Kiwis and Fairy Bread

24 January 2024

First off: THANK YOU to all of you who have been reading this blog! Mike and I have been surprised and flattered at how many of you have mentioned reading my words and gazing at his pictures. There is still much to share, and my apologies for not getting back to this blog sooner.

We have been home for three weeks. Getting used to life off the road wasn’t easy. The house is huge. The weather awful. Mike returned to work but has still not returned to a full night’s sleep. He pours over his excellent photos. I sent out my even-later-than-usual Christmas cards. Caught up on my volunteer duties but also caught a nasty case of the flu which had me in bed for over a week.

Fortunately before the flu we had Christmas with our children! It was cold, dark and we even had snow. And we did Christmas our way: a weekend full of games, gifts, films and lots of time in the kitchen. We made far too many cookies, some herb roasted pork, three completely different kinds of bread, charcuterie, and even Floating Islands! And of course, we told stories of New Zealand. As we carved the Christmas roast, we spoke fondly of the Claxtons, our dear friends at the Akaroa Holiday Park.

Each day, in that thin time between sleep and awake, I am always in Miranda. I see the mountains rising up out of the plains. The sky is a pale blue. My always-vivid dream world has constructed its own holiday park and I know my way around it well. Van life has clearly entered my soul.

In fact, according to the New York Times last week, “Road tripping across New Zealand via camper van is a free-spirited travelers dream!”. Really? And are we free-spirited? We’d had no idea! We just happen to come upon YouTubers Dane and Stacey on their own NZ Campervan journey and knew we’d like it too.

But WHY? What did we like? Read on!

PROS:

#1: Being able to have a snack or take a nap at will. Whether we were tired after a long hike or needed a break in the drive from destination to destination our van was comfortable and well stocked. In the living/dining configuration we could settle into Miranda’s slim sofas, make tea on the stove, eat some chocolate. In the bedroom state, we could open the back doors, lie on the soft comforters, read for a bit, take a snooze.

#2: Not having to pack and repack at every destination. Everything we needed was with us all the time. Our clothes and outerwear were right there in the cabinets to change with the weather. Mike’s camera equipment was stored safely within easy reach. On a shelf were my journals, books and knitting. Our toiletries and meds neatly stored, towels hung. No pulling suitcases into a hotel, up to a room, unpacking a little then in all- too-short a time looking under every piece of furniture and blanket to make sure we’d left nothing behind. This alone took away a lot of the usual travel stress.

#3: The view: From drivers seat to kitchen to bed there was always a beach, sky, mountain, waterfall, and lots of fresh air. But I’ve written a lot about that.

#4 The toilet: our van’s ingeniously simple little toilet was there for us always: day and night, on the road and in a camp. Holiday parks have excellent facilities and New Zealand downtown areas have public toilets, which we also used. But there is nothing like having your own. And the dumping process on this van model was minimal on the disgust scale (it is only part of us, after all)

#5 The Kitchen: I love a good kitchen and this little one rivaled any I have ever seen. Better equipped than many a home we’ve rented, it was perfect for us. A three burner stove and four shelf fridge. Cabinets and drawers, a good sink with water heater. Whether Mike was making his daily salad, we wanted toast with breakfast (yes, there was even a toaster!) or I needed to make a meal at a freedom camp site, this kitchen could handle it all.

#6: Holiday Parks: This one surprised us. Our concept of camping had always been an area of several square meters all to ourselves. Surrounded by trees with a brook or lake, these were essentially private experiences. We did not expect to love holiday parks so very much. A parking space with a view is amazing! The toilets, sinks and showers were always clean (and always playing Christmas music). There were playgrounds and pools and large rec rooms where people played games, read or stroked guitars. The people are all on holiday and therefore very relaxed and friendly. Everyone wants to take the time for a chat. And the communal kitchens! I didn’t realize how much I’d love these. There were multiple stoves, ovens, sinks, tables, appliances, refrigerators, grills. Some were fully equipped with dishes plus pots and utensils. Mostly we would bring everything we needed from Miranda in a bag (experienced campers always has a plastic tub). A kitchen would be full with people, all jostling for space. I marveled at how a burner or sink would always free up just when anyone needed it. “What are you making?” “Smells great!” “Could you use some of this olive oil?” “Thanks” “What did you do today?” And the conversation would continue, sharing tips on cooking and travel. Some of those people would become our friends!

Mike and I would often eat in the communal dining space. He’d come and set the table as I finished cooking. People cooked an astounding variety of meals! Sausages, pasta boulegnese and nachos were common. But we also saw a Japanese family grill real hibachi, a Pilipino woman butchered pounds of meat and set it to simmer in spices overnight, and some sort of custardy casserole go into an oven prepared by a group of French. Impressive!

#7: The bed: It was so comfortable. (Or maybe we were just tired all the time.) I enjoyed being enclosed on three sides, covered with two or three down comforters. The curtains insulated us from the cold, and blocked out some of the morning light. We created many posts from just that spot. Our sleep was deep.

#8: Flexibility: The van, and the relatively inexpensive cost of the campsites, gave us flexibility to travel as we wanted. Amazingly we pretty much stuck to our itinerary. But when we wanted to change that plan, it was easy to do so. Many people we encountered had no plan at all. They were just moving from place to place at will. Although we are planners, I do admire that spirit very much.

#9: Being on holiday: No job or volunteer responsibilities. We limited our emails and texts, which in some locations would have been impossible anyway. We left our world, well, on the other side of the world.

#10: Traveling light: My sister-in-law Liz is my packing-light guru and my daughter Emily takes after her. I haven’t quite mastered their efficiency. However, I enjoyed making do with what we’d brought: a tiny fraction of the things we live with in our ordinary lives. Next time I aim to bring less (oh yes, we now know that there simply must be a next time)

#11: The two of us together: Well, of course, this really is number one. But you know that already!