New Zealand, and more importantly THE VAN!

'No I have not put on weight, our beast really is that large

No matter where we are, we can always cook up a storm

Nic, post 'Pak N Save' food shopping, in our huge kitchen, just look at it!

We touched down in Auckland on a Friday night and checked into a hostel ion the city, so we could pick up our rental van the next morning. We decided to get the van as we only have 2 months to do the whole of NZ, and arguably it's one of the best ways to see the country. In true Nic and Kat fashion though, we didn't skimp. Oh no, we end up with the largest van that Britz rents, has a shower and toilet combo and is generally a house that any family would be proud of. It is basically awesome. We struggled for the first few days (particularly when Nic was driving) negotiating a few curbs, forgetting that we are now the length of a few cars, and I don't know if you've noticed, but car parks are NOT campervan friendly! No space is big enough for our beast! It has done us proud so far and we have stayed in some lovely spots right by the beach and we can sit there and watch the sun go down! Plus we have earnt massive respect, it is hard to go past any 80 year old couple in their motorhome without receiving a wave, almost a secret campervan circle of trust wave, that many laymen like you just wouldn't understand. The van is a hard beast to tame though anddoes require maintenance, such as refilling the water tank every day, emptying the dirty water that we affectionately refer to as 'grey water', and (worst of all) the toilet 'cassette' must also be emptied. I have kindly given the last job to Nic. Some of the sites we stay at do provide suprises though, such as making up on sunday morning to find that we had parked in a miniature railway car park and the Eurostar was in full flow!