Today was the first day of our road trip adventure through New Zealand. Andy had offered to drive us to the rental place, which was really nice of him. We got there at 9:15 am and started by filling out some paperwork. We were helped by a German woman, Helena, who was working there.
Of course, we ended up with some of the extra additions, like heater, bedding, insurance, etc. Hopefully, it will be worth it, well not the insurance. When we drove out from Christchurch, we had to drive through some road work, but we made it through.
It felt really weird to drive a bigger car and to drive on the left. The landscape was really scenic as we drove north. When we got to Hanmer Springs, we found a good parking spot and a grocery store. We loaded up on food and got back to the camper van.
We decided to go to a petting farm, only to find that it was not open on Mondays. But we found other animals to pet as the horses along the walkway proved to be friendly.
We grabbed fish and chips for our late lunch, and then we headed to our first camping site. It was located a bit outside of Hanmer Spring and was free. Being free it only has a couple of public toilets, which is better than nothing.
Arriving at the camping spot, we were alone at first. We unpacked our bags and put our stuff in the cupboards in the van where everything seems to fit. Then we cooked dinner, which was sausage with beans and peas. We managed to cook it on the stove in the van and wash the dishes, but after that, the battery started to run low. So then candles proved to be a good thing to bring. Thanks, mom!
We made our bed in the back of the van and sat down to write these posts. So far everything has been going well, and that’s the way we hope it will continue.
Good night!
Gustav & Linnea