Ashburton Motor Lodge

... found that out the very first night when we got off at 3:30am. But besides that, we have gotten off around 2:30am every night so its not that bad. There are 8 potato sheds and the job is to fill all these sheds over 8 weeks by emptying semi's that come in from the farms. Sound boring? Well...it is. I should say, certain parts are the pits but for the most part we were really lucky. We got to wear some pretty sweet outfits as ...

... Deer, telling the history of the town itself. 2:30 came round, and I was feeling so exhausted from driving and the sun, I spread a blanket on the grass by a park, and had intervals of sleeping and reading. I beleive it was around 5:30 when mom phoned to see how I was, and I also spoke with Steph about getting her house. She sounded real excited! I took another walk after supper around a residential area for about an hour and a half, then found my ...

... that he was doing the exact same as me (except his braking was a lot smoother... blame it on not driving in 6.5 months!!). Anyways, shortly after we go back onto the road after a lunch pit stop, we were driving along on our merry way (safely, I might add) in the southbound direction on SH1, when a car heading northbound stopped in the lane to wait to turn right. Well, they had their tyres already turned, so when a transport truck ploughed into them (it was a 70k zone, we were going ...

... Track Mk II. We spend a bit of time in the village before heading up the coast and then inland to Arthur's Pass. We stop briefly before we realise it looks like a nuclear testing town from the U.S in the 1950's and move on. The same old problem of petrol shortage arises so we get to Springfield and find a petrol station albeit closed, so drive a bit out of town and park yet again in a rest area.

... of a fabulous home cooked (always a treat on the road) burger dinner. And it was a really great house - Sarah and Sven are in the emerging strawbale house business and thbis is their showcase in process. In short they stack strawbales for structure then coat with an adobe like plaster. This provides great insulation and durability but also allows for some really smoth and rounded wals, arches, and openings. Sven and Sarah have realy poured their hearts into the project and ...

... is het een prachtige dag om vanavond een afscheids BBQ te houden. (het is helemaal geen slecht weer, zoals verwacht, en het regent ook niet). Nog even, voor jullie thuis, samengevat mijn laatste indrukken van het Zuid-eiland en de vergeten-te-vertellen-dingen. Ik kan me goed voorstellen waarom Nederlanders naar NZ emigreren. Het is hier rustig (relatief, mensen in Ashburton vinden het zoveel drukker geworden de laatste jaren. Ook hier moet je ...

... kind of comical. Doomsday came around quickly. Too quickly. On the drive there Elly was so excited. Like a kid on Christmas morning. I was busy racking my brain for an excuse to get out of it. Yep, I'll admit it. I'm a total pussy. When we got there at 11, we chilled at the lodge, watched a video of the river and what lay in store, and ate lunch that they put on. It turned out that one of the river guides was Manx. From Union Mills. Small, small world. We got kitted out, split into ...

... Totara. It is not too difficult, just one huff-and-puff stop, or maybe I'm getting in better shape. We meet a Kiwi group at the top, and the oldest gentleman bends my ear about how the country is going to hell. I tell him that there is no reason to think that - if he wants to see hell, watch the news from the US! His kids laugh with me, and he says I'm right, they ...

... known for its world class salmon fishing on the Rakaia River. From November to March people from all over enjoy positive results. If you are there in February maybe you can join in the annual Rakaia Fishing Competition. From The Rakaia River it is 28 kms to Ashburton. A very large Alpaca Farm is just on the right after the Rakaia River. Alpaca farming has become quite prevalent in New Zealand as you will note along many of the routes you are on ...

... tasted better than you'd think. Eating outside with the promise of the open road ahead of you is one of life's purest pleasures. After the lentils we carried on along Hwy 1 until we got to Hinds. We'd been told about the rout along Hwy 73 by the helpful pilot of this morning's flight and he'd waxed so lyrical about this 'classic' journey that we'd decided to change our plans and make a break for the hill while ...