RV Travel Lifestyle

rv travel lifestyle

EDITOR Robyn Dallimore, editor@rvmagazine.co.nz ADVERTISING MANAGER Bruce Mountain COVER SHOTS Bruce Mountain – Knights Point West Coast. OBC Bruce Mountain CONTRIBUTORS Sheryl Bainbridge, Allan Dick, Robyn Dallimore, Howden Ganley, Jane Dove Juneau, Don Jessen, Gary Patterson, Keith Quinn, Carl Rapson, Justine Tyerman, Peter Williams SUB-EDITING & PROOFING Thiers Halliwell, Allan Walton DESIGN Cameron Leggett – camleggettphoto.com SUBSCRIPTIONS & ADMINISTRATION Subscriptions Manager Laura Atkinson subs@rnrpublishing.co.nz PUBLISHERS Bruce Mountain, bruce@rnrpublishing.co.nz Robyn Dallimore, robyn@rnrpublishing.co.nz…

holiday roadies

Haere mai As I write this today I sit with a tear in the eye, maybe more than one, as Bruce and I watch the TV coverage of the White Island volcano tragedy. We had the pleasure of taking a helicopter trip out there last year. Peter Williams covered his trip earlier this year in NZTODAY, and I know that many of our readers have been among the 500,000+ people who have visited the active volcano. Even though we all sign waivers acknowledging it is dangerous, etc., it doesn’t stop us heading out there, or stop us taking chances in many ways in order to enjoy amazing natural-environment experiences here in New Zealand, and indeed around the world – it is part of our human nature I think to explore. Our love and…

the adventure begins

I remember the day like it was yesterday – the day we actually drove out of our property to be on the road full time. It was the strangest feeling. The excitement was unreal, and the possibility of what new adventures lay ahead was electric, but we were sad to leave our home, all the memories, our regular routine and the safety of normality. But I can tell you now that the adventures and fun we have had and the new people that we have met in the last year exceeded our expectations. The first job we went to was meant to last four months, working at a popular holiday park in the Bay of Islands. To get to the job we had to take the Russell–Ōpua ferry, and fortunately it…

a road less travelled – but it wasn’t always that way

The Kaikōura earthquake struck at two minutes past midnight on November 14, 2016. The damage was immense but there was no loss of life, because this region – apart from Kaikōura itself – is very sparsely populated. However, New Zealand’s transport infrastructure was thrown into chaos with both the railway line and SH1 damaged to such an extent that wise people scratched their heads and wondered if we needed to look at alternative routes or methods of transport – alternatives such as coastal shipping. The first priority was to see if there was any way that road traffic, at least, could flow again via ‘the inland route’ – Lewis Pass, Springs Junction, the Shenandoah, through Murchison, turning off at Kawatiri, through St Arnaud and down the Wairau Valley. Apart from the greatly…

rv roadie – year 2 part ii

When I left off last issue we were just boarding the Interislander bound for Picton. Following a smooth voyage and an on-time arrival we disembarked with a mission to get as far south as possible by nightfall. We prefer not to arrive at new camping grounds after dark, so stopping during daylight hours with time to prepare dinner (preferably a BBQ) is important. Last year there was the problem with delays on the Kaikāura coast part of the journey, but this year there was no such impediment. Once I get on the road I like to press on to whatever destination we have chosen, although there are obvious temptations to dally, and as we proceeded south we passed all those lovely vineyards with their tasting rooms, and the co-driver decided we should…

silencing the voices in my head part one

Eyebrows were raised to the ex-hairline and there was much tut-tutting among our friends as they inspected the double bed neatly made up in the back of the JUCY Cabana station wagon and the little kitchen tucked into the rear of the vehicle. “You’re a bit old for this sort of thing,” they guffawed, shaking their heads in disbelief. “And besides, it’s far too late in the season to be camping – you’ll freeze to death. “Stay on here with us – play golf, go fishing and e-biking … sensible, age-appropriate activities. Or at least check in to a hotel along the way,” they said. That’s all it took to galvanise the stubborn in me and harden my resolve to defy ‘age-ism’ and ‘sensible-ism’, throw caution to the non-existent wind and be daring…