NZ Day 0 & NZ Day 1

Sunday, 2 April 2017

 

After a big morning of tidying, organising &  packing we finally left Hobart at 4pm on Saturday and with a pretty quick change in Melbourne and a tailwind to NZ we arrived at our airport hotel in Christchurch at about 1.30am, just in time to put the clocks back for daylight savings.  We were pretty tired, so the extra hour's sleep was much appreciated!

By 9am Sunday we were at the RV centre to pick up our campervan and home for the next 8 nights - the RV centre was mindb lowingly large and well organised. We briefly entertained the possibility of just spending our  time there where we’d have access to unlimited tea and coffee and showers and toilets.  Luckily we were starting to get hungry, so we prised ourself away and went to the next best place… the supermarket carpark..

Refreshed, refuelled and loaded with $350 of groceries (is the South Island more expensive than the North or is everything just expensive now?) we set sail for Christchurch centre to visit the tourist information place and take a quick walk around town.  It was pretty cool - we saw the shipping container mall new art installations and walked via the river and earthquake memorial to the botanical gardens and it all seemed to be buzzing with happy locals and tourists on the beautiful warm Sunday afternoon.


My last visit to Christchurch was when I spent a miserable day there by myself after a horror overnight bus trip from Dunedin back in 1987. Despite the earthquake damage it looked really nice this time around.

Then it was time to really set off...

We’d decided upon Hamner Springs which was an easy 90 minute drive through flat plains towards steep steep hills.  We arrived not much before it got dark but with just enough time to go for a delightlful run on mountain bike trails near our free-campervan parking spot nestled in the forest right outside town.

It’s a lovely place to stay. And it's quite surprising to find such a nice legal place to stay for free. Despite ‘freedom camping’ being a thing in NZ, it seems every council  spends a large proportion of their budget putting up signs telling you where you can’t stay.


Tomorrow we’re going to test out the Hot Springs before heading further north.
2017List
Cool things Wednesday, 3 May 2017
NZ Day 30 - Long Distance Final Sunday, 30 April 2017
NZ Day 28 - Rest Day 3 (HA!) Friday, 28 April 2017
NZ Day 27 - Long Qualifying 2 Friday, 28 April 2017
NZ Day 26 - Long Qualifying 1 Wednesday, 26 April 2017
NZ Day 25 - Rangitoto Island Tuesday, 25 April 2017
NZ Day 24 - Unexpected Outcomes Tuesday, 25 April 2017
NZ Day 23 - Sprint Qualifying Sunday, 23 April 2017
NZ Day 22 - Goodbye Rotorua, Hello Auckland Sunday, 23 April 2017
NZ Day 21 - Rest Day 2 (HA!) Saturday, 22 April 2017
NZ Day 20 - Rotorua Orienteering & Adrenaline Forest Thursday, 20 April 2017
NZ Day 19 - Rotorua Orienteering Thursday, 20 April 2017
NZ Day 18 - Rest Day (HA!) Tuesday, 18 April 2017
NZ Day 17 - Oceania Middle & Rotorua Tuesday, 18 April 2017
NZ Day 16 - Goodbye South Island Tuesday, 18 April 2017
NZ Day 15 - Milford Sound Saturday, 15 April 2017
Milford Track - Day 4 Saturday, 15 April 2017
Milford Track - Day 3 Saturday, 15 April 2017
Milford Track - Day 2 Saturday, 15 April 2017
Milford Track - Day 1 Saturday, 15 April 2017
NZ Day 9 - Pastries and Packing Saturday, 15 April 2017
NZ Day 8 - Pools and Puzzles Sunday, 9 April 2017
NZ Day 7 - More Glaciers & Amazing Views Sunday, 9 April 2017
NZ Day 6 - Gorges and Glaciers Friday, 7 April 2017
NZ Day 5 - Seals & Rocks Friday, 7 April 2017
NZ Day 4 - Old Ghost Road Wednesday, 5 April 2017
NZ Day 3 - Abel Tasman National Park Tuesday, 4 April 2017
NZ Day 2 - Hot Springs and Long Drives Monday, 3 April 2017
NZ Day 0 & NZ Day 1 Sunday, 2 April 2017
NZ (Planned) Wednesday, 29 March 2017