On the road: Week two round up
Distance travelled: 900km (11 hours).
Audiobook on deck: Mistborn: The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson.
Currently watching: Critical Role Season Two; Witcher.
We were grateful for: Cool, crisp overnight temperatures which mean we can sleep super well, even in our wee “fart coffin” with Dan the Human Heater.
We missed: Our bed at home! The mattress in the bunk isn’t cutting it for long-term usage with Kath’s back, so we are looking for a more supportive replacement.
We learned: That way more campgrounds than we thought are dog-friendly! This bodes well for future travels with the furball.
Funniest moment: Dan’s insistence that the other swimming hole would be better than the one we were at (“guaranteed, babe”!!) which was followed by more consumption of humble pie as we walked back to the (far superior) initial swimming hole!
Best save: Dan cobbling together a replacement grey water dump pipe after he left our other one behind at Herbert Forest Campground. Oops. Google said that replacements would cost upwards of $199 but Dan managed to create a replacement for $40 at a Farmlands store. Legend.
Edited to add: This is just as well, as even though we called the campground within hours of figuring out it was gone, they left it lying around until the day after and it got nicked. NOT ideal.
Best campsite: This is a tough one to call. We have stayed at four really great spots, all with excellent facilities and a great vibe. However, I think the best experience overall has to go to Murchison Motorhome Park, just outside of Murchison. They have two swimming holes (one better than the other *cough*) in the fabulous Buller River, free showers, great sites with privacy hedges, a vege garden which you can pick from with a gold coin donation, free-range eggs for 50c each, and they are dog-friendly. I love it here!
Most scenic location: The waterfall on one of the bushwalks at Jacksons Retreat. It was a beautiful 30-minute walk to get to it and was worth it. Dan even managed to get his drone out for the first time on the trip!
Most interesting fact we learned: That the placename ‘Hokitika’ means to turn around and directly return to the place you came from. When Ngāi Tahu were about to attack the pā here, at least one of their chiefs got drowned so they turned around and went straight back home (Māori Place Names, AW Reed, 4th ed., 2016).
We recommend: Using Gaspy before the fuel light on, as fuel prices can vary by up to 50c a litre within a pretty short distance! Example: we refuelled in Rolleston (Mobil - 1.28/L for diesel) and when we got to Greymouth it was $1.70/L at the Mobil there. EEP.
Number of wrecked cars on the roadside: Three.
Number of near-miss collisions we saw: One.
Progress made towards our 20 in 2020: One swim in the Buller River.
