She says yes and gives us directions to her home in Cass Bay, we pack up and head to the bus stop where we begin the gruelling 7 hour bus ride. We mostly nap and listen to music while staring out at the beautiful scenery: Mount Cook, Lake Tekapo (where we break for lunch and are immediately accosted by a group of hungry birds, an ongoing theme of our trip.) We stop for a bathroom break at a random truck stop and just happen to run into Jordan #2 who is also planning to make his way to Christchurch. We arrive at our destination and take the bus to Lyttelton where Aileen picks us up and takes us for fish and chips and shows us some of the rehabilitation efforts in their community. The earthquakes have destroyed many historical buildings and the damaged is astounding.
Day 1:
We are lucky enough to join Aileen and some other bay residents on a boat trip to Quail Island. The weather co-operates and we sprawl out on a picnic blanket and nibble croissants, eggs, chocolate and other delicious goodies Aileen has prepared. She gives us a tour of the island, a former leprosy colony and Maori mineral site, the views are breathtaking, we see a family of quails.
When we return, her husband Ollie picks us up from the wharf and greets us warmly. The two of them take us to Sumner Beach, on the way we see more of the devastation caused by the earthquakes. Million dollar homes have collapsed down cliffs, roads and businesses still lie in ruins.
We are met with Aileen and Ollie's lovely daughters: Lucinda and Vanessa, as well as Vanessa's husband Neo, their baby Arlo and 3 adorable chihuahuas. We join the whole family for beachside coffee and then all head to Taylor's Mistake, a gorgeous surf beach nestled in the valley. On our way back, we see a group of guys hanging out by camper vans,
"Let's ask these guys where they go their vans from," Ollie suggests eagerly.
The guys are all French Canadian, I tell them I'm from the island.
"Nanaimo?" an unfamiliar guy guesses.
"Yeah, actually..." I reply, shocked.
They inform us that their van is from the Backpackers Car Market in town. We all pick up supplies and head to Vanessa and Neo's for a barbecue. Vanessa looks at TradeMe (NZ's Craigslist) and finds a big yellow van covered in Kiwi stickers, the price: only $2400.
Day 2:
Aileen and Ollie take us to look at vans. We checkout the Backpackers Car Market, it's a horrible place that looks like a van grave yard and where dreams go to die. The average van $4000, full of stinky, dirty camping supplies. None of them have Rego or WOFs (necessities to drive) and they sputter and cough when we try to start them up.
We go to Hagley Park to meet "Chris" and see his Kiwi Van. The site of it is quite something, but Jordan and I find it charming in a quirky way. We meet its owner, Chris, a British guy (or "Pom" as Kiwis say) who fancies himself a "wheeler and dealer of camper vans." He changes his story several times and curses us out when we ask to see the engine, as it requires the bed be moved.
"Bloody Kiwis and Canadians!"
I take it for a test drive and take a deep breath as I remind myself to stay on the left side of the road. The van seems solid, the owner, not so much. We tell him we'll consider it.
I offer to cook the family dinner (pasta puttanesca, one of my few Italian specialties.) Chris sends a barrages of pushy texts to Aileen. He refuses our low ball offer of $2000. We tell him we'll get back to him tomorrow.
Day 3:
We decide it best to look at more vans. Something doesn't quite feel right about the Kiwimobile. Ollie takes us to look at a van that previously belonged to their friends, the Webbs. It's been purchased by a mechanic who has replaced the diesel pump and done some other work. They feel it is the most mechanically sound and it's been overhauled and they know its history, only problem: it's not set up for camping. We get the guy down to $3250 and Ollie says he can build us a bed. We're told we have an hour to decide or he's selling it to a couple with a higher offer. We're not sure whether or not to believe him but we go look at another van belonging to a German guy named Daniel. It's nicely maintained and has lots of supplies. We try to talk him down from the $3500 price mark (as the Rego and WOF are about to expire) he won't budge as he has others interested and wants to hear their offers. We're scared to miss out on both so we make a decision and buy the Webb's van. Getting the money out is a nightmare (damn you $500 daily limit and cash only sellers!) but after a call to our banks (I'm actually terrified to see my phone bill) we get is sorted. Transferring and insuring our new van (in which we have lovingly named Diesi for Diesel/Kiwi) turns out to be quite easy. Ollie puts together a bed in no time at all and we spend the night cleaning and vacuuming our new ride.
Day 4:
Here comes the pricy part. We buy all necessary supplies:
mattress, blankets, pillows, plates, cutlery, cups, gas cooker, water tank, cooler, cookware, knives, cutting boards, so on and so forth, not to mention filling her with gas and buying groceries. Most of our purchases are from the Warehouse (NZ's version of Target) and are shockingly cheap! $3 pillows? Yes please! Our van is pimped out in no time at all.
Day 5:
The time has come of us to set sail on our adventure. We plan to head to Kaikoura next and say a heartfelt goodbye to Aileen and Ollie. We plan to loop around the Northern tip of the South Island and end up back in Christchurch, so we promise to keep in touch.
Words cannot express how thankful I am for the hospitality, kindness and generosity of their entire clan. They helped us immensely and I will always be grateful and indebted to them.
Thank you Roltons!!!
And on that note, we're off the Kaikoura! Stay tuned...
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