Here we are back in Christchurch after a 2 weekish stint in Hanmer. Only a few hours away from Christchurch, Hanmer is a gateway to the mountains kind of town. After our day hike up Mount Isobel the weather turned rainy so we hopped in the vehicle and headed in the direction of the coastal town of Kaikoura. On the way we stopped at the Mt. Lyford ski resort for a cup of coffee and a gawk at the beautiful mountains, then on to Kaikoura. Marc tried several times to get a photo of the magnificent surroundings but rain that falls horizontally doesn't really much help with the photo taking. So we headed off to the seal reserve to check out some sleeping seals, then on to the fish and game shop to pick up some spinner rods and fishing licenses for the rivers full of brown, rainbow trout and salmon here.
Back in Hanmer and more rainy days we played with our fishing rods until I caught a brown trout for dinner!!! Very exciting. It was the first fish that I have ever caught and eaten. I'm afraid that I may be a bit addicted to this fishing thing now. I've also been cutting my teeth on some mellow mountain biking trails in the area. Marc very patiently peddles ahead of me then waits as I complete the same section of trail in a much more wobbly, almost hitting trees and crashing into the bush fashion. Though I have had many near hits, I have yet to actually hit a tree or fall down the mountain side.
We spent another rainy day heading to Maruia springs, a japanese style hot springs resort right smack dab in the middle of the mountains. Very beautiful, very relaxing except for the black flies....sigh. I hate black flies.
Once the forecast started calling for sunshine, Marc and I started packing up for a 3 day hike up to Lake Man that we had wanted to do. We were just not wanting to do it in the rain. Off we headed on Sunday morning, made our way to 2 different camp sites along the way. The first Department of Conservation hut that we stopped at was clearly over used and abused by visitors. Not fit for habitation, we set up shop in the tent. But after a second day of hiking up the Doubtful valley we reached the beautifully preserved DOC lake man bivy. An adorable 2 person bunk house built in the 1960s that hikers and hunters have cared for during their visits. After cleaning ourselves up a little, I chilled out by the hut while Marc hoofed it up the mountain (this time unencumbered but the 30 or so pounds of gear), to check out the lake Man. He returned many hours later with photos galore to show me what I had missed. We hiked out the whole thing in one day (as down is faster than up), back to our cozy house on wheels, showers and laundry!! Along our hike we ran into 2 young guys who were hiking from the Marlborough area right through to the bottom on NZ in the Milford area. They hike for 2 weeks straight, then take a break in a town to fatten up a bit and drink some beer before starting in again. The longest hike that I have ever done was 8 days in Paragonia, I can't imagine going for 2 weeks.....repeatedly. Their rest days in between their slogging must feel like heaven.
So we packed up our caravan, headed to the Hanmer hot srings for an hour or so, before driving back to Christchurch. This time we had loaded the caravan wrong and it was swinging perilously on the highway before we stopped at the side of the road to shift the weight distribution around. Now we know better for next time.
Will be spending a week or so here in Christchurch over Christmas.
Take Care!!
Erin and Marc
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Canadians save the day!
We're in Hanmer Springs comfy and snug in our "house on wheels".
After a few weeks of kitting out the caravan and truck, helping to wrangle the kids and hanging with Eric and Sue, off we headed into the wild blue yonder. Marc is a most fabulous driver, even with a caravan attached driving on the left seems to be no problem for him.
On the drive to Hanmer, we noticed a big semi truck pulled over to the side of the road with smoke billowing out of it. We stopped by the side of the road, grabbed our caravan fire extinguisher and ran over. The driver was hauling what appeared to be grass cuttings. The cuttings had swooped down into the exhaust engine area where they had caught alight! Our extinguisher to the rescue! The driver was able to put out most of the fire, enough to be able to jack up the front of the semi and remove the dry grass that was causing the problem. Then another driver stopped, another small fire extinguisher appeared, more fire was put our, more grass removed, the police arrived, they had a small extinguisher...you get the point. The fire was slowly being tamped one small kitchen fire extinguisher at a time.
We reclaimed our now empty extinguisher and headed on our way. A few miles up the road we met the fire brigade heading over. Now we just need to find a place to recharge our extinguisher! After all, we may run into someone else who needs help.
We arrived at our Camping site in Hanmer around noon, and by 2:30, we had he awning to our caravan set up, water systems attached, tables and chairs out, and lunch made. Not bad for s first go! The camping parks here are pretty sweet. for 38NZD a night we get to park here, we get power for our caravan, water nearby, and we can use the toilet, shower and kitchen facilities. Very homey. Plus our caravan has fly screens on all of the windows, very important to keep out all of those little biting black flies!!
Yesterday was nice and sunny so we headed out to climb Mt. Isobel. Hot hot sunny day. We drank lots of water and made our to the top. I had a bit of a headache and still have a cold so let Marc climb the peak by himself, but the views from where I got to were still stunning. Hanmer is in a wide valley (Marc says it looks similar to the Okanogan) with mountains climbing on either side, with braided rivers criss crossing the bottom. Very picturesque. Marc was having some trouble with allergies, he had a very entertaining (for me) 5 minute sneezing fit. Once back to the caravan an allergy pill took care of the problem.
Today is a little cloudier, we'll be driving in the direction of Kaikoura soon to see what there is to see.
Erin n Marc
After a few weeks of kitting out the caravan and truck, helping to wrangle the kids and hanging with Eric and Sue, off we headed into the wild blue yonder. Marc is a most fabulous driver, even with a caravan attached driving on the left seems to be no problem for him.
On the drive to Hanmer, we noticed a big semi truck pulled over to the side of the road with smoke billowing out of it. We stopped by the side of the road, grabbed our caravan fire extinguisher and ran over. The driver was hauling what appeared to be grass cuttings. The cuttings had swooped down into the exhaust engine area where they had caught alight! Our extinguisher to the rescue! The driver was able to put out most of the fire, enough to be able to jack up the front of the semi and remove the dry grass that was causing the problem. Then another driver stopped, another small fire extinguisher appeared, more fire was put our, more grass removed, the police arrived, they had a small extinguisher...you get the point. The fire was slowly being tamped one small kitchen fire extinguisher at a time.
We reclaimed our now empty extinguisher and headed on our way. A few miles up the road we met the fire brigade heading over. Now we just need to find a place to recharge our extinguisher! After all, we may run into someone else who needs help.
We arrived at our Camping site in Hanmer around noon, and by 2:30, we had he awning to our caravan set up, water systems attached, tables and chairs out, and lunch made. Not bad for s first go! The camping parks here are pretty sweet. for 38NZD a night we get to park here, we get power for our caravan, water nearby, and we can use the toilet, shower and kitchen facilities. Very homey. Plus our caravan has fly screens on all of the windows, very important to keep out all of those little biting black flies!!
Yesterday was nice and sunny so we headed out to climb Mt. Isobel. Hot hot sunny day. We drank lots of water and made our to the top. I had a bit of a headache and still have a cold so let Marc climb the peak by himself, but the views from where I got to were still stunning. Hanmer is in a wide valley (Marc says it looks similar to the Okanogan) with mountains climbing on either side, with braided rivers criss crossing the bottom. Very picturesque. Marc was having some trouble with allergies, he had a very entertaining (for me) 5 minute sneezing fit. Once back to the caravan an allergy pill took care of the problem.
Today is a little cloudier, we'll be driving in the direction of Kaikoura soon to see what there is to see.
Erin n Marc
Monday, December 5, 2011
House on wheels
Marc and I spent Sunday in Akaroa. After Ira decided to moisturize the upstairs bathroom with half a bottle of hand lotion in the morning, and time out was on the schedule for the day, we decided to hit the road. Akaroa is a town on the ocean on the rim of an extinct volcano. We drove the windy road to get there, had lunch and found a 4 hour hike to do. My poor prairie girl legs are not yet in any kind of mountain shape so I huffed and puffed my way past sheep and foxglove until we got to the top and had some beautiful views of the bays below. Felt so good to get moving again!!
Yesterday we picked up our "house on wheels" and drove it back to Eric and Sue's. Marc headed out to get the change of ownership paperwork done and get the oil changed in the truck. Amazing how some things here are the same price as home, and some things, like oil changes, are more than double the cost.
Lucky for us we bought a caravan that has been certified "self contained" That means that we can "freedom camp" ie. park in someone's pasture, at a DOC camp site or at the hundreds of POP's 'park over properties' that are part of the caravan association that we just joined. Rather than being fully serviced caravan parks with laundry services, toilet and shower areas and big kitchens, these are just a safe place to park if you are self contained AND cost about 5 dollars a night rather than the $40 for a regular camp spot. Having this option will add more 'flex' to our budget.
Once we brought the caravan home we toured Eric and the kids through it. The little ones LOVE our 'house on wheels' as everything is just their size. Though rated as a 5 berth caravan, once Eric 2 kids and Marc and I were in it, I do not see how anyone would be able to travel at full capacity without murdering each other. It will be just big enough for the 2 of us.
Our caravan also came with a full awning. It attaches to the side of the caravan and is the full length (about 18 feet) and about 8 feet wide. It adds a nice bit of covered outdoor space for shoes, sandy towels and a place for a table and chairs and our yoga mats.
We're heading off today to get the caravan kitted out (get the plates, cups, cookware etc that we need). There are plenty of second hand shops in the area that should have all that we need, and Sue has some extra bedding that she said that she could lend us.
This is starting to get exciting.
Take Care
Erin
Yesterday we picked up our "house on wheels" and drove it back to Eric and Sue's. Marc headed out to get the change of ownership paperwork done and get the oil changed in the truck. Amazing how some things here are the same price as home, and some things, like oil changes, are more than double the cost.
Lucky for us we bought a caravan that has been certified "self contained" That means that we can "freedom camp" ie. park in someone's pasture, at a DOC camp site or at the hundreds of POP's 'park over properties' that are part of the caravan association that we just joined. Rather than being fully serviced caravan parks with laundry services, toilet and shower areas and big kitchens, these are just a safe place to park if you are self contained AND cost about 5 dollars a night rather than the $40 for a regular camp spot. Having this option will add more 'flex' to our budget.
Once we brought the caravan home we toured Eric and the kids through it. The little ones LOVE our 'house on wheels' as everything is just their size. Though rated as a 5 berth caravan, once Eric 2 kids and Marc and I were in it, I do not see how anyone would be able to travel at full capacity without murdering each other. It will be just big enough for the 2 of us.
Our caravan also came with a full awning. It attaches to the side of the caravan and is the full length (about 18 feet) and about 8 feet wide. It adds a nice bit of covered outdoor space for shoes, sandy towels and a place for a table and chairs and our yoga mats.
We're heading off today to get the caravan kitted out (get the plates, cups, cookware etc that we need). There are plenty of second hand shops in the area that should have all that we need, and Sue has some extra bedding that she said that she could lend us.
This is starting to get exciting.
Take Care
Erin
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