We are still awaiting a repaired camper van from our lovely friends here in Hamilton, North Island. Im pretty sure they are sick of the sight of us - nice as we. It cant be good having two travellers invade your home and spend days out while you have to work. Days out in your car....Todays day out was a trip to Tauranga and Rotorua. We set off in the drizzle with flip flops in the boot and a bunch of hope. We knew we had arrived in Rotorua by the nasty rotten egg smell emanating from the steaming and impressively large Rotorua lake. I jumped out of the tiny Roadster and immediately regretted my wardrobe decisions, shorts were really not the best idea in the cool drizzle. Having the briefest touristy walkabout i returned to the safety of the soft top. Lloyd jumped in and started the engine - his comment 'the accelerator has disappeared' made me dissolve in giggles at the sheer stupidity of it, he pointed and also began laughing, i looked down, indeed the accelerator was no more, it had literally disappeared. For some daft reason we were unable to compose ourselves for some time.
A deep breath and a good look with the torch on my phone and it appeared the pedal had completely snapped in half! Jeez this wasn't good.
I found a nearby garage on google maps and we managed to limp the car there with the use of hazard lights, lots of accelerator wiggling and some high gears. A smiley local guy said he could weld it and we went off in search of the alleged 'best pie in New Zealand'. Now don't get me wrong, best anything is good but i see such claims daily across New Zealand, and indeed Aussie. We found coffee and pies and they were indeed very good.
After a long walk the call came to say the car was fixed, a good job done at a fair price and we were back on the road to Tauranga, to meet Angry Garry. Garry was a chap we had met previously and id nicknamed him (to his face and he agreed!) as he is a permanently cross chap. His son was fun and we had a couple of drinks and a beer.
I sit here typing waiting to hear if the camper van has passed its WOF or Warrant of Fitness, same as an MOT but NZ. If so it means we can finally head to Wellington.
In other news, i have decided to take December off and have arranged a house/pet sit in Vietnam for a small dog. Yknow those fluffy white ones the Asians love to trim and use decoratively. I hope he's good, i haven't much dog experience, apparently he's super hilled and even has his own Instagram page. Eeek. December will be spent taking care of myself, reading, planning and exploring Vietnam. There's even a scooter with the job!
Quite excited.
Wednesday, 20 November 2019
North Island in a 20yr old sports car..
Ok im 51 and 3/4 and getting in and out of a sports car that is almost as low as the kerb has been great for my flexibility hehe.
Zooming around windy roads here in North Island has been great fun, although its super hard to hold a conversation as the soft top doesnt really have any sound protecting qualities (plus im deaf on the drivers side too)! So we point and gesture instead which seems to work.
Its a curious landscape here, i was expecting a million sheep - yknow, New Zealand lamb and all that but what i mostly see are a million cows. Upon research i discover that most farmers have moved over to the more profitable dairy and beef industry. Lloyd says the natural land looks 'raped' and i think i agree. Km after km of flat agricultural land is the norm, with some hills and mountains. The real beauty shows itself when we hit the coasts and you see a myriad of islands and green hills, stunning.
We travelled all the way to Cape Reinga in the tip of the north and it was majestic, then back down to Doubtless Bay to stay in a nice little self-contained apartment on a hill for a night. Dinner was overlooking the sea in a fish and chip place, veggie burger for me obvs.
Back at our hosts house we find another couple of visitors, Joy and Bruce and the six of us have a few nice eves with chatter and wine and food, Lloyd and i love cooking and entertaining for others so often commandeer a kitchen. Our hosts Glen and Liz take us to Rangariri to see where the battle happened in 1863 (where 1500 British troops defeated about 500 Maori warriors) I felt a pang of guilt for being a Brit as i learned the story. We then visited some wetlands as NZ is a major wetland area and hosts the biggest collection of seabirds in the world, there was a cool shop with tons of stuffed birds and loads of books and info. Then onto a Maori graveyard in Glens hometown, they bury their own dead rather than dealing with the local authorities and these graves were by the sea. Bruce suddenly started playing the bagpipes as we perused the headstones, strangely eerie but kind of fitting.
Sunday brought a big family gathering and there was mass cooking, the numbers went from 7 to 15 in minutes and we all pulled together, it was a great laugh We have been here a week now and we think the camper van repair may be today.....
In other news i have secured a pet sit in Vietnam during December! More on this later.
Kia koa for now!
Zooming around windy roads here in North Island has been great fun, although its super hard to hold a conversation as the soft top doesnt really have any sound protecting qualities (plus im deaf on the drivers side too)! So we point and gesture instead which seems to work.
Its a curious landscape here, i was expecting a million sheep - yknow, New Zealand lamb and all that but what i mostly see are a million cows. Upon research i discover that most farmers have moved over to the more profitable dairy and beef industry. Lloyd says the natural land looks 'raped' and i think i agree. Km after km of flat agricultural land is the norm, with some hills and mountains. The real beauty shows itself when we hit the coasts and you see a myriad of islands and green hills, stunning.
We travelled all the way to Cape Reinga in the tip of the north and it was majestic, then back down to Doubtless Bay to stay in a nice little self-contained apartment on a hill for a night. Dinner was overlooking the sea in a fish and chip place, veggie burger for me obvs.
Back at our hosts house we find another couple of visitors, Joy and Bruce and the six of us have a few nice eves with chatter and wine and food, Lloyd and i love cooking and entertaining for others so often commandeer a kitchen. Our hosts Glen and Liz take us to Rangariri to see where the battle happened in 1863 (where 1500 British troops defeated about 500 Maori warriors) I felt a pang of guilt for being a Brit as i learned the story. We then visited some wetlands as NZ is a major wetland area and hosts the biggest collection of seabirds in the world, there was a cool shop with tons of stuffed birds and loads of books and info. Then onto a Maori graveyard in Glens hometown, they bury their own dead rather than dealing with the local authorities and these graves were by the sea. Bruce suddenly started playing the bagpipes as we perused the headstones, strangely eerie but kind of fitting.
Sunday brought a big family gathering and there was mass cooking, the numbers went from 7 to 15 in minutes and we all pulled together, it was a great laugh We have been here a week now and we think the camper van repair may be today.....
In other news i have secured a pet sit in Vietnam during December! More on this later.
Kia koa for now!
New Zealand
I was hesitant to leave Aussie and knew i could have spent years exploring more but my visa was up and the flight from Melbourne to Auckand awaited.
I leanred at check in in Melbourne there was a new visa requirement for NZ, shock! i had to apply online at the last few minutes before the desk closed, it was a close call! Just three and a half hours later i was walking through the departure area and meeting Sheridan, the lady who i was volunteering for over the next five or so days (Lloyd was still back in Melbourne so i got some volunteer work while i waited for him)
Sheridan greeted me with the biggest smile and i knew straight away we would get on well. Arriving at the house in the hills above Auckland i could not believe my luck! WOW the house was incredible, perched high on the hills you could literally see everything right down to the sea and beyond. I am a lucky girl thats for sure! As soon as we walked in i met Sophie, 19 from Austria, also volunteering and had arrive a few days before, and Brian, Shers hubby who was a delight. armed with dinner and wine we sat and got accqainted.
The next few days work were so rewarding, weeding in the garden alongside alpacas in the sunshine, cooking in the incredible kitchen, scrubbing the deck and clearing the winter debris from the pool. Sunday was Brians birthday and lots of family were coming so i made a classic victoria sponge and assisted with the cooking and clearing. I was staying in a cool little camper van on the driveway which was a definate upgrade from my beloved tent in Aussie.
Lloyd arrived late a few days later into Auckland airport and my hosts kindly let me use the car to fetch him. On the return i got pulled by the cops (apparently i went through a red light!) It was 2am and i was so nervous, i gave my details and the policeman popped them into his device, within seconds he knew all my flight details and immigration status! After a word and a quick breathalyser he let me go - without so much as a stern word. Phew.
Soon Lloyd and i were on the way to Hamilton on a coach and i write this sitting in the back garden of some friends of his who have let us use their campervan for a month - except the water pump is broken so we now have a Mazda sports car for a week and then will retun for the camper when its fixed. This should be interesting!!
Family and friends
Port Lincoln
Mikkira Station, Port Lincoln
Mikira was incredible, firstly because we were the only ones there and secondly you could camp under the trees and enjoy the koalas above, we also saw emus and there were hot showers! bliss
Probably one of my favourite stops so far, arriving one morning with a dew covered tent we stopped at a friendly looking cafe and draped the flysheet over the back of the ute to dry out. We walked in to a warm welcome from the woman we now know as Megan (pronounced Meegan in Aussie!) She recognised Lloyds accent immediately and started chatting about S Africa as she'd been three times, we all got on like a house on fire and by the time we had left Megan had invited us to stay at a caravan in her garden! Such kindness from a total stranger warmed our hearts. We turned up with a cheery smile and a bottle of wine later that evening to be told we were being upgraded to a bedroom. We met Megans husband Rhidian and their two sons and had such a good time, we stayed three nights while we went to visit some tour operators
The most notable operator here was a guy called Matt who was running a shark cage diving operation with a difference, Matt had two USPs, one he was not using any form of chum or burley (operators usually use fish heads and parts to entice the shark) and two he had a submersible dry glass tank that anyone could sit in and watch proceedings whislt having a cuppa! This really opens out the experience to anyone regardless of ability, fantastic! Matt is a larger than life character who readily offered us a couple of trips out and we also swam with sea lions which i really enjoyed.
Adelaide was next on the itinerary and also the realisation that we needed to be in Hervey Bay in early October so we decided to ramp it up a bit. We arrive late in the afternoon to a warm welcome from my cousin John, his wife Sarah and their daughter Rebecca. Wonderful to see how well they are all doing and to meet them properly for the first time really (apart from when John and i were children many moons ago!)
We drank wine and had a lovely meal and were sadly on the way again the next morning.
Mikkira Station, Port Lincoln
Mikira was incredible, firstly because we were the only ones there and secondly you could camp under the trees and enjoy the koalas above, we also saw emus and there were hot showers! bliss
Probably one of my favourite stops so far, arriving one morning with a dew covered tent we stopped at a friendly looking cafe and draped the flysheet over the back of the ute to dry out. We walked in to a warm welcome from the woman we now know as Megan (pronounced Meegan in Aussie!) She recognised Lloyds accent immediately and started chatting about S Africa as she'd been three times, we all got on like a house on fire and by the time we had left Megan had invited us to stay at a caravan in her garden! Such kindness from a total stranger warmed our hearts. We turned up with a cheery smile and a bottle of wine later that evening to be told we were being upgraded to a bedroom. We met Megans husband Rhidian and their two sons and had such a good time, we stayed three nights while we went to visit some tour operators
The most notable operator here was a guy called Matt who was running a shark cage diving operation with a difference, Matt had two USPs, one he was not using any form of chum or burley (operators usually use fish heads and parts to entice the shark) and two he had a submersible dry glass tank that anyone could sit in and watch proceedings whislt having a cuppa! This really opens out the experience to anyone regardless of ability, fantastic! Matt is a larger than life character who readily offered us a couple of trips out and we also swam with sea lions which i really enjoyed.
Adelaide was next on the itinerary and also the realisation that we needed to be in Hervey Bay in early October so we decided to ramp it up a bit. We arrive late in the afternoon to a warm welcome from my cousin John, his wife Sarah and their daughter Rebecca. Wonderful to see how well they are all doing and to meet them properly for the first time really (apart from when John and i were children many moons ago!)
We drank wine and had a lovely meal and were sadly on the way again the next morning.
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