Wandering Scotsman

…and one more to go when I get it ready…  thanks for the cards and pressies. I think we were the only van taking today seriously!
Its a glorious day – hot and sunny!

Merry Xmas everyone!  I’m in the middle if an Xmas blog entry but in the meantime this will have to do!
We are in Collingwood in the far north of the south island in a quiet little camp site.  I’ll be trying to put up a summary of our trip with loads of photos up soon.
Merry Xmas to everyone wherever you are in wish you were all here!
D & C

Probably by the time you read this we’ll both be on the ferry, or will have crossed over the South Island (Ruth – keep reading there’s an explanation below) for our ‘wee’ road trip.  I say ‘wee’ but really it’s until either until :

• The money runs out
• We stumble across some opportunity in the South
• We have to meet some restriction that Immigration puts on us.

So tomorrow we’ll be looking back from the same position as the ferry above, to where the photo above was taken from and back to the city we’ve pretty much kinda grown in love with for just now.  It’s a strange feeling leaving somewhere when we’re not ready to leave it yet, but we’re still hugely looking forward to the trip – it may just take us a few extra days for it to hit us.

For this reason we won’t be moving far on the other side.  It’ll take about 3 hours to get across, despite it not being very far as as the crow flies (on a clear day you can see the South Island well from where the shot above was taken).  After that we’re only going to drive about 20-30 mins to a quiet basic camping spot to chill out for a couple of days to make a plan.

After that we’ll be heading around the Marlborough Sounds for some exploring and maybe a couple of days mountain biking over some of the Queen Charlotte Track.  After that we may head into the Sounds in the van and explore the more remote bays and areas for several days.  From there we hope to head to a remote few camps on the way to French Pass which is further to the West, but still in the general ‘sounds’ area.  Its a relatively small area, but full of passes, channels out to the sea and stunning beaches.  All this area is well known for fishing, boating and diving.

If you want to see some of the ferry crossing, check out this footage from YouTube, although I doubt we’re going to get a crossing quite like this – it could be quite wild if the wind doesn’t die down.

We have 5 weeks until my mum and stepdad come out to visit which is great.  We’ll probably spend most of this time in the far North of the South Island – at a push we’ll head down the West coast for some coastal climbing, then up to Arthur’s Pass to do the same and some walking before heading to Christchurch.

In the 3 weeks they are here we’ll do a whistle stop tour of the classic sights, then hopefully still be able to afford to backtrack to similar spots but at our own pace for walking, climbing and biking.

The van’s fully loaded and we’ve just to throw the bikes on.  Despite this we’ve managed to keep the main cabin clear so far which is good – how long that will last is another thing altogether!

Anyway, if the blog goes quiet we’re still ok – we just won’t be on the internet so much.  To family and friends….we are only going to the South Island, not the end of the world…we’ll still have phone reception but maybe not always….so don’t worry if you can’t get a hold of us for a few days.

We haven’t managed to submit our docs to Immigration before we leave as they have been held up due to the weather in the UK, which is very, very, very frustrating!

That’s about all – but Ruth – keep reading……

New Zealand is not Australia…..it’s several hours flight away to the East.  We are in one of the first countries to see a new day….it’s kinda right underneath Ireland.  New Zealand has got 2 islands….for the last few months we’ve been at the South of the top one (normally known as the North Island).  It’s a 30 minute flight, or 3hr ferry trip to the South which we can sometimes see from the beach round the corner.  We’ve both been here before.  (sorry, I’m being cheeky ;-> )

Anyway, Merry Xmas everyone that we don’t speak to beforehand!  It’s been one heck of a year so far!

Ciaras now finished work so its the 3 day ferry countdown. 🙂

Tonight was the night the wind and rain stopped.  That meant only one thing : time to test the portable gas BBQ before the road trip!
Ciara came home awfully excited today as it was her last day if wearing what I now call ‘fancy dress’.  Otherwise known as business dress.
Its her last day in the office tomorrow and she’s probably more excited than leaving in May…..and probably because I have less stuff to sort out this time!

We’ve had a relatively quiet time recently but jhave been busy prepping for our road trip…..  quite exciting as we’ll be on the ferry to the South Island in a week’s time, looking back from the boat to the coast from where this picture was taken.

This weekend we packed up a bit of the room, and sorted out some of the spare food and stuff for when we end up in the arse of nowhere without being prepared….yes, a bit OTT but hey ho.

We ran out of time to test out the new BBQ but Saturday was crazy hot.  The beaches were chocked full of people surfing and swimming and the waterfront was packed with people doing all sorts.  When I walked along the waterfront on Friday myself and a few others walking along had a bit of a laugh as two female tourists ran in front of us, held their noses and jumped into the sea.  I vowed I’d go for a swim in the sea on Sunday but the weather turned a bit meaning Sunday was super lazy.

Apart from that I managed to go bouldering on Thursday with my mate by the sea.  Ciara was bopping away with the girls at Bon Jovi on Saturday night when I decided to go fishing…..in the usual manner I cast twice and snagged my gear and had to cut the line!

Time to go, but I’ll try to get a blog post in before we hit the high seas.  We have a small bunch of leaving drinks on Friday night then it’ll be time to stash then van.

Its been a superb weekend of weather in Wellington so far and is forecast to continue. This was Wellington’s waterfront yesterday afternoon.  Seconds earlier my walk was interrupted to laugh as two tourists ran in front of me, grabbed their noses and jumped into the sea.
Ciara is heading to see Bon Jovi tonight so I’m heading to go for a fish on my tod.  Wild Saturday nights eh!
We’ve spent a bit of today sorting sine stuff out in prep for the road trip which is great…not quite as stressful as we thought.

I’m proud to announce the arrival of my new New Zealand Backpacing Guidebook : New Zealand Backpacking Unwrapped.

The guide is over 125 pages of quality information which I’m sure will help you during your next visit to New Zealand.  Although the ebook is aimed at backpacking in New Zealand, there is a lot of information there for both long term visitors, and new residents in New Zealand.  It will be perfect for you if you have a working holiday visa for New Zealand and are wondering what lies head.

I’ve spent weeks making sure that the information in this guide book is correct and relevant for backpackers, which is why this blog has suffered a bit over the last few weeks.

Due to me neglecting this blog a bit whilse writing the ebook I am happy to give the readers of this site a discount of 15%.  If you head on over to the checkout and enter the code of ‘nzunwrappedblog’, and apply the discount to your shopping cart, you’ll get a reduction.  Don’t forget to update your cart before checking out!

***  Click Here to head on over to the site and place your order at a special launch offer price – New Zealand Backpacking Unwrapped Guide Book ****

Here’s the highlights :

• When to travel and all the budget airlines.
• How to set up the boring stuff on your first day – bank accounts, tax number and mobile phone.
  You can kick back and relax once you get these essentials out of the way.
• Visa options – even if you’re over 31 for the standard working holiday visa!
  Using this you could get 3 YEARS of being allowed to work in NZ without applying for residency!
• How to hire a campervan, from $10 OR EVEN FREE!
• How to buy your car or van and maximise your chances of getting most of your money back.
  (my first car here cost me less than $30 NZD a week when I sold it! – cheaper than hiring)
• How to get bus fares from $1.
• LOADS OF DISCOUNTS – from everyday food shopping to buying stuff for your van.
• Eating out well, but on a backpackers budget.
  How to get access to amazing 2 for 1 deals at top restaurants – everyone needs a treat right?
• Where to get up to 80% off activites and other treats (from skydiving to spas!)
• Paying NZ prices for books?  No way – we’ll tell you where to get items shipped at UK prices – with no shipping!
• Use social media to get up to 20% of car and van hire.
• Everything you need to know about seasonal jobs – from fruit picking to ski resorts.
• Hostelling – are discount cards really worth it?
• The pros and cons of the main cities – where do you want to base yourself?
• Free things to do in the major cities.
• Best ways to meet local people.
• Like it here and want to stay?  You’ll find out top tips to smooth your way through a Skilled Migrant residency visa application.

There’s a lot more in there, but you can get access to all of this for less than the price of a night in a hostel and a drink!

Reminder – you’ll get a 15% discount on checkout using the code ‘nzunwrappedblog’.  I’m sure you’ll get a lot out of this guide and you’ve got nothing to loose as there is a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied!  All you have to do it email the address given on the order – no questions asked.

I hope you find this book useful as it contains a lot of information that you won’t find in any other guidebooks!

You’ll also get an exclusive 5% discount code for travel insurance in the book!  That alone could pay for the book.

***  Click Here to head on over to the site and place your order at a special launch offer price – New Zealand Backpacking Unwrapped Guide Book ****

As for the friends and family reading this, don’t take the mic – I’m doing to encourage others to take a look! There are other readers over and above just family and friends, so no pisstaking!