Time to write! Tyler and I caught a break after our first few days on the road. We’re currently on a farm outside of Ashburton, an hour and a half down the coast from Christchurch. Our family friends, the Macraes, put me in touch with the Hutchinson’s who they had met on a cruise years ago. They run a big dairy farm on the plains of mid-Canterbury, the main agricultural region on the South Island. We got in yesterday evening and enjoyed an amazing meal with five other van-dwelling guests who happened to be visiting at the same time as us. More on this.

After writing Thursday, Tyler and I met with Tasman and Amber for burgers at the Fat Tui before going to open mic night at the Park Cafe. I ordered the mussel burger on a g-free bun and it was huge. There were a bunch of friendly Wekas cruising the tables for crumbs. We went out to the beach and played on the driftwood while we waited for the energy to pick up at the cafe. Ended up having a great night.

Tyler and I got off to a slow start the next morning. We stopped at New World in Motueka for groceries, then swung by the skate park to eat breakfast and ride around. Once we had fully recuperated, we set our sights on Blenheim and set off for good.

We stopped at the Pelorus bridge which I had visited once before the day I arrived on the South Island. It was a beautiful day for swimming, so after our coffees we climbed the rocks under the bridge and jumped in. We met a Maori family out for a swim and had a hoot joking around with the kids. We learned about the “manu” which is a type of “bomb” (jump into water) where you fold your body in half and land butt first in the water causing a huge splash. One kid shouted, “ballsackawallamallus” before jumping each time, a phrase Tyler and I have since added to our own vocabulary.

 

In Blenheim we hit the Warehouse for a pillow for Tyler. We found a public swimming pool and got hot showers for $5. Then we met up with Reuben, my coworker from Coppins who goes to school in Blenheim for aircraft mechanics. He took us out to Rarangi Beach where we climbed around on the rocks for awhile. Reuben told us he might have his quad by the time we come back through.

 

That night we camped at the Wairau diversion, just down the beach from where we had met Reuben. The freedom camp spot just a big field beside the ocean surrounded by vineyards. Lamb sausages for dinner.

The next morning we started driving down the coast towards Christchurch. We made serious tracks and didn’t stop till Kaikoura partway down the coast. It was lunchtime when we arrived, so we made sandwiches by the beach with snow capped mountains in the background. Kaikoura has a massive seal colony, but somehow we missed it even though you can see them from the road, supposedly.

This was Saturday, so we knew there would be competition for freedom camping spaces in Christchurch. We got back on the road after only a brief stop to give ourselves the best chance of getting a space at one of the three freedom camping sites in town. There’s an app called Campermate that has a map and huge database of camping resources, all user submitted. We’ve been using it to track down camp spots, showers, toilets etc. We picked a carpark in Diamond Harbor because it looked nice in the pictures and was highly reviewed. Luckily there were plenty of spaces when we rolled into the parking lot, so we found a level spot and could finally relax.

We got an early start on Sunday morning. After hitting a subway for ice for the chilly bin, I dropped Tyler off at a skate park in downtown Christchurch. I wanted to go mountain biking at the lift-operated adventure park, and he wanted to skate around the city and explore.

The Adventure Park is only 20 minutes out of town and has 1300 feet of lift served vertical. Last weekend there was a national race where Tasman took 2nd in Men’s Open. I bought a day pass for $75 which entitled me to as many lifts as I wanted. I rode a couple warm up laps and found my front tire was losing air fast. I had burped it in a corner at the Wairoa Gorge and trapped some dirt and pine needles under the bead, but I never bothered to unseat the tire and clean it out. There was a solid quarter inch of crap under the bead, but it wouldn’t seal even after I had cleaned it all out. I took the tire all the way off and found all the sealant had escaped, so I had to fork over $10 for a 60ml shot. While I was fixing my tire, I met one of the park’s bike instructors, John. We started chatting and decided to go up for a lap. We rode the jump trail which was absolutely sick. It’s like New Zealand’s version of Whistler’s A-Line, massive machine built table tops and huge sweeping berms requiring almost no braking. A well built jump trail manages your speed for you, so you don’t have to brake before corners or between features. I was riding the best I have since last summer, so we decided to try the double black technical trail they raced on the last weekend. It was pretty blown out from all the use.

The lift malfunctioned after only four laps and was put on an indefinite hold. I went back to the van to make some lunch hoping they would get the lift sorted by the time I had finished eating. It wasn’t, so I started sessioning a set of jumps at the base of the hill. After an hour of riding them I gave up and left the park. I was pretty disappointed to have paid so much for so little riding but quickly let it go. I had fun. I rode well. I didn’t get hurt. And I made a friend. John gave me his contact info and we’ll be meeting up with him in Queenstown next weekend.

I picked Tyler up from the main library downtown, and we drove to a public pool for $2 showers and free wifi. He had his own fun exploring the city for a day. We hit a Pak N’ Save on our way out.

Back in Diamond Harbor we made more sausages for dinner and cleaned up in time to catch the 8:00 pm ferry to Lytellton across the bay. Our campsite was right next to the wharf from where the ferry departed, and we figured it would be worth the $13 return fare to go over for the evening and find a pub. It turns out, I read the schedule wrong and the ferry we almost got on was the last one of the night and we would have been stuck across the bay. Instead we walked up the hill to the little cafe in Diamond Harbor to scope out the scene. The place was officially shut, but the owners and some other locals were sitting around out front. They opened the bar just for us and the keg of cider ran out as she was pouring Tyler’s glass so it was on the house. We were invited outside to join the group. They welcomed us in with whiskey, smoked salmon, and homemade cheese. Another pair of freedom campers came up to join us, and a few other eccentrics turned up as the night went on. Eventually someone fetched their guitar, which prompted me to retrieve my harmonica from the van. We jammed. What a beautiful coming together. I think Tyler was blown away. Before we left, the owners of the cafe said we could have free all-you-can-eat pancakes on Tuesday night if we came by the next morning to do some weeding. On of the eccentrics left with us and we sat on the grass looking at constellations. We went to bed happy.

The next morning we woke up with enough time to make breakfast before walking back up to the cafe for weeding. A couple of the guys from the night before came by to help too. We spent nearly two hours pulling deadly nightshade and picking up rubbish from the narrow garden outside the front deck of the cafe. It was fun work, and I’m glad Tyler got the chance to do some “work” while he’s here. We left for the Hutchinson’s just after noon, stopping for lunch by a little creek on our way.

 

We got to the farm mid afternoon. David and Robyn Hutchinson welcomed us in, and after chatting for awhile we went out for a little tour of the farm. David took us in his truck to show us the rotary milking machine. It was HOT yesterday. This place feels like California’s central valley.

Some other freedom camping family members turned up later in the afternoon. We hung out outside once it started to cool off a little. Tyler and I played tag and hide and seek with the 5 year old grandchildren.

We had the most amazing meal last night. David threw a couple legs of lamb on the barbecue. There were multiple salads, roast vegetables, homemade mint sauces etc. Apple crumble with ice cream for dessert. I’m pretty exhausted right now, so it’s hard for me to write with any level of detail. Please use your imagination.

Breakfast this morning was excellent too. We had bacon eggs and paleo toast made with cricket flour. Tyler and I are lying low today, catching up on washing and whatnot. This afternoon we’ll drive back to Diamond Harbor for a pancake feed. Who knows what we’ll do after.

I feel like crap right now, probably from stuffing myself and drinking too much instant coffee, but overall, we’re off to an excellent start. I think Tyler is having a great time. I know I am. If I ever get the chance I’ll come back and rewrite this, but I need to leave it for now.