We’re making our way up to Nelson along the east coast. Last night we spun the camp-o-matic dial and found ourselves at a little holiday park by where the Waimakariri River spills into the South Pacific. And we got to play our first round of actually-configuring-the-camper-for-camping. 

Which is a more challenging game than previous iterations I’ve tried. I think this is my fifth campervan experience and, while it’s no smaller than a couple of others I’ve driven, it’s the first one where you can’t actually unfold the bed without cramming the driver’s seat into an impassable crouch. Or where unfolding the bed leaves you with no actual storage. Or where the mini-fridge will only power up if you drive six or so hours each day. Throw in the loose and cracked body panels, duct taped blackout curtains and pieces of interior plastic that come off if you slam the door too hard, and the general color of the experience is distinctly unimpressed.

But hey, we’re making it work.

This morning we meandered our way up to Kaikoura in hopes of hopping standby on one of the whale watching tours they’re famous for. The good news was that, due to rough seas, they’d had some cancellations, so they could fit us in. The bad news was that, due to rough seas, captain was going to require everyone who came on board to medicate for seasickness. 

We…decided to take a hike instead. Which was lovely.

Tomorrow we head north to Blenheim to finally meet in person a fellow warbird enthusiast I’ve been corresponding with for close to a decade. Then…maybe Nelson? As ever, I’ll keep you posted.