A Week Off

Unfortunately we can't stay forever at Sue 'n Nev's, the rest of New Zealand is waiting for us. Let's take the bus to Christchurch, again :). Sweet time when we exchanged shelter and food against a few hours of work is over: we're now travelling days and nights in our station wagon.

Now we're heading South to earn some money. It's cherry, apricots and plum season. Hands are needed to pick all these fruits. Before starting the work part of our visa, we take a week off to discover the country. West from Christchurch is the Banks Peninsula, formed by two volcanic eruptions 8 billions of years ago. The place is still "on the move": after our first night in the car ( we arrived at night, parked on an unheaven place, the neighbour came out to see what we were doing, well anyway...), at about 7am we thought the neighbour was shaking our car before we realised it was an earthquake. In the end, our neighbour (Bruce) was really nice and offered us a cup of tea.

After a short visit in Akaroa, full of tourists, we take the 'Summit Road' to check the power of our car. We have plenty of time to admire the landscape until Pigeon Bay since the car was so slow.

Our last attempt to avoid tourist hords in lake Tekapo and Alexandrina (it's summer holiday here) is going to lake Ohau. Blue water, lonely beaches and .......... We spent our first night in a DOC campsite, cheap, wild and handled by the Department Of Conservation. We also meet the sandflies for the first time, these fucking little mosquitoes that suck your blood and it's itching so much afterwards!!

Arrival : Clyde and its cherry orchards.