Helping to pass the time
Safely into Christchurch our first stop was to the rental car depot. Several loops of the one-way system later and we successfully found somewhere to park the van while we completed the paperwork for our new trusty steed, a "budget" Nissan. We had considered returning the van first then collecting the car however this would mean carrying all of our accumulated baggage around Christchurch, the volume of extra shoes (gumboots), tea bags (all essential) and lack of any organised packing meant this was not the preferred option!
Thanks to Nissan's ability to create Tardis-like interiors our 10 weeks of van life fitted comfortably into the boot and we waved a sad farewell to "Easy Tiger". Next came what we thought would be an easy mission, finding somewhere to eat lunch. Christchurch city centre is still being rebuilt after the devastation of the 2011 earthquakes and it seems car parking is the last thing on the list. After getting lost in one-way systems, unhelpful satnav* directions and finding only full car parks we decided to try our luck in the harbour town of Lyttleton instead. Happily parking here was both free and plentiful and we by chance came across a vegan cafe and thus a deliciously virtuous lunch was had.
*Spellcheck reckons I meant to type Satan.... It may well be on to something here.
In order to bridge the gap between dossing around in a camper van and earning our keep we'd booked into an AirBNB cottage in the Kaituna valley for the night. The scenic drive meant we had plenty of time to get used to the new car! The cottage we stayed in had three of our most valued commodities, a hot shower, breakfast provisions and free WiFi. It's amazing how your priorities are altered by a long period of travel.
After a leisurely start we headed back into Christchurch to have the wiper blades on the car replaced and to check the little camera (which died upon arrival in NZ and is currently our main excuse for being rubbish with blog posts) into the Panasonic repair centre. After this we got lucky with parking and did succeed in finding lunch, a fantastic array of dumplings, for those interested. We then headed further away from Christchurch past Kaituna valley and on to the Akaroa peninsula, the entire area being the remnants of a giant, long dormant, volcano. Akaroa is famous for its french heritage and there were plenty of Boulangeries and trendy cafes for us to choose from. After a stroll to admire the scenery we promised ourselves we would return at some point and headed towards the town of Diamond Harbour where we would be doing our first Helpx placement in the South Island.
The next week passed in a happy blur of activity and Netflix crime dramas. The biggest job while we were there was re-digging the drainage channel at the bottom of the garden, we all got absolutely plastered in mud, including the chickens who thought it was wonderful of us to dig up so many worms for them. We fixed some guttering, marked out a path, put up some fairy lights using a very precariously balanced ladder and provided lots of strokes to the cats. The resident hens of "Cluckingham palace" were frequently visited by an interloper from over the fence, this prompted an almost daily game of chase, catch and post the chicken back through a hole in the fence.
When our time in Diamond Harbour came to an end we headed back into the city to stay with a wonderful cat called Jazz and his lovely owner. The property was huge, we needed a map of the gardens and even then still got lost! After a day or so of small tasks we were (once again) unexpectedly left to house sit as all the residents, apart from Jazz, made the most of the long bank holiday weekend. Mike further honed his ride on mower skills although this one had a tendency to start driving off by itself if left unattended! Luckily no shrubs were harmed and after a week we had helped revamp one of the many "forgotten corners" of this incredible (and mostly edible) garden.
Our next Helpx placement was near Dunedin on a working sheep and beef farm. Within a couple of days an unseasonal storm blew in and with days of torrential rain the farm was flooded and we had no way of leaving to go and explore. The host family were happy with our work and so offered that in addition to the expected 4hrs per day help for food and board we could choose to work extra hours and be paid. Mike ended up doing mostly interior decorating and tree planting whilst I became an au pair for the three small children. Despite catching a bad cold thanks to toddler swimming lessons and the miserable weather we had an amazing time. The family even took us to Oamaru for the day of the annual Victorian fair which featured, amongst other things, a beard and moustache contest and the world-famous stone sawing competition, which actually didn't sound that bad thanks to the local Oamaru stone being quite soft and powdery.
Just as the stone sawing competition was wrapping up the clouds broke and a huge thunderstorm had everyone running for cover. The torrential rain continued for the next few days which meant lots of indoor playtime for the children including home made play dough. Turns out you are never too old to enjoy playing with play dough as Amy had a blast, you can however be too young as the littlest was determined that it couldn't ALL taste nasty and kept sampling the different colours to double check.
It wouldn't be a stay on a farm in New Zealand without contact with sheep and we were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to shear one of the sheep who had been missed when the contracted shearers last visited. After being shown the ropes we duly had a go and the poor sheep got the worst haircut of her life, despite the expert and patient tuition we were given. Suffice to say that neither of us have a glowing future career as sheep shearers!
After a fond farewell we headed back down towards Dunedin proper, visiting the local gold mine and Shag Point seal colony on the way. After both having a look at the mine only Mike did the walk at Shag Point, Amy opted to have a nap in the car instead as the responsibility of looking after 3 children under 5 had been very tiring, as we are sure Susi (Amy's mum) will agree!
The next Helpx placement was with a couple in Port Chalmers, 20 minutes along the coast from Dunedin centre. This placement was quite relaxed as after they discovered our skills at interior decorating that was all we did for them. As they only asked for 3.5hrs help a day in exchange for food it gave us a chance to rest and recuperate, whilst enjoying the stunning harbour views and ogling at the passing cruise ships.
For one of our afternoons off we headed around the Otago Peninsular to the Royal Albatross centre. This is the only area in the whole world where the royal albatross have a mainland breeding colony, as they prefer remote islands. It really was sea bird central with gulls nesting all over the the banks around the car park and buildings.
After having a nosey around the museum we enquired about the tours to see the albatross colony and, one again dear readers, lady luck smiled upon us. It just so happened that the next tour to be held was by a staff member in training so would not be charged for AND had nobody else booked in to. Our private tour started off with an educational film and talk before we headed up the hill to the hide overlooking the nesting sites.
Whilst there we saw some juveniles bonding with sky calling, several adults sat on nests and even one landing. The scale of these magnificent birds is astonishing, they really are huge!
At the end of our allocated tour time as we headed out of the hide and back down the hill another albatross came flying low right overhead and the sheer size of it prompted involuntary gasps of amazement! After making a generous donation to the conservation charity in lieu of paying for the tour we wandered down to the beach to enjoy the views with only a snoozing fur seal for company.
Our last day in Dunedin took in the popular Otago farmers market where we discovered the happiness that is salted caramel custard donuts, the worlds most delicious peanut butter and kombucha on tap. We had a long drive ahead of us to get back up to Christchurch so luckily we had booked another AirBnb, all the way up in Ashburton. About halfway through a dull and quiet drive, the hire car having no AUX input, us having no CD's and the radio having no signal, we splashed out on some bargain CD's whilst doing the last bits of Christmas shopping.
The following day we headed back into Christchurch to collect the fully repaired camera (hooray!) before starting our final Helpx placement at the Lighthouse Urban Food Forest. The weather even decided to start being more like summer and so we spent 6 happy days harvesting raspberries, eating raspberries, mulching, building hugel beds and perfecting the "chop and drop" method of weeding. Whilst every place we have stayed at has grown their own food and prompted us to think of gardening back in Devon, this one was truly the most inspirational and has really opened our eyes to how efficient permaculture can be compared to traditional gardening.
As we were going straight into the house sit after this placement we decided to use the last day to revisit Akaroa and go on a kayaking safari, stopping at a French bakery on the way to get breakfast provisions for the start of the house sit. Despite the bright, glorious summer sunshine in Christchurch Akaroa was cloudy with a strong wind and choppy waves. No to be deterred we duly kitted up and set off keen to spot some wildlife.
We saw a collection of various shags, a pair of oyster catchers with their chick and a mysterious creature which was presumed to be a shark as it didn't surface for air.
On our way back, paddling hard against the wind, the other group radioed in that they had a dolphin near them, we duly paddled back at full pelt however didn't make it in time and then had double the paddle back. Whew!
Back on land we dashed back to Christchurch to pick up the routine of the couple we would be house sitting for until the end of January. Luckily salty, windswept, sunburned and slightly rushed were not their first impressions of us as we had been to visit them during one of the previous Helpx placements.
Next post - Festive fun(damentals)
Thanks to Nissan's ability to create Tardis-like interiors our 10 weeks of van life fitted comfortably into the boot and we waved a sad farewell to "Easy Tiger". Next came what we thought would be an easy mission, finding somewhere to eat lunch. Christchurch city centre is still being rebuilt after the devastation of the 2011 earthquakes and it seems car parking is the last thing on the list. After getting lost in one-way systems, unhelpful satnav* directions and finding only full car parks we decided to try our luck in the harbour town of Lyttleton instead. Happily parking here was both free and plentiful and we by chance came across a vegan cafe and thus a deliciously virtuous lunch was had.
*Spellcheck reckons I meant to type Satan.... It may well be on to something here.
In order to bridge the gap between dossing around in a camper van and earning our keep we'd booked into an AirBNB cottage in the Kaituna valley for the night. The scenic drive meant we had plenty of time to get used to the new car! The cottage we stayed in had three of our most valued commodities, a hot shower, breakfast provisions and free WiFi. It's amazing how your priorities are altered by a long period of travel.
After a leisurely start we headed back into Christchurch to have the wiper blades on the car replaced and to check the little camera (which died upon arrival in NZ and is currently our main excuse for being rubbish with blog posts) into the Panasonic repair centre. After this we got lucky with parking and did succeed in finding lunch, a fantastic array of dumplings, for those interested. We then headed further away from Christchurch past Kaituna valley and on to the Akaroa peninsula, the entire area being the remnants of a giant, long dormant, volcano. Akaroa is famous for its french heritage and there were plenty of Boulangeries and trendy cafes for us to choose from. After a stroll to admire the scenery we promised ourselves we would return at some point and headed towards the town of Diamond Harbour where we would be doing our first Helpx placement in the South Island.
The next week passed in a happy blur of activity and Netflix crime dramas. The biggest job while we were there was re-digging the drainage channel at the bottom of the garden, we all got absolutely plastered in mud, including the chickens who thought it was wonderful of us to dig up so many worms for them. We fixed some guttering, marked out a path, put up some fairy lights using a very precariously balanced ladder and provided lots of strokes to the cats. The resident hens of "Cluckingham palace" were frequently visited by an interloper from over the fence, this prompted an almost daily game of chase, catch and post the chicken back through a hole in the fence.
When our time in Diamond Harbour came to an end we headed back into the city to stay with a wonderful cat called Jazz and his lovely owner. The property was huge, we needed a map of the gardens and even then still got lost! After a day or so of small tasks we were (once again) unexpectedly left to house sit as all the residents, apart from Jazz, made the most of the long bank holiday weekend. Mike further honed his ride on mower skills although this one had a tendency to start driving off by itself if left unattended! Luckily no shrubs were harmed and after a week we had helped revamp one of the many "forgotten corners" of this incredible (and mostly edible) garden.
Our next Helpx placement was near Dunedin on a working sheep and beef farm. Within a couple of days an unseasonal storm blew in and with days of torrential rain the farm was flooded and we had no way of leaving to go and explore. The host family were happy with our work and so offered that in addition to the expected 4hrs per day help for food and board we could choose to work extra hours and be paid. Mike ended up doing mostly interior decorating and tree planting whilst I became an au pair for the three small children. Despite catching a bad cold thanks to toddler swimming lessons and the miserable weather we had an amazing time. The family even took us to Oamaru for the day of the annual Victorian fair which featured, amongst other things, a beard and moustache contest and the world-famous stone sawing competition, which actually didn't sound that bad thanks to the local Oamaru stone being quite soft and powdery.
Just as the stone sawing competition was wrapping up the clouds broke and a huge thunderstorm had everyone running for cover. The torrential rain continued for the next few days which meant lots of indoor playtime for the children including home made play dough. Turns out you are never too old to enjoy playing with play dough as Amy had a blast, you can however be too young as the littlest was determined that it couldn't ALL taste nasty and kept sampling the different colours to double check.
It wouldn't be a stay on a farm in New Zealand without contact with sheep and we were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to shear one of the sheep who had been missed when the contracted shearers last visited. After being shown the ropes we duly had a go and the poor sheep got the worst haircut of her life, despite the expert and patient tuition we were given. Suffice to say that neither of us have a glowing future career as sheep shearers!
After a fond farewell we headed back down towards Dunedin proper, visiting the local gold mine and Shag Point seal colony on the way. After both having a look at the mine only Mike did the walk at Shag Point, Amy opted to have a nap in the car instead as the responsibility of looking after 3 children under 5 had been very tiring, as we are sure Susi (Amy's mum) will agree!
The next Helpx placement was with a couple in Port Chalmers, 20 minutes along the coast from Dunedin centre. This placement was quite relaxed as after they discovered our skills at interior decorating that was all we did for them. As they only asked for 3.5hrs help a day in exchange for food it gave us a chance to rest and recuperate, whilst enjoying the stunning harbour views and ogling at the passing cruise ships.
For one of our afternoons off we headed around the Otago Peninsular to the Royal Albatross centre. This is the only area in the whole world where the royal albatross have a mainland breeding colony, as they prefer remote islands. It really was sea bird central with gulls nesting all over the the banks around the car park and buildings.
After having a nosey around the museum we enquired about the tours to see the albatross colony and, one again dear readers, lady luck smiled upon us. It just so happened that the next tour to be held was by a staff member in training so would not be charged for AND had nobody else booked in to. Our private tour started off with an educational film and talk before we headed up the hill to the hide overlooking the nesting sites.
Whilst there we saw some juveniles bonding with sky calling, several adults sat on nests and even one landing. The scale of these magnificent birds is astonishing, they really are huge!
At the end of our allocated tour time as we headed out of the hide and back down the hill another albatross came flying low right overhead and the sheer size of it prompted involuntary gasps of amazement! After making a generous donation to the conservation charity in lieu of paying for the tour we wandered down to the beach to enjoy the views with only a snoozing fur seal for company.
Our last day in Dunedin took in the popular Otago farmers market where we discovered the happiness that is salted caramel custard donuts, the worlds most delicious peanut butter and kombucha on tap. We had a long drive ahead of us to get back up to Christchurch so luckily we had booked another AirBnb, all the way up in Ashburton. About halfway through a dull and quiet drive, the hire car having no AUX input, us having no CD's and the radio having no signal, we splashed out on some bargain CD's whilst doing the last bits of Christmas shopping.
The following day we headed back into Christchurch to collect the fully repaired camera (hooray!) before starting our final Helpx placement at the Lighthouse Urban Food Forest. The weather even decided to start being more like summer and so we spent 6 happy days harvesting raspberries, eating raspberries, mulching, building hugel beds and perfecting the "chop and drop" method of weeding. Whilst every place we have stayed at has grown their own food and prompted us to think of gardening back in Devon, this one was truly the most inspirational and has really opened our eyes to how efficient permaculture can be compared to traditional gardening.
As we were going straight into the house sit after this placement we decided to use the last day to revisit Akaroa and go on a kayaking safari, stopping at a French bakery on the way to get breakfast provisions for the start of the house sit. Despite the bright, glorious summer sunshine in Christchurch Akaroa was cloudy with a strong wind and choppy waves. No to be deterred we duly kitted up and set off keen to spot some wildlife.
We saw a collection of various shags, a pair of oyster catchers with their chick and a mysterious creature which was presumed to be a shark as it didn't surface for air.
On our way back, paddling hard against the wind, the other group radioed in that they had a dolphin near them, we duly paddled back at full pelt however didn't make it in time and then had double the paddle back. Whew!
Back on land we dashed back to Christchurch to pick up the routine of the couple we would be house sitting for until the end of January. Luckily salty, windswept, sunburned and slightly rushed were not their first impressions of us as we had been to visit them during one of the previous Helpx placements.
Next post - Festive fun(damentals)
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