My first 2010 morning was waking up hot, sweaty and hungover in a van parked in the suburbs. Feeling quite rough we drove to the beach and I went for a little swim in the sea which made me feel very fresh. We then returned to the skatepark to chill with Andy, Olly and Tom. We didn't actually do anything the whole day, Tom and Olly left and Andy went busking. When Andy came back we went for a skate then chilled outside the van with some red wine.
The next morning we popped to a greengrocers to become a member of WWOOF NZ (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) where you get the opportunity to live and learn on organic farms. Seeing that we give back the van on the 5th of January that'll be some good experience and you work for free food and accomodation. I'll be trying that soon. We also bought cheap tents as we'll no longer be able to sleep in the van. As we had to be in Christchurch to return the van in 3 days we left Nelson heading east towards Blenheim. Blenheim seemed a nice town and the sun was shining but we decided to pass through it and continue driving. The driving through these roads was some of the best, through beautiful vineyards and golden mountains (the grass is dried out by the sun). We ended up on the beach at Kekerengu and stayed there for the night.
Heading south the next day we ended up in Kaikoura which is well known because of the whales close to the shore around here. Inquiring about whale watching there was a waiting list so I'll have to do that back on the way up north. Typically we went in a supermarket where saw our first celebrity, well Kiwi celebrity. We saw Loren Horsley from the film 'Eagle Vs. Shark' which features Flight of the Conchords Jemaine Clement. This was pretty cool.
From Kaikoura we headed to Akaroa where we stayed on the most sublime place ever. We were parked on a mound named Devils gap which over looked a peninsula mountains and the whole Pacific. The next day was to be our last whole day with the camper van. We entered Akaroa where everything was written in French with French flags. We found out this was an old French colony but we didn't stay too long as me and Ian got killed by Hayfever here. We left for Christchurch to start packing our bags and tidy the van. As it was our last night we decided to go out for a meal. We ended up in the American chain 'Denny's Diner' which was pretty good for some cheap priced meals. Then as we were cheap asses we went to Pak'N Save where we bought a huge tub of vanilla ice cream with a pack of oreos and mixed it up together! Way bigger and cheaper than what they were selling hahaha. Our last night was spent in a car park just out of the city, it was sad to think this would be our last sleep after 35 days with the van.
Waking up the next morning we sorted our stuff and went to clean the van, as we didn't want to get fined we paid a modest price to get the van cleaned in and out. Just as we were returning we saw a drive-thru Subway (restaurant)! We thought this is the best way to say goodbye as I've never seen a drive thru Subway, it's was a bit of hassle with the talking box but totally worth it. Dropping it off we were apparently a day late which sucks, so had to pay a bit extra. We returned the van having driven 5,299 km which was rad. So now we have just been chilling around Christchurch staying in the Base hostel. Tomorrow we head north with all intentions for the North Island, in particular Wellington!
It's been 40 days since I left home, yet thats gone so quick!
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