New York Journal : New Zealand - Christchurch & Campervans

2006-11-17

The beds last night made sprongy sounds every time you moved. Tres annoying. Plus it made my back hurt. Anyway I got up at 7 and took a shower. Yay for women's hostels that have blow dryers in the shower. My hairstyle these days is so not wash and wear!

I packed up my stuff and I went downstairs to use the internet ($2). While I'm on the computer I see a wireless router, a d-link router. I was on laptop the previous night and I hadn't picked up any networks. So I tried to get into the admin site. I tried 192.168.1.1 which is what it is for linksys, but I googled and found dlink is 192.168.0.1. Ah yes, another person who left the default admin password to the router. Go you.

I'm more familar with linksys network stuff, so I poked around and couldn't find anywhere with the WEP keys. It seemed to use PAP authentication which was totally unfamilar to me. I could have totally disable their wireless network if I wanted to though. In the end I didn't get on with my laptop which was very disappointing.

I left my bags in their storage closed and did a bit of walking around. Today was Canterbury Fair day which is a public holiday so lots of stores were closed and restaurants were charging a 15% surcharge. I was hungry but I didn't want to pay $12+ 15% for eggs. So I ended up at starbucks with tea and a muffin ($6.60) and no surcharge. After starbucks I poked around a few tourist shops, then I walked over to the Escape campervan depot.

The guy said my van was ready but he needed to finish cleaning a van for a couple who were waiting so could I come back in 30 minutes. I didn't feel like walking around, so I sat in a lounge and did Sudoku puzzles. When he was ready for me I found out that I had gotten an automatic (yeah!). He said as long as people request it with their reservation and not when they show up they can usually get them. My van is painted with an MS Escher theme. Now from the photos I thought it was one of those small vans..not exactly a mini van but the sort japanese small vans. Turns out it's a full size van. I'm glad I'm used to driving my parent's van so this was familar.

The one odd thing is there's no wheel well on the driver's side to get in. You have to place one foot on the step in the front and pull yourself in with the handle. Inside there is a little kitchenette at the back iwth a sink, water tank, cooler, propane burner, and cooking stuff. Then there are 2 sliding doors that open to 2 benches and a table. The tablesdrops down and the benches become a bed with storage underneath and there are curtains all around. All in all it's a pretty nifty use of space.

After I picked up my van I went back to get my bags and got on the road. It had just started drizzling. My goal for the day was to cross through the Southern Alps through Arthur's Pass and get to Greymouth on the west coast. It's about a 225km drive. Rt 73 had steep climbs and drops and some winding spots. And, oh yeah, it was pouring the whole time. I'm sure it's normally a gorgeous drive with mountain top lakes, gorges, and such but it was mostly misty and rainy. It wasn't really worth taking photos. I stopped at the Arthur's Pass visitor's center, mainly to use the bathroom, but I also looked around. Then I got back on the road.

I did stop at one point to take some photos and there were 4 people on sport bikes stopped. I asked on of them how it was on a motorcycle today, and he said it was horrible but at least it wasn't cold. I made my way into Greymouth and found the supermarket where I spent $90 on food that should last me a few days. I had a campground picked out since it's powered sites were $13 vs $24 at other places. The campground is on the beach and my spot is bordered on 3 sides with very high hedges. This is good since it's rather windy out.

One of the interesting things about the motor/holiday camps (aka campgrounds) in New Zealand is that they generally have lounges/camp kitchens. So I went in to make some soup and crackers. There was a family just cleaning up and one guy with this big crazy meal. Their utensil/dish selection is severely lacking and it was kind of ghetto but probably easier than cooking in my van.

After that I went to the beach where the waves are incredible. It was super windy and the sea is so rough with waves breaking one after another. I had organized my van a bit so it wouldn't be so hard to get to bed when it was dark. I hooked up the power cable on got on my laptop to write this. I realized I need to do a little more shopping. I want an electric powered lamp for inside as all I have is my battery lamp. I also want a real mug since everything in here is plastic. Hopefully I'll find a shop in Greymouth. I also think I may have lost my black fleece. I can't remember having it in Christchurch. That would suck, and I'd definitely need to get a new one since the only other jacket I have is my softshell and that's very warm.

One of the nice things is that it really doesn't get dark until after 8pm. Right now it's 8:20 and there's still plenty of daylight out. I've been going to bed around 10pm every night so it's not like I'm going to be hanging out in a dark van much.

Travel Journal:

New Zealand - Christchurch & Campervans

Ratings for


About VCarious \| What People Are Saying \| Share \| Contribute \| Terms \| Site Map \| Links \| Contact Us Copyright © 2006-2008 by VCarious. All Rights Reserved.