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Travels around the world in search of the bottom of the bucket

“I want to be on the road again, to see things I’ve never seen before, and may never see again.” ~Willie Travel around the world in search of the bottom of the bucket (list) providing information on travel, locations and products for travellers

WANDERLUST: A very strong and irresistible impulse or desire to travel the world

All who wander are not lost

09/03/2024

Waikawa Bay ... lovely day for a swim

09/03/2024

Percy rides again

26/05/2022

Omarama hot tubs !!
(Photo Anthony Williams)

23/05/2022

Relections
Perfect weather for boat envy

22/05/2022

Early light and snow on the ranges

21/05/2022

☀️Sunshine☀️ 8⁰
After 13 of 14 days of rain today we have wall to wall blue sky
Took the backroads, inland, north from Rangiora and the Ashley river
Snow on the back side of the Seaward Kaikouras
Awesome camping spot for the afternoon and night looking out over all the quake exposed seabed near the seal colony

18/05/2022

On the road again
Up over the Poolburn hill and through historic Ophir to Alexandra
Dinner at Monteith's (recommended)
Then back to lake Dunstan for the night (it's blowing a gale) ready to run the Lindis Pass in the other direction in the hope of some sun at the right places

18/05/2022

Enjoying the sunshine in the Ida Valley .. laundry flying in the breeze .. dogs to pet
A very local memory lane remember who lived here tour

16/05/2022

The Ida Valley

The NZ government ran a land grant lottery for returning servicemen after WWII . And that is how Rosebank farm, later renamed Fenlaw, came into the family.
880 hectares of mixed flat and rocky hillside north of the Idaburn about 8km from the village of Oturehua

The school is gone, one of the two churches is a holiday home, and the store is part museum, but the pub/hotel remains.

15/05/2022

A day of history and nostalgia travelling through the Manuherikia... Lauder, Becks, Cambrian .. to Ranfurly.

Grandad Robert Mee was the proprietor of the Old White Horse Hotel and post office from 1909 until he built the new hotel 100 yards up on the other side of the road.
At the same time Grandad James Rutherford was farming a few miles away at Cambrian.

Robert's daughter Pat cooked at the new hotel until she married James' son Stewart upon his return from WWII and moved 'over the hill' into the Ida Valley .... That's tomorrow's story

14/05/2022

The historic town of Clyde (originally Dunstan) grew up during the 1860s gold rush built below😲 the dam on the mighty Clutha river
Current population about 1250

12/05/2022

1⁰ 🌞Lindis Pass🌞

Perhaps due to the brief, but well timed, burst of sunshine Lindis Pass 965m was much more satisfying than the others.
Immense walls of schist rock guarded the way like the entrance to Mordor

In contrast, Lake Dunstan was flat calm, a perfect mirror for the black swans (and hundreds of ducks!)

The color was late this year but we were just a few days later. Not too many really good autumn scenes left.

12⁰c

Late lunch at Lowburn on the west side of the lake ... decided to stay
Perfect timing because by 3pm we had lots of company

11/05/2022

LAKE TEKAPO and PUKAKI

BRRR it was a nippy 2⁰ under heavy grey cloud this morning as we set out around the lakes

Camera angle IS everything... the Church of the Good Shephard ( most photographed in New Zealand) was not nearly as isolated as it seems in most photos.

The sun has finally broken through as we settle into a wonderful camp at Omarama

10/05/2022

BURKE'S PASS

Took the scenic inland route through the endless fields of kale to Glentunnel and Windwhistle but caught nary a glimpse of Mt Hutt through all the cloud and rain
The mighty Rakaia Taniwha gave us a small break in the weather at the top of the Gorge to look down upon what he had made
Turned west at Geraldine towards Fairlie and finally ran into sunshine ☀️ as we crossed Burke's Pass 709m

Parked up just short of Lake Tekapo with 🤞 for 🌞 tomorrow

09/05/2022

In between bands of rain

08/05/2022

ARTHUR'S PASS

Headed into the Otira Gorge under heavy black cloud which quickly gave way to lashing rain as we climbed towards Arthur's Pass (3020ft)

The viaduct was impressive but the wow moment for me was the snow shed and waterfall diversion chute!

Stopped at the historic Otira Stagecoach Hotel (but it was closed) and wondered at the ummm... gargoyle?! 🤣

07/05/2022

WESTWARD HO! LEWIS PASS

Sun losing to the sea fog in Kaikoura
Sunshine across the Lewis pass
Sundown parked up on the Grey River southern breakwater

06/03/2022

sandflies on the west coast

05/03/2022

Constant Bay

The arduous trek over the hills from Canterbury made shipping the only practical supply route back when the coast was settled but the west coast was notoriously dangerous
Ships would hove to off the coast waiting for the signal that conditions were suitable for the long boats to bring out 'the ropes'
Looking out through the cut from the anchor points still visible on shore it is clear that even when the conditions were 'right' the process of winching a ship through the gap was a risky business.

05/03/2022

When the Wild West came to the West Coast

Charleston got on the map not long after Timothy Linehan discovered gold dust in the Nile river in 1865
As with any new gold discovery a 'rush' of people increased the population to 1200 by the next year and eventually to a high of 30 thousand !
It is said there were upwards of 100 hotels most of which included bars and casinos and the gold diggers partied hard
As barmaids had an effective working life of about 6 weeks before they were married off, the Christchurch newspaper ran almost constant ads for replacements.
The gold rush didn't last long, perhaps because it was so much harder to get a result than with panning.

Today there is a tiny train, harking back to the horse drawn one built for the miners, to take tourists up the river to the old digging, from where the more adventurous can walk down through the caves to a point where they float down out of the caves and on down the river.

05/03/2022

A weekend on the west coast without the wet that is so often an integral part 🌞

27/02/2022

Half Moon Bay, Kaikoura

What a difference 2 days makes
A howling southerly, and a temp drop 22⁰ to 12⁰

26/02/2022

We were certainly aware of exactly how much 'sail area' a brick shape of this size presents to gale force cross winds as we made our way down to Kekerengu for the night.
The waves are thundering in on the outgoing tide
It should get interesting as the tide comes in tonight

20/02/2022

PRE FLIGHT CHECK LIST

Dont leave home without it

The most important thing about your list is that you
USE IT … PROPERLY

That doesn’t mean sitting there mumbling down the list check check check
It means being on your feet with either hands or eyes on EVERY single item before you say check

It will save you a LOT of grief believe me

BLINDS
WINDOWS +VENTS
CUPBOARDS
BENCH TOPS
BATHROOM DOOR
GAS OFF
FRIDGE DOOR
ELECTRIC CORD
WATER HOSE
LOG BOOK
TRIP O
SET MAP
STEP
SITE CHECK

20/02/2022

Time to load up
The bed is made and can stay made up. I count that as a big PLUS. I need a step to get into the bed with anything even approaching grace but that is easily remedied at Bunnings for $7.50
Beach shelter, camp stove, beach box
Kitchen drawers lined with that non slip waffly stuff.
Pots, pans, plates and bowls, KFS, bread knife and wooden spoon
Towels, soap, loo roll …. Yes we have a bathroom!
Tablets and charging cords (there is one wireless pad charger too!)
Tire pump 12v, water hose and power cable
Fruit, baguette and pate, wine, sliced ham and potato salad, croissants and OJ

20/02/2022

D-DAY
We have taken delivery of our van
I wasn't kidding when I said it would take up a HUGE amount of our driveway parking
The hard part was getting it in there
The drive needs to be about a foot wider to allow the 90 swing without any back and forth

There is so much to take in when you take delivery of a new vehicle
When you add in the complexity of a fully kitted out campervan … well … I guess it isn't surprising that things get missed

I knew ahead of time that there were a few things ‘missing’
Somewhere along the way some bits had gone missing from the one someone else ordered so they ‘borrowed’ them from the van that was to become ours.
None of the missing items are part of any operating systems so we’re good to go
Let’s move on to checking that everything actually works

SYSTEMS CHECKS
Remember those ‘missing pieces’ ? The camper manual is one of them. All the info on all the bits that go into a conversion is in a manual somewhere in the postal systems of the world

That little issue became a bigger issue when I tried to fill the water tank the first time. The water was pouring out underneath the van as fast as it was going in and I had zero idea why. I knew there was a way to drain the fresh water tank and that was the logical culprit but I had no idea how it was done and the manual ….. Well you get the picture
A late in the day phone call to our VW fanatic mechanic established that there is a clever system for draining the water for winterization
Open a tiny hatch, ensure the valve is in the right position then push a wee blue button. Nope sorry. Still leaking but from a different place
An early morning run past the workshop establishes that all we needed to ‘fix’ the leak was the manual. There are at least three other small blue k***s scattered throughout the tech spaces behind various panels, all of which can be opened to drain the system for winter and of course must be closed to keep the water IN.
Problem solved. Fill the water tank

The missing gas cylinders had been replaced locally, were properly connected and the hob worked

Lights. We have some. And some switches that turn on … something. That will be easier to work out after dark

18/02/2022

Woke up to another wall to wall blue sky day and headed south along the coast to Kaikoura to attend the grand opening rally for a new campground

16/02/2022

wooHOO !! We have our deal !
It’s not perfect but it will give us freedom to camp off grid AND get a good night's sleep

It feels a bit like driving a tank but I’m sure that will pass in just a couple of days
And it will take up a HUGE part of our already tight driveway … definitely compromises to be made there

Full review to follow after I’ve done the town run a few times and we’ve been away for a few days

16/02/2022

Supply chain issues have provided an unexpected advantage

We have been offered a very good deal for the Cali Ocean because … demand!
AND an equally good deal on a Crafter based ‘all grown up kombi’ !

I choose to define campervan as: built inside an existing commercial van base
That’s my justification and I’m sticking to it

I’m a bit sorry I won’t get to do my own conversion and even more sorry it isn’t a Trakka (still hoping to arrange an Akuna when covid is over) but at least we will be able to make some travel choices over the next couple of years

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