A Day In The Life
                                     

Over all, we have had really good weather  this month.   We had a couple of rainy days in Golden Bay that changed our plans, so  we went south.  Then yesterday and today the two islands were hit by an intense tropical depression that resulted in tons of rain, and high winds, with guts up to 120km.   We just finished three beautiful days in the Fiordlands, and it is absolutely the highlight of the trip.   That will be in the next chapter.   But I thought I would take a few minutes to give you a feel for what a trip like this entails.  (sorry for the big letters.  I'm not shouting)

As previously stated, this campervan deal is not for everyone.   You can rent a car very easily here, and travel to Air B&B's or hotels and see all the same places.  For many that would be preferable, albeit a more expensive route.   You pay for your lodging each night, as well as eating out all the time.  But you have a nice room, with your own bathroom and shower, and no communal kitchen.   Enough said for many people.

For us this has been fun, a bit of an adventure.  Its kinda like a boat trip.  So many cultures and countries target NZ as a top place for a Holiday.  Part of the fun is meeting, or at least observing folks from different places.  New Zealand is a really popular place for Chinese tourists, and many of them stay in Holiday Parks, especially here on the South Island.   I was washing our dinner dishes the other night and there were 5 Chinese ladies in the kitchen preparing the dinner for their families.   (My observation is they like to travel in big family groups)   I just sat back and watched, as it was quite the process.   There was clearly an Alpha lady in charge of dinner.   She was older and a bit taller than the rest, and whatever she said to all of them, they were jumping to.   Maybe she was the Mother, and these were her daughters or daughter-in-law.  I can't see Shelley holding court like this, but each to their own.  They were talking loud, and each handling a piece of the process to cook their lamb shanks.   One was doing vegetables, one was preparing the meat in the roaster pan with some great looking spices, one was doing rice, and one was cooking something of which I had no idea what it was.  It all came together as the Sargent barked her orders, but the end product looked delicious.   One thing is for damn sure, no one argued with her.   It was fun to watch.

There are some other things that jump out at me that I would not see in the US.  There are signs in each bathroom here with pictures of how to properly use the toilet.   You are NOT to stand with your feet on the front of the toilet seat and squat.   You are to sit.   You are NOT to throw your dirty toilet paper in the trash.  It goes in the toilet.  Now the toilet paper, I can understand in some circumstances.   We did that on Rock Chalk, because you just don't put paper down a marine toilet.   But I have not seen that on shore.  Different cultures, different styles, but that was a new one for me.

I have been cooking on the barbeque grill each night....a steak or lamb.   Shelley prepares the rest of the meal in our camper, and we have been eating in the camper at our nice table.   Plus it has been cold, so eating inside has been the only choice.   But if you really want to meet other folks from everywhere, you can eat in the communal kitchen.   That is where the bikers, (as in bicycle, not motor bikes) the backpackers, and the folks traveling by car cook their meal.  It is the center of the Holiday Park culture.   Lots of different languages going on here.   You also have to get used to the public toilets and showers.   We have been staying in what they call the chain of Top 10 Holiday Parks.   It is a franchise, and we discovered that they are much nicer than most.   Their standards are really high, so you have spotless bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms.   It is raining hard today, so we are parked at the Timaru  Top 10 Holiday Park, and I am doing laundry.   Good way to wait out the bad weather.

Last night was not a nice night,  weather wise.   I was feeling for those in tents.   It was blowing, and raining hard.   It still is.   But that does not stop these hardy folks.   They were folding up their wet tents, packing everything that goes on their bicycle or their backpack, and off they went in the rain.  You gotta admire their spirit and drive.

Our little camper has become quite cozy.   It really has been very comfortable..   I like the fact that we unpacked once....in Auckland.   Shelley and I each brought only one carry on small suitcase, so we don't have much to unpack, but it was nice to only have to do it once.  We have traveled 4500 km so far, and done laundry three times, but have not had to pack and unpack every day of travel.  I like that.

One convenience of modern life is really important to us.   That is a good internet connection.   This camper has a great router.   So we have been able to use the internet, check email, pay bills, etc. just like we were home.   What is kind of weird in my mind, is that Shelley is on a Netflix kick.   Not movies I'll have you.   No.   It is food documentaries.   Really, our daughter in law, Trisha, would be so proud.   We have seen a three part series on three Australian chefs who threw a party for 250 people in Hobart, Tasmania using only locally Australian sourced food and wine.  Three hour long shows!
Then there was the Fannie Farmer documentary where a chef in America's Test Kitchen wanted to prepare a meal for 12 in his house, using an old wood stove and all the methods that our fore fathers used in the 1700's.   Tittalating.     Right now, I am getting ready to put some salmon on the barbie, and she is searching for our next big show.

                 

 The front seats both rotate from their driving position 180 degrees and become our chairs at the table.  The best thing is that it has a really strong Wi-Fi router in the van, so we have a good connection almost everywhere.

The entire back of the camper is a king bed with steps leading up

Shelves overhead for all our clothes

Shelley has always been very good from our boating years for cooking in a small galley.

And we are used to a small head.

This one is pretty creative in that the entire right wall which holds the sink and mirror swings on that middle pole to reveal a shower.    Cool

New Zealand has hundreds of Holiday Parks that I have described before.  You can plug in and have use of the showers, toilets and kitchens.   But you can also do what they call Freedom Camping in thousands of different places.   That sounds attractive and there have been several places where if it had been warmer, we would have stayed.   It sounded romantic, you know, complete freedom, stay on a beach or lakeside.   The trade off for me is that you have no hot shower, and the toilet is not so desirable a "Long drop" as they call it.   For $30 I'll check into a Holiday Park and make dinner with the world.