I'm back from Campervan Break

Sunrise in Kaiteriteri

Quiet breakfast in Camper Van

Arnett overlooking Picton Harbour.

Hello everyone,

I'm back safe and sound from the Camper van Holiday. (sorry priests don't have holidays they have rests, that's what I was told. I always remember my Prior in Quarr Abbey saying that he loved to go away often because it was always nice to have happy returns. I digress) The whole Camper van experience was really great. I thoroughly enjoyed travelling that way. The van was much easier to drive than a car because one has a much better view of of the whole road and could anticipate potential dangers a lot more early than you could in a car, and here in New Zealand you need to. The driving though fairly sedate, (too sedate at times) can be dangerous. In England we are taught in driving lessons, mirror, signal mirror and manoeuvre, here they do the opposite without the mirrors. In other words they manoeuvre then if you are lucky they signal.

People very rarely stop behind the white lines at give ways signs, if they stop at all. They very rarely stop and let you through, there is very little courtesy, and they would rather block you in then let you out. If you try to overtake on a narrow stretch of road, instead of slowing down to assist you they invariably put their foot down to make it harder. There are so many head on crashes in this part of the world and that is one of the reasons. Another trait of the New Zealand motorist is to eyeball you especially if you are a pedestrian. One day the devil got into me and as somebody was eyeballing me I pulled out my tongue and shook my head. The good thing about it was that it was before Lent.

One of the main sources of accidents or as the new PC word is collisions (Hot Fuzz) are the young people. Here in New Zealand the driving age is 15, yes that is right 15. Can you imagine a 15 year old in charge of a supped up motor car, its a lethal combination. One hears so much about the deaths of young people or the accidents that they cause. Another added incentive for the young to be wild is because the laws in New Zealand makes it virtually impossible for them to be touched by the police. There is a great problem here with boy racers with cars that sound as if they have blown a gasket. After twelve o'clock the boy racers come out fueled up with alchol and let rip. The early planners of the town unknowingly made a race track for them and the police seem to have no ability to stop them. The roads are full of doughnuts and skid marks. There is a streach in Moorhouse Avenue where the gutter is full of broken beer bottles which are thrown out of the boy racers windows.

The reason for this outburst by me is just to warn people that this lovely country is not all sweetness and light. There are many dangers lurking in the background. After saying all that, because one is aware of the dangers one can avoid them. It is best not to drive too far at night and if at all possible do your driving during school hours when most of the young drivers are at school. Once you get out of the main centers driving is much easier and can be enjoyed as there is not too much traffic on the road.

Back to the Camper van break. It was great and we saw lots of places. I took Uncle Arnett to many of the places that he and Aunty Evelyn travelled to when she was alive. Kaikoura, Blenheim, Picton, , Havelock, Nelson, Rabbit Island, Molueka, Kaiteriteri, Takata, Collingwood, Murchison, Reefton, Greymouth, Hamner Springs and back to ChristChurch. We did well over a thousand miles in eight days, which wasn't too bad. Each time we saw the old places uncle had been too he would tell me stories of what happened to him and Aunty Evelyn. Usually about how his old Morris with the side valve got him everywhere. It would chug along slowly but with purpose getting over one hill after another and through one scenic reserve after another, prompting the girls to keep saying 'Not another scenic reserve.' It was good to see uncle smile and laugh as he remembered all the things that happened to him and aunty. Getting flooded out in Greymouth; the car being hit by falling rocks, being held up by landslides, the car boiling over as it went over hills which in England we would call mountians.

They main thing that comes across with all these stories is how much they enjoyed all these holidays and the adventures that came through them. Arnetts eyes sparkle with happiness as he relives them in his mind's eye. Most of the places have changed and not for the best as they have grown modern. The one thing Arnett was most impressed with was the modern campsites which had great washing, toilets, (which he told me was just a hole in the ground in the old days) and cooking facilities. He felt that they were a joy to be in and made the break a lot more enjoyable than in his day. (to be continued)