, the next instalment could be entitled - ‘Herbie goes to MiddleEarth’.
Hope all is well back home.
Love to you all.
Danny & Laura xxxx
- comments