Rotorua - Stinky Town

While I am driving all these thoughts come across my mind that I would like to write here on the blog but when I sit down to write it is all gone - my mind is blank. When we get to camp, by the time we eat and do other things, explore around, it is time to go to bed.
Today we didn't drive very far. We had an easy morning, drove only 133 kilometers from Turangi to Rotorua. We made a couple of stops along the way. Again, quite a bit of traffic on the road because of the long weekend and a lot of police cars. Got stopped again today in a road block and had to do a breath test, passed without any problems. One of the many bikers ahead of us got pulled off.
Driving around in the motor home after two weeks is routine now and driving on the left side is no trouble at all. However there is always something we forget when we get going. Either a cupboard door or a drawer is not shut properly, propane bottle is not shut off or a widow is open somewhere. Today the fridge wasn't closed properly and a few things flew out, luckily nothing spilled or broke. Yesterday we had a few issues and as luck would have it it was in the city and I could not pull over. One of they cuppoard door latches above the sink fell apart and Michael had to stand there hold on so he doesn't fall and hold the door closed so that nothing falls out. I had to find a place to stop and temporary fix the latch.
This motor home is fairly new, it has only 22 000 kilometers on it but there were quite a few rattles when we starlet out. We got a lot of the rattles fixed now. First thing was the glasses and cups. Jana now has paper towels between them and that helped a lot. Then there was a very annoying loud clanging sound coming from one side of the drop-down bed. It was screeching and clanging so loud that we could not stand it. While we were driving Phillip was observing where the noise is coming from. It took us a couple of days to find the source of the noise. There are pins that hold the bed up and one of them was hitting the metal plate behind the catch. We made a couple of adjustments to the cables that hold the latch and got rid of that irritating noise. The only noise that is left now is a screeching noise when we go over a big bump or a speed bump, it sounds like the rear springs. We met a few other campers build on the same chassis as our camper and they all make the same noise so that is probably how they are. Overall we are very happy with the motor home.
One of the challenges we still have is that Phillip and Michael are sleeping on the drop down bed that is right over the table and most mornings it is a challenge to get one of them motivated to get out quickly enough so that we can raise the bed and get going with breakfast. We offered to trade places with them but they didn't want our bed because it is smaller and that would not work for them apparently.
One of the neat things we discovered in this motor home is how to make the bathroom into a drying room at night. We shut off the heating vents everywhere and leave the bathroom vent open as well as the roof vent and it dries our towels at night. The camper has a really nice bathroom and a shower but we used the shower only once so far when we freedom camped. All but one night we stayed in holiday parks where they have nice showers and bathroos so we use their facilities. We use the bathroom at night or when we are on the road. Phillip hasn't used the bathroom even once and today he proclaimed that he made it his challenge not to use the toilet in the camper at all.
I was hoping to do more freedom camping here but it is getting more difficult. They are trying to make people use the holiday parks more because it is good for business and mostly to keep the place clean. I am sure it is because of iresponsible people that the good things disappear. Camper van business here in New Zealand is big, they are everywhere.

As I mentioned already, today we arrived in Rotorua. Rotorua is the most unique area on the North Island. Unless you plan to visit Yellowstone, Iceland, or Kamchatka Russia, then Rotorua is the most active geothermal area you’ll EVER See! That’s right, few places on this planet have boiling pools as golf-course hazards. First sign of this amazing geothermal activity we witnessed was about 20 kilometers south of Rotorua. I saw some smoke coming out on the side of the road, I thought it was a grass fire that was put out. Then I saw place on the other side of the road with smoke coming out of the ground. It wasn't until the smell of sulfur entered the van that it hit me it was not smoke but steam coming out of the ground. It is quite weird to see steam coming out of the ground from someone's back yard or a field.

We turned off the highway to WAIOTAPU THERMAL WONDERLAND. It wasn't cheep to get in he he park but then how often do you see stuff like that. There were many steeming holes and caves with diferent collors around the vents, pools and cascades. I liked the boiling deep pool with some king of orange crust just below the suface around the edge. The funny thing was that the best part of this geothermal wonderland was outside of the park borders and was accessible for free. This fun part were the mud pools. It was very entertaining to watch. I will not make a comparison here as to what the sounds and sights of the mud pools reminded me of - but some of you might get the idea. This pool is filled with mud of different consistency, some fairly thick mud and some parts were quite thin paste like mud. There is steem coming out and bubbles and mud spits and sprays up in the air - lot of fun to watch.

Tonight we are staying in a holiday park by the lake Rotorua. There are a couple of hot pools right in the camp - they get the hot water from a bore 30 meters below the campground and it comes to the surface into two large stainless steel tanks where the mineral water cools and in the process heats the hot water for showering. Then once the water cool from about 100 degrees to 42 the it runs in to the pools. They even have a steem oven where you place your food and it cooks - recipes are included. Some areas of the campground are so hot that you can't walk barefoot. The camp is right by the lake Rotorua and we went down to the beach to dig a hole for a personal hot tub. We didn't succeed tho because the water was so hot that we could not even keep our feet in it. Walking along the path to the lake it sound like there are kettes with boiling water all around. Really cool to see - not to smell however. Even in the motorhome we can smell end sulfur.

Well this is all for tonight.

Wellington

So the last two nights we spend in Wellington, right downtown by the ferry terminal, the New Zealand Post building and close to the train station. Just up the street was the parliament building, the treasury and the reserve bank. Along the shore were many restaurants, coffee shops, galleries and other interesting places. Here is a couple of pics from our camp in Wellington.

Yesterday we walked so much I got a blister on my right foot. We started out going to see the old St. Paul Anglican Church. I am not going to tell you about the history and such, google it and you will find the details, but all I will tell you is that It is constructed from New Zealand native timbers, with stunning stained glass windows. I enjoyed the wooden structure. I was sorry I didn't bring by tripod and wide angle lens, it would have been a good picture. I just snapped a couple of pictures and here is one to show you.

After that we walked to the other side of downtown to Te Papa. Te Papa is New Zealand’s national museum, renowned for being bicultural, scholarly, innovative, and fun. We spent about an hour and half there and then went to get something to eat. There was a gaming exhibition at Te Papa and Michael wanted to go back and see it so he went back while Phillip, Jana and I went for coffee and ice cream thinking that by the time we are done Michael will be done exploring the exhibition. Michael spent the next three hours there, we ended up going to get some groceries and then went back to camp to wait for him. Once Michael came back we headed up the cable car and walked back through botanical gardens. So a lot of walking and lot of exploring. The cable car was very similar to the one in Prague going to Petřín.

When we got back to camp it was getting dark. We got some chicken skewers earlier while we were waiting for Michael so I pulled out the BBQ to make supper. One of the things I got to suggest to the camper rental people is to include BBQ brush with the BBQ. I ended up scraping it with an old wooden spoon - it all turned very good, also roasted some veggies.

One of the challenges while camping in the city was the noise. The engine rumble from the ferry that was docked in port right next to the camp was very annoying. The ferry left at 8:50 pm but was back at around 5 am and it was hard to sleep with the noise. There was some action at night as well - about five police cars chasing a speeding car through downtown - I am guessing he had to be doing well over 100 km/h through the streets of downtown. Overall I really enjoyed Wellington, very nice city.

Today we left the camp just after 10 am. We drove up to Mount Victoria to have a 360 degree view of Wellington, snapped a few pictures there and then had a late breakfast and coffee with a view. Apparently they also filmed some Lord of the Rings scenes there. Then we headed North out of Wellington while looking for a dump station which turned out to be an experience - took us almost an hour to find one. To make a long story short, by the time we got going it was almost two o'clock.

We drove about 355 km today and are camped just south of Lake Taupo. I was hoping we would make to Waikite Valley thermal pools where we could have a soak, but it would be another hour drive and the pools close at 9 pm. Oh well, we will soak later.

I sure miss the South Island. As I mentioned before the traffic down on South Island was virtually nonexistent. Here we were driving in traffic all day today. To make things worse it is Easter weekend this weekend and people are already traveling today. There was police cars everywhere today. Just as we're were getting close to our destination tonight we passed a police cruiser parked on the side of the road in the opposite direction. As we passed him I kept my eye on him in the rear view mirror - not sure why one does that. Just as I lost sight of him in the mirror and forgot about him, flashing lights appeared. Mr. NZ police comes flying by and a whole bunch of cars in front of us and then just turns his lights off and keeps driving in front of the line up. I kept thinking what that was all about when he pulls off on a wide shoulder and waits until we get close and pulls us off. I knew I didn't do anything wrong but still the hart rate went up a bit and I kept wondering if there was some NZ rule that I might have missed. He walks up to the window and asked me if I am traveling together with the caravan behind me. I told him that I am not. He then told me that I should take every opportunity to pull to the side of the road and let she traffic behind me pass. Then he told me that it is probably more a fault of the caravan behind me that there was such a line behind us. And he was right, of course. After I shared this episode with the lady at the camp office - she told me that the police is out because of the long weekend. Apparently last year they had no fatalities from accidents during the Easter weekend and they want to keep it that way this ear. In New Zealand you can drive speed limit plus ten. During long weekends it is speed limit plus four - if you are over you get a ticket. Good job NZ police.

Well it is quarter to one and I should go to sleep. But before I go here is couple of things we learned so far. The Kiwis use "cheers" instead of thanks. And do you know what whey call shopping carts? Trundler or trolley - Phillip and Michael sure finds this funny, especially trundler.

Well I am off to our small bed. Tomorrow if I get to it I will share some more stuff.

Here is a couple of pictures of Wellington.

First Night on the North Island

Well, tonight is the first night on the North Island. Also tonight we are staying right downtown in the capital city of New Zealand - Wellington. The camp is basically a parking lot in the downtown by the waterfront with buildings with toilets and showers. Out of our window we can see the ferry docking on one side and the tall buildings of downtown on the other side.

It is quite a switch from the peaceful South Island where we spent past 11 days. The population density of South Island is 7 people per square kilometer and the density of the North Island is 30 people per square kilometer just to give you an idea. Or in another words the South Island is about 33% larger but only 23% of the population live there. So I guess that explains why they can get away with one lane bridges on their main highways. So now in to the busier part of New Zealand.

One of many one lane bridges on the South Island

Somewhere north of Queenstown

Sheep crossing

Lake Alexandra - stayed here one night

It sure was a pleasure spending time on New Zealand South Island. We drove 2286 km and in total 36 hours driving it. Our average fuel consumption of the motorhome was 11.2 liters per 100 kilometers which is very impressive for this size of motorhome. We enjoyed the slow pace of life there and the peaceful camps we stayed at.

The last couple of nights we stayed at Marahau, just south of the Abel Tasman National Park. It was the first time we stayed in one camp for two night in a row - that was a nice break, not driving for a whole day. It was a a beautiful place. We went for a hike on the Abel Tasman National Park trail. We took a water taxi to the Anchorage - a nice bay along the trail and then hiked back to camp. We walked for 12.8 km. We visited several beautiful beaches and took a swim in the Tasman Sea. The temperature was 23 degrees and the water was about the temperature of our lakes in the summer. The beaches were golden sand that are created by the salt water braking up the granite shore. Apparently the granite contains iron and the salt water corrodes it which cause the granite to fall apart creating these awesome beaches. In the evening we finally got use the BBQ we got with the camper van and made some New Zealand steaks - the turned out well.

Proof that I was swimming in the Tasman Sea

The beaches were wonderful

Cormorant and some other bird

One of the interesting experiences was taking the water taxi. I purchased the tickets for the taxi and was told to go over to the next door building to wait for the pick up. In a few minutes a big Ford tractor turned the corner pulling a trailer with a boat on it and passengers sitting in the boat. He pulled in the parking spot and dropped a ramp up to the boat and we were instructed to get on board. There were already eight passengers on board. Then the skipper got on the tractor and drove down the road and down the boat ramp and it to he middle of the bay. On the way we met another tractor with a boat on a trailer that pulled up right next to us and a few passengers hopped on to our boat. Then the skipper came on board of the boat and another guy drove our tractor even further until the boat started to float, then we took off. The beach there is so long that they need to use this way to get the boats in the water - it works well.

So far the north of the South Island is my favorite part of New Zealand the scenery, the beaches and the climate but we had to push on and make our way to the North Island. The ferry crossing was good, we were on the largest ferry that crosses the Cook Straight. It can take up to 600 cars and 1600 passengers. There are two ferry companies that run between the two islands, Bluebridge and Interislander. We went on the latter and the ship was called Kaitaki. The ship could use a bit of updating but overall was nice. The first hour and a bit we spent sailing through the Queen Charlotte sound, then almost two hours across she Cook Strait and the last part was sailing into the Wellington Harbour. In total the crossing took three hours and twenty minutes. I was interesting to see that they use big chains to tie down the semis and the trucks, apparently the crossings can get very rough. We had great weather and very smooth sailing.

Tonight we went for a walk in the downtown of Wellington and got some groceries, made a really nice stir fry and then went for another walk to take some pictures of Wellington at night, we will see how it turns out. We have had some discussions here about whether Wellington is a big city or not, Phillip is claiming that it is not a big city while we feel that at 395 600 people it is a big city. Well, we can all have our opinion I guess, it's just that some people are more opinionated than others.

We will be staying here for two nights. Tomorrow we will explore the highlights of the city and I will try to update the information here.

I will also add more pictures here once I go through them s check back later. Good night.

 

After a Long Pause.

It's been five days since my last post.  I knew it would be difficult to keep up the blog but I was determined that I would keep it up.  Well it is tough to get motivated at the end of the day to spend time to write this up.  It was a busy week, we did a lot of driving - 2086 km in total which took about 34 hours.  I am quite proficient at emptying the grey water, the "cassette" and filling up with fresh water.  The other things I have been doing is a bit of cooking - usually breakfast and also washing some dishes.   Motivating some of the crew to get up in the morning, driving gingerly so that the laptops aren't flying off the table and nobody gets sick takes some patience and energy. And so between covering all this distance and all this other stuff - not much time and energy left for keeping up the blog.

Here is the course we covered so far:


View Larger Map

I am not sure where to begin with my experiences and impressions so I will just write it as it comes to mind.  Hopefully I will not repeat what Jana already wrote on her blog. It is a late now and tomorrow we have a bit of hike planned in the Abel Tasman National park so I will not be to long.  I haven't had a chance to even download all the pictures (not that there is a lot) and so I might just post a picture or two.

After a week in New Zealand these are my observations etc.  The scenery is a lot like British Columbia.  We drove through areas that looked like Okanagan, in fact the Central Otago region is almost all like some parts of Okanagan in the summer. Queenstown is like a combination of Banff planted in Peachland.  We also drove through parts that looked like Beskydy in Czech Republic - rolling hills with mixed forests with sheep.  Around Lake Tekapo with the mountains in the background it looks like Rocky Mountains.  So far the most foreign or different scenery has been along the east coast and up north here.

The cities are nice, clean - in fact I have yet to see a place that has junk around.  Everything is neat and clean and even if the buildings are old, they are well kept.  Even the little towns we drove thorough are very nice and clean and maintained.  Most cities even the smaller ones we went through or explored have some kind of garden - a botanical garden with all kinds of various trees, shrubs and many flowers and a fountain.  So far the largest and nicest we seen was in Christchurch.  We have also seen many churches similar to the ones in Europe made from stone with bell towers that ring the bells on the hour - feels like back in Czech Republic.

Even tho this country looks a lot like BC it has a very European feel to it.  Cars are like in Europe, smaller, no big North American cars or pickups.  A large percentage of vehicles are diesel like in Europe. The big semi trucks are like in Europe with trailers that are wrapped it tarp like material.  The traffic signs are like in Europe as well.  And as I already mentioned the stores have a European feel and smell to it as well.

There are some things here that are a bit less then in North America and even in Europe.  I think that the selection in goods are a bit more limited.  For example in the grocery stores the deli counters have less of a selection and over all there is not as many choices as you would get lets say in Save On Foods in Canada.  However everything you need is there - and ind some way maybe it is better - less to fuss over.  The internet is very limited everywhere.  We were in Starbuck once in Dunedin and you only get free 30 minutes and even that is very slow and limited.  All the wifi connections we had so far were very very slow.  The best connection we have so far is on our iPhones but we only have 2 GB so we are careful with the use as we use it to look up campground info and other travel info.  Coverage is so far good - only few places where we were not able to get signal.

A bit about coffee.  They don't drink drip coffee here.  Today we had a lesson on coffee here in New Zealand.  These are some of the coffees.  Short black, long black, flat white, latte and cappuccino.  Short black is basically an expresso, long black is an expresso with more water in it, flat white (most popular here and my favourite) is expresso with steamed milk and late is same just more milk in it.  So when we go out for coffee we have flat white. We don't go too often because small flat white is usually between $3.80 to $4.20 and is is small.  We did find a great coffee for the french press that was in the camper van (motor home) so we make our own and use a good cream with it.

The last two days we are on the north of the south Island - so far our favourite place.  Rolling hills with mountains in the background, even though it is the warmest and the most sunny part of the island it is more green then the rest we seen so far further south.  Orchards, vineyards, sheep and turquoise ocean with beautiful beaches - incredible combination.  In Blenheim it was very interesting - one side of the valley is like the hills in the Okanagan and then mountains behind it and the other side of the valley are treed green hills - very interesting.  Apparently the climate here is really awesome even in the winter it gets warm sunny days so that you can walk around in t-shirt and around four pm you have to put on a jacket.

As we walked around today I made a point to strike up conversations with the local people and shop owners and most that I talked to were from Europe - Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland.  Most are here because they wanted more space and because they liked the climate end the easy going lifestyle.  Here up north it is a bit more busy than it was south.  But overall very relaxed pace - no traffic, in fact most days we drove and we would see cars maybe every 5-10 minutes.

The roads here are a bit rougher - mostly seal coated so it is noisy and bit bumpy and narrow.  There are no paved shoulders so basically the line of the edge of the road is on the edge - you really have to pay attention when driving because you go across the line and you are in trouble.  This is also difficult when trying to enjoy the scenery as you drive and especially when you want to pull over and take a picture - no room.  Luckily because there is so little traffic we just slowed down or went off the road a few times.  Even the main state highways have one lane bridges - and very narrow ones.  The ones that are two lane - are so narrow that our left wheels are rubbing the curb when passing oncoming camper van or a truck on a bridge and it never fails there is one when you are crossing one of these bridges.  And the bridges here are long.  There are many many camper vans here - all kinds of them - this is really popular here and a big business.

Well I think this will be all for tonight it is getting late.  I will try to get a few more pics on tomorrow as we have wifi for the next 24 hours.

Finally Some Pictures

This is going to be a very brief post. Instead I will post a link to Jana's blog who is doing a really good job. All I will say that I finally had a chance to take a couple of pictures so I will post them bellow. They are on my Picasa album as well.

Here is Jana's blog: http://jana-nz-reflections.blogspot.co.nz/

And here are a couple of pictures.

 

 

Second Day In Review.

The good new is - we no longer smell the cow pie that was stuck to the bottom of our motorhome. The bad new is - it was cloudy and raining all day. It was raining at night but as we were leaving the campground the sun came out only to disappear in the clouds again.

We started out from Geraldine this morning after a nice breakfast - eggs, cereal and nice New Zealand coffee. Cleaned up, drained all the waste and filled up with fresh water. Grumpy (his name not his nature), the owner of the campground, gave us a tip. He suggested we empty the waste in he morning but fill up with fresh water at our destination, this way we don't have to carry extra weight and save fuel. I am sure that is good strategy but I think the few cents we would save in fuel are not worth the inconvenience of running out of water. So far the average mileage we are getting according to the vehicle computer is 11.41 liters per 100 km. We will see what it is is when I fill up and calculate it.

We headed out West to lake Tekapo and then to lake Pukaki. When we started out the landscape went from flat green farmland to rolling hills and shortly after that to a landscape almost identical to the area between Kamloops and Cash Creek, dry mountainous or hilly landscape with no trees. At times it felt like we were driving home to 100 Mile House from one our trips to Kamloops.

Lake Tekapo and Pukaki are glacial lakes with turquoise water and a beautiful mountainous background. However, due to the cloudy and rainy weather we did see part of the lake but no mountains. The spectacular view of Mt. Cook I saw online and in magazines was not available today. We took a drive up a view point, took some pictures and that was it. After some inquiries about he weather forecast we decide we will not hang around there and head south, back to the Pacific Ocean. We headed to see the famous Moreaki Boulders and hopefully some yellow eyed penguins. This is where we are now. We tried to find a Freedom Camping site but could not find it so we eventually pulled into a paid Moreaki Holiday Park (RV campground). We will go see the boulders tomorrow.

I think that my brain finally switched to the driving on the wrong side of the road because it was almost second nature today. I also got the feel for the motorhome, so now I am not constantly checking the rear view mirror to see how close I am to the edge of the road and am actually enjoying some of the scenery. We did come close to a oncoming car when I was trying to open a window for Jana as she was trying to take a picture of the many sheep herds. There is sheep everywhere - brown ones, light colored ones with dark heads, with full coat and without a coat. There is something peaceful about sheep - later on we will pull over and take some nice pictures.

Once we got to the coast we came to a town and went to get a few groceries. So far we have been shopping at Countdown - similar to Save-on-foods but more European. Even the smell in the store is similar to what it is in the stores in Europe, I think it is the detergents that make it smell like that. The town we were in was called Oamaru, very nice town. If it wasn't pouring I would have taken some pictures.

As we were driving along today I was comparing what I saw and experienced so far to Canada. I am certainly enjoying New Zealand but when one lives in a place like BC, it is hard to see sights that will trump that. But then we only had two days here and haven't seen a whole lot yet.

I am very happy and pleased how everything is going so far, Phillip and Michael are fun to be with, no complaining about driving or anything. It is helpful to have a couple of laptops that keep them entertained on some of the longer (or shorter) drives. I am sure we will have many nice memories from this trip.

Well I think I will wrap it up for tonight. I am looking forward to tomorrow and what new sights, smells and experiences it will bring.

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First Impressions and More

The last entry was completed as we were descending in to Christchurch. Now we have had a day and half here so I will share some of the first impressions and experiences.

We went to bed early and I was expecting that we would all be up early but we all slept well until 8 am.

Now I don't know what about you but when I come to a new place the smell of the air is one of the things that I notice. When we got out of the airport we smelled jet fuel and such so nothing there. When we arrived at Wilderness camper van rental place and we got out of the car it felt like I was in Chilliwack, BC. Those who drove through Chilliwack know what I am talking about. Even if you are blind folded you can tell when you arrive in Chilliwack because it smells like manure, and this is what I smelled. It is quite flat around Christchurch and they say there is lot of sheep and cows in New Zealand so I guess it made sense.

We got the paperwork for the rental done and got a crash course on the operation and use of our motorhome. No drama there - very similar to our trailer except the hook ups are a bit different. It seems that here there are no full hook ups at the "holiday parks", only the power gets hooked up. The fresh water gets filled up as needed and gray water emptied. The toilets are cassette type so when full the cassette gets pulled up and taken to a dump station, emptied and then flushed - more on this later. I appointee Phillip as the official cassette technician but he kindly declined.

After we got to the holiday park and got settled we walked around a bit, walked to the mall and had late lunch, got a few groceries for supper and breakfast and had a nice shower. The holiday park had a really nice facilities - again more on this later with pictures. As I was changing my shoes by the pick-nick table by our motor home I realized that the "Chilliwack" smell was only around our motor home. To confirm this I went for a short walk and when I came back, sure enough, it was only around the vehicle that I smelled manure. I looked under and sure enough some one must have driven through some serious cow pies as the bottom of the vehicle is covered with this smelly stuff. I hope that we will get a good shower soon to wash this off. Luckily it isn't really bad and only noticeable down wind.

But seriously now - the smells of new places always make an impression on me. Here in Christchurch I felt like I arrived back in my home country of Czech Republic. As we walked around Christchurch I felt like I was transported back to the time when I was a kid in Czechoslovakia. I kept wondering what it is that makes me feel like this. Without mentioning anything, Phillip stated that he feels like he is in Czech Republic. We both came to a conclusion that the reason the smell reminds us of Czech Republic is because of the trees. There is a lot of deciduous trees, lot of oaks and the smell of the trees combined with the smell of the traffic in the city (mostly diesel) was one of the things that reminded us of Europe. But besides that there is a lot of other similarities. The vehicles are more like in Europe with most of them being diesel. The houses and architecture is more like in Europe - brick and stone buildings with metal and clay tile roofs.

We have only been here a day and half so this observation might not be very accurate but this is what I see. New Zealand is an interesting mix, feels like Europe mixed with Canada and Australia. I guess we will see try to understand it more later.

Walking and driving around Christchurch, we realized the magnitude of the 2011 earthquake. There are 1600 buildings that are still being fixed, restored or rebuilt. There are hundreds of road closures and detours as they are still repairing all the damage. Cracked walls, fences and retaining walls all over the place. We walked around the Red Zone and there are many piles of rubble, many excavators crushing concrete and removing debris, buildings tied together and supported with steel beams. It will be along time yet before everything is going to be rebuilt.

In the afternoon we drove up a big hill to Victoria Park and had a view of the city and the Pacific Ocean. We decided then that we will head south of town towards Lake Tekapo. We made it about 100 + kilometers south of Christchurch to Geraldine. Found a nice holiday park in the country.

Driving round today was a bit interesting, driving a motorhome on the wrong side of the road can be a bit of fun. To make things worse this vehicle is an automatic, but it fells like a manual and somebody is shifting very slowly for you. It doesn't have P position so first time I parked it I put it to what I thought was a park, but it was actually neutral and the van started to roll backwards. When we stop, I have to leave it in the gear and pull the e-brake. Driving around Christchurch is really challenging because of all the road construction, the lanes are narrowed down and corners are tight in many places where they are rebuilding. So driving was a real fun today. Later we got out on the highway and it got better. The good thing is that the trip computer is showing me that the average fuel consumption is 11.61 liters per 100 km. We will know the real mileage when we refuel.

It is 11:30 now and we are in bed. So in the morning I will go to the very very slow wifi zone here and will attempt to upload it. The wifi and Internet here is not as common as back in Campbell River and for some reason 80 % of my mobile data got used up today, still don't know how and the telecom coverage is almost nil here. Might have to upload later.

Good night.

We Made It - First post from New Zealand.

Well, 11,492 km and fourteen and half hours later we made it safely to New Zealand. It is amazing the distance one can travel in such a short time. The speed was Mach 0.83 or about 850 km per hour at about 10 - 11 km in the air with temperatures of - 51 degrees Celsius. What wonderful machines these planes are, flying 14 hours non-stop in such conditions carrying 300 people this far.

As I was sittings there falling asleep while the plane was bobbing around in the turbulent air, I was wondering how long it took Captain Francis Drake, Captain Cook and the like to make the trip across the Pacific. However long it was it was quite an adventure. Now the travel is so easy and so common that one takes it for granted - it's really no big deal. I remember when we made our first long trip in an airplane from Amsterdam to Montreal when our family emigrated to Canada. When we landed everyone cheered and applauded, I think at that time trips like this were special, now it is common. It will probably not be long and we will be able to make trips to space and not think twice about it - what do you think?

I was quite worried about the fourteen plus hours on the plane. About an hour after we took off we were served a meal. We all chose the curried chicken and rice. I actually enjoyed the meal. After that I watched an episode of Top Gear UK - 50 Years of James Bond Cars. Before we left we purchased these long pillows and so I warped it around my neck and relaxed to see if I will fall asleep - I usually have trouble sleeping in the plane. I did drift off and every now and then when my neck or legs were getting sore I changed position. When I got up to go to the loo, the steward told me we only have three and half hours left. What a relief, what felt like a couple of hours of turning around in my seat ended up as seven hours of sleep - not bad at all.

As I am writing this, we are on the last leg to our destination. Right now we are almost half way between Auckland and Christchurch. Phillip just pulled out his Physics 12 textbook and notebook to do a bit of school work. Both Michael and Phillip are missing eight days of school and they will have to do a bit of work to stay in the loop.

After we land it will be nice to get our home on wheels, find a campground and take a nice shower.

We just started our descent to Christchurch. I will have to wait until we get to a hotspot to post this. There is no picture for now but we will do an update later.

Last one from Canada.

It's almost time to board. This is the post from the North American continent. I was already told that I am posting way too much and nobody will read it - so I will cut down on the frequency and the amount.

On the way to the airport we came up with a challenge. Who will be the first to make a friend in New Zealand. We are still not clear if it has to be a Kiwi or anyone - but we will clarify this later, after all we have over 14 hours to figure that our.

We are boarding a Boeing 777 at 6:30 and will be sitting there for over 14 hours. Our iDevices are loaded up with games, music, movies, podcasts, books so there is no shortage of entertainment. We also have Gravol so hope this will knock me out a bit and I will get some sleep as well.

Next post will be from Auckland. We have over five hours before our next flight to Chrischurch so I will do an update.

Here is our bird.

YVR Bound

This is the third time we are going to the airport using the Sea Bus and the Skytrain. It is the most relaxing way to the airport. No fighting traffic and getting lost, no unexpected delays, just sit and relax. We just got out of the tunnel and over the bridge now. Hope all will go smoothly at the airport. Last time we flew to the US and we were standing on the US customs line for hour and half. Not flying to or through US should be no problem.

Officially On Vacation.

After frustrating day trying to get everything done, packed and prepared - all is in the trunk of the car and we are parked in the BC ferry parking lot waiting for the 9 pm ferry to Vancouver. We will stay in Vancouver tonight. Tomorrow morning we will go over to the Apple store to get Michael's iPod fixed and then at 3 pm we will head out to the airport. I have mixed feelings about the 14 hour flight to Auckland - we will see how it will go. 

Michael and Phillip are passing the time by playing hack.