Well it seems this month we have actually been out of the bus more than we have been in it!! After leaving the ferry (where I wrote the last update) on arrival in the South Island we began our trip in earnest to get down to Rotherham in time for the All Blacks kick off (Liam's schedule). So far so good it seemed.
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| In Christchurch looking up to Kaikoura |
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| The bus on its way to be repaired |
Despite a bit of of a temperature shock on crossing South all was going well until we ventured out of the Lewis pass and there was a huge vibrating noise right under where the dog sits! At first I have to admit that I thought the dog was having some kind of seizure .... until I heard the engine die and Liam say a few expletives. Thankfully we were able to find a spot to (kind of safely) get off the road which was in cell phone coverage. Unfortunately though the AA operator had no idea where we were and even told us there was no SH 70 (
which it looks like is technically correct) even though we were 9 km from a sign that said SH70 to Rotherham. Once the mystery as to our location was solved it seemed that no tow truck was able to come to us ........ nothing to do with the All Blacks playing I'm sure - not!!!
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| Helping Nan's neighbour with the cows |
Anyway thankfully we had our roadside cover and could get the bus towed down to Christchurch to our mechanic there. What initially looked like a fairly simple issue of the driveshaft coming off, which would take a week to sort, turned into a major job as when the driveshaft came loose it had ripped a big hole in the gearbox, severed the handbrake cable and crimped the fuel line. The diagnoses?? Three weeks in the workshop :(.
After a week with Nan enjoying the fireside we headed up to Hanmer Springs for Jasmine's Guide camp only to be part of the big snow storm, much to themselves delight. They both had a great time playing in the snow ... Jasmine with the guides at camp and Daniel with Rex in our campground. Daniel also managed to get hooked on
geocaching after finding a geocache while exploring and rock climbing. It was great seeing his enthusiasm for solving the clues and hunting another out. I think we will be doing a bit more of this in the near future.
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| Herself on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) camp |
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| Enjoying the sun before the snow arrived |
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| Woo hoo .... SNOW!! |
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| The giant snowball roller |
The final week of our 'off the bus' time we spent in Christchurch visiting playgrounds, doing a bit of family history, making movies and checking out the city library along with a lot of Masterchef Australia watching after themselves got a bit hooked at Nan's. As the weekend approached though we found ourselves facing another weather bomb (rain this time) as Liam collected our newly fixed and COF'd bus and we made our way out of the big smoke ..... thankfully the rain eased the further north we drove and with SH1 open all the way up to Kaikoura we made it in good time with only a stop for lunch.
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| Playing chess in Christchurch |
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| A rainbow in between all the rain |
So here we are back in Kaikoura, enjoying life albeit it slightly on the freezing side (outside that is). Liam has been asked to work on a little longer than we thought so we have rented out a paddock for the duration. It is a great spot under Mt Fyffe and even has a little shower block across the way for us to use. The kids are loving having a bit of freedom again to explore and run around and I'm enjoying being back home with everything rather than living out of bags!
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| Back in the bus |
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| Our bedroom view |
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| Completing Guide and Cub badge work while feasting on damper. |
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| Walking the dogs ... Rex has been having a sleepover party! ;) |
Until next month.
Arohanui
Y
