Back again! - Christchurch, New Zealand
Christchurch, New Zealand
We had heard the Arthur's Pass was not to be missed, but we were going to miss it.....unless we popped back over to the East coast and then popped back over the Lewis pass, also meant to be nice. We have a van, a full tank of diesel and the ability to make tea....... What are we waiting for! The journey was ok, the scenery was nice enough, but we have been spoilt by the drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound, no journey could be as beautiful and dramatic as that! We did enjoy seeing Kia's playfully trying to get food from us. When we wouldn't oblige one decided to take his revenge by flying on top of the van, we made a sharp exit hoping it would fly off soon as they are mischievous things and renown for pulling rubber seals, aerials and other things off vehicles. We are not sure at which point it left, but we were glad it wasn't there when we arrived in Christchurch. Needing food, fuel and free wifi to download some radio program's we made our way to 'Pak n Save,' the NZ equilivant of Asda. It's true opposites attract. Rhianwyn's style is get in, get what you need, don't deviate from the list, and get out. Johns style is more one of meander around, get distracted, pick up things on special offer, compare products with what we have back home, sneak a few additional things in the trolley, then eventually pay and wander back to the van. Rhianwyn has developed a way of managing this, or so she thought, by keeping the list and giving John specific things to find. Sadly this is the day that the system broke down, as tired and hungry John wandered off, leaning on the trolley for support, and Rhianwyn was left with an armful of produce, but no trolley hunting the store for him as a ...... Hunts a ????. It was a long slow process, but eventually he was found and showed Rhianwyn the fruits of his wanderings, which sadly were put back on the shelf and replaced by more economical versions (except for the large Cadburys chocolate bars which saved us $2). It has to be said that Rhianwyn has definitely benefited from Johns forays in the supermarket in the treats line, namely cheese scones, chocolate cake and Cadbury creme eggs. Well, with neither of our Mum's on hand to bake us little treats its the next best thing. All things resolved the planned BBQ didn't happen because it was too cold, but we curled up and relaxed back at the campsite we had originally stayed at when we arrived in Christchurch some 4 weeks earlier. The way back to the West coast was via the Lewis Pass. We found this less dramatic but more scenic, although we met a lot of rain and the clouds descended leaving near zero visibility at one point. Also, when we stopped for lunch the dreaded sandflies swarmed the van, meaning we didn't even get out. Small they maybe but their bites itch more than a mosquitoes! We met wide load pilots and duly pulled over only for large lorries pulling one or two trailers to overtake us. How they passed the wide load we don't know as the road is narrow, but they did and we too started once again on our journey Westwards.