Christchurch, NZ (again!)

Friday, February 28

We started our day today in Hanmer Springs at the Top 10 Holiday Park. First thing, Andi took Aden to the playground to meet some friends he’d made yesterday while Tory and I stayed in the RV and did school work. Tory decided to research and write about a bird we’ve seen all over New Zealand’s South Island called the Weka.

When the boys returned from the playground and the kids and I finished school for the day, the four of us hit the road in the RV. “I’m in the mood to drive,” I said to Andi. “Let’s go!” From Hanmer Springs, we followed Highway 7 East toward Christchurch.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, there weren’t many cars around, and it was probably the straightest road we’ve driven on in New Zealand thus far. Life was good until ….

BANG!

We all heard a loud bang come from the RV. “What was that?!” Tory shouted from the back. Andi thought we blew a tire until he looked in the side-view mirror and saw a big black box skipping down the highway behind us. Andi said, “That’s our water tank!”

Fortunately, there were no vehicles directly behind us. Andi pulled safely to the side of the road and we hopped out of the RV to assess the situation. Sure enough, our water tank had fallen from the bottom of our RV and tumbled across the highway. It was pretty banged up. I walked down the side of the road and collected the braces that once held the water tank onto the RV while Andi phoned our RV rental company. They told us to drive to Christchurch and they’d get us an appointment with a repair shop to fix it.

The positives: 1) The four of us were safe. 2) No one else was injured. 3) Our RV was still driveable & liveable except for having access to water. One glaring negative: It was already Noon on Friday and the chance of us arriving to a repair shop in Christchurch (over one hour away) and the repair shop having the part we needed & then being able to it install it by the close of the day was very small. Sunrise Holidays, our rental company, said they’d do whatever they could to make it right for us.

We arrived to the auto repair shop in Christchurch around 2:00pm. Sunrise Holidays said they had another water tank on hand that fit our rig and they also had a mechanic on staff that had committed to repairing our RV water tank on Saturday morning. Andi and I decided to camp for the night at a holiday park in Christchurch, not far from the auto repair shop. so we’d be close by and able to drop the RV off Saturday morning. In the meantime, we figured we’d make use of our time in the city. Andi and I decided to take Tory and Aden to the International Antarctic Centre to learn about New Zealand’s relationship with the continent to the south.

Tory and Aden really enjoyed the Antarctic Centre. We saw little blue penguins, watched a 4D movie about Antarctica, rode in a Hagglund (an antarctic vehicle that is still used today), and braved the weather in an Antarctic “snow storm room” that simulates what it feels like to be on the icy continent. Fortunately for us, the snow storm room was warmer than it is during an average Wisconsin winter day so it didn’t feel so cold to us!

Even though Christchurch wasn’t originally in our travel plan, I’m glad we were able to make the most out of our time in the city. We arrived to our campground for the night around 6:00pm. After we got settled in our spot for the night, Andi grilled dinner and we ate outside at a picnic table. Andi and I were also sure to have a conversation with the kids about the up’s and down’s of traveling. Bumps in the road are bound to happen; it’s how you respond to those bumps that makes all the difference. We stayed calm today, we sourced help for our vehicle, and we were grateful the situation wasn’t any worse. It certainly could have been! God was looking out for us. Tomorrow, we’ll have our RV fixed and be back on the road before we know it.

Saturday, February 29

Early Saturday morning, Andi took an Uber to the airport to pick up a rental car and then drove it back to the campground to meet Tory, Aden and I. Then, Andi drove the RV to the repair shop and I followed behind him in the rental car. It was my first time driving on the left side of the road and luckily, it didn’t feel too strange. After being here for two full weeks, Andi and I both fairly used to driving on the left side of the road. Except for the two-lane round-a-bouts that go around from the left… those are still confusing as ever!

It was kind of nice having a small rental car for the day! Navigating around the big city of Christchurch was much easier in a compact car vs. a 22-ft RV. The first thing we decided to do with our new nimble vehicle was to check out the Riccarton Farmer’s Market. The market had lots of vendors and was located alongside a beautiful river. Early on, we ducked under tents and umbrellas between rain spurts. Then, the rain stopped and the sunshine came out & it turned out to be a really lovely afternoon.

We found so many delicious things to buy and eat at the market. Andi bought a few blocks of cheese made by a Swiss cheesemaker who now calls New Zealand home. We bought a fresh loaf of bread from a baker, lemon-flavored olive oil made locally in Akaroa, NZ, locally produced sausages, a bacon-wrapped croissant stick, radishes, strawberries and salad greens. We had a great conversation with a vendor about manuka honey which is a type of honey native to New Zealand that has antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits. Andi and Aden sampled Asian dumplings and apple slices. We shared a cup of hot chai tea. Tory and Aden split a banana toffee crepe and I had a lamb sausage roll. To say we were full and happy when we left this awesome market would be an understatement!

After the market, we drove to the Riccarton Mall so Andi could buy a new SIM card for his iPad.

Then, we took the kids to the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch for the afternoon. The wildlife reserve reminded me a lot of Fawn-Doe-Rosa back home. It was a small zoo with lots of ducks and geese wandering around the sidewalks, deer, birds, farm animals and some animals unique to New Zealand. I couldn’t figure out why the ducks and geese were following me until I realized Andi had been secretly throwing food pellets near my feet!

In addition to feeding the birds and farm animals, Willowbank also had a place to feed tame eels. Apparently, this is a THING here in New Zealand! So strange. Longfin Eels are endemic to New Zealand. They are the largest freshwater eel and live to be more than 100 years old. Everyone here calls them “tame eels” but I have no doubt they’d chomp a finger if you got too close!

Different than a traditional zoo, Willowbank Wildlife Reserve is a safe-haven for animals needing safety or rehabilitation. They have several Kea birds on site as well as the rare and famous kiwi bird. Tory was super excited to see a real kiwi bird as we studied them before we came to New Zealand. Kiwi birds are nocturnal, so the enclosure we toured was completely dark inside. Only with small spotlight were we able to see the kiwi foraging for food in the ground.

I’m not sure this wildlife centre would be the top of my New Zealand bucket list, but our family enjoyed seeing animals on a perfectly warm summer day in Christchurch. The repair shop called Andi around 3:00pm to let him know our RV was fixed. They were able to repair our existing water tank and fashion it onto the bottom of the rig again. Good thing we collected all those broken pieces from the side of the road!

We drove back to repair shop to pick up the RV and then to the airport to drop off our rental car. From there, we headed to the mountain resort town of Castle Hill for the night, about 90 minutes outside Christchurch. Castle Hill is known for its snow skiing in the wintertime and mountain biking in the summertime. There’s a small lodge at the base of the hill to accommodate skiiers and bikers & the lodge allows a handful of campervans to park in the parking lot for a small fee.

What a day! Andi and I were both ready to relax and unwind once we got settled in Castle Hill. Tonight, we plan to enjoy the facilities of Porter’s Lodge and tomorrow check out a hike in Castle Hill.