20. Waiau – Hanmer Springs – Cathedral Cliffs – Kaikoura

Kaikoura TOP 10 Holiday Park, 34 Beach Rd. Standard cabin for $80 per night
Friday, February 22: Cloudy and cold at first with a little drizzle, clearing in the course of the day

Had a rather relaxed breakfast of vegemite on toast and coffee, and then made my way to Hanmer Springs for the divine service of the internet. Looks like I lost my hairbrush on the way out—the changeover to this new style of living out of the car and transferring most of the belongings to and fro the accommodation still has to become routine. Continue reading

19. Christchurch – Waiau

Waiau Motor Camp, Highfield St., double bunk room with linen and towel for $28
Thursday, February 21: Cloudy, but very warm

I was up at 7:30, and the American family that I had been told about (Zac, Mahabissa with two little girls and a baby boy of 10 weeks) were in various stages of getting up, but Matt had apparently worked until 5:00 in the morning and didn’t appear for some time.

I made avail of some muesli, the very little milk that was left, made some coffee and had some toast with vegemite and engaged Zac in conversation. There was not too much to get ready this morning, but Matt had wanted to give me some tips for which he had set a time of 9:00. Eventually he appeared and without so much as having breakfast proceeded to tell me some stuff about the tracks at the top end, some place in Punakaiki and a couple of tips for Queenstown/Wanaka. Let’s see. Continue reading