Road Trip. Day Two.

Day Two:

We learnt on our second day that the trick to sleeping soundly in a cosy car-bed is to drink a lot beforehand. Although, then you have to find something calm and relaxing to do the next day to aid your recovery. Not hard where we were! We decided to go for breakfast in Wanaka which ended up being lunch as we moved at a snail's pace for most of the day. We dined on lime, salt and pepper squid and thai fish cakes at a lovely eatery called Relishes. I'd definitely like to go there again. I sat there smiling my head off like a goon, feeling giddily happy that we were on holiday and finally treating ourselves to a bit of 'us' time. 

Setting off a little bit away from Wanaka, we took a drive around the lake-side, until we came to a far off point of shore called Glendu Bay, where there didn't seem to be any people (anti-socialites that we are) and took our camping chairs down to the water front, where we enjoyed the view for a while, made some stone sculptures, watched a ski-surfer fall off lots and got a little bit eaten by sandflies.

After stopping at the supermarket on the way back to the campsite, we made a supper of lamb steaks and potatoes on our camp stove before taking a stroll down to the pebbley beach of Lake Outlet to watch the sunset. We just made it in time, after gorping skywards at a passing Warbird plane. We strolled for a while under falling gold autumn leaves along the lake until we came to its source, the River Clutha (NZ's largest river by volume). Both our phones were dead by now so we had no way of telling what time it was. We went to bed, not realising it was probably only about 7pm and woke very early thinking perhaps this was the longest night in world history? I will remember to take a watch next time!

Road trip. Day One.

Today is a perfect day for writing. I will set the scene. I am sat typing away at my dining table while the rain falls softly outside and I just know when I go to collect the post, outside it will smell that gorgeous newly-fallen rainy smell. I am getting toasty wearing my new/old polo jumper (see last week's thrifty post) and listening to a Sol Seppy album my brother gave me for Christmas (and thinking how much I miss those older brothers of mine). We have just come back from four days away over Easter, travelling around the Southern Lakes of the South Island and I am looking forward to starting my new job tomorrow. Mainly because I have never really looked forward to starting work anywhere before (except maybe my first day at the sweet shop back home) and it makes a nice change.

We spent our holiday relaxing and reflecting upon our first hectic months in a new country and all the changes we've been through lately. We were able to catch up on thoughts we hadn't had chance to think and look how far we've come already this year. I feel I am finally on a path that I can confidently walk down, feeling comfortable in my own skin.

So....here's a few posts with a low-down of our escape from the city. 

Day One:

Martin at Lake Tekapo

The Tasman Glacier and Mount Cook in the distance

Enjoying the view of the glacier

Mount Cook

Thursday was spent furiously stitching polka dot ribbon to my thrifted car-curtains in attempt to make them look a bit prettier and then feverishly trying to attach them in some fuctional way to the car to give us a chance at catching some reasonable sleep while we were away. By the time Mr Bear came home from work, everything was all packed up and ready to go so, after a speedy dinner, we departed for the three hour drive to Lake Tekapo for our first night.

It felt a bit of a shame to be driving in the dark and we tried to picture the landscape based on the shadowy silhouettes of mountains and valleys we were passing through. Our first night in the make-shift car-bed was a bit of a restless one. It's a bit cosy in there!

After a speedy wash and pack-up in the morning, we drove into Tekapo and grabbed a coffee to enjoy by the Lake. What a view. Although Tekapo itself isn't much to write home about - it's largely based around the needs of the tourist, with cafes, toilets and gift shops ect - the lake and view of the mountains was stunning. Crystal clear water and reflected vistas: beautiful.

We didn't stay long as we wanted to get to our next campsite in Wanaka before dark and we still had to stop off at Mount Cook and the Tasman Glacier. It's about 120 min round trip off the main road to view Mount Cook and the glaciers, and we ventured off-road on a rough gravel track for 8km while I panicked and got all anxious about our lovely new car and how dusty it was getting! After a steep climb, the glacier viewing point was well worth it. The sight of huge pieces of ice sheared from the glacier floating on Lake Tasman took away the little breath I had left from scrambling up the rocky mountain-side. Staring out to Mount Cook in the distance and enjoying the precious quietness of the place, we realised how lucky we are.

From Mount Cook, I braved driving on Kiwi roads for the first time. It's an enjoyable experience when you're out in the country and not surrounded by too many crazy NZ drivers! I parked up 30 mins down the line at Twizel for lunch. We visited Twizel Bakery Cafe, which had been recommended on a website I'd used to plan the holiday, and enjoyed a nice chunky slice of quiche followed by half a peach and passionfruit crumble tart each.

We arrived in Wanaka just after 5pm, after a disappointing drive through the town in search of beer (which is not sold on bank holidays here, much to our surprise and dismay!) Not to fear though. At the campsite, we were meeting our friend Andy and his travelling companion Michael, who offered us beer, wine and vodka. Not in the same glass mind, but still an evil combination. All in all, a good first night in Wanaka!

Creations

Here are some little creatures I've been working on recently. I'm planning to thread them together with some wool and wooden beads to create a hanging charm for our bedroom. It's starting to feel like home now, our little boudoir.

Off Op Shopping

Italiano Casas 50c each

Crochet Blankets $4 each

Colourful Camping Plates $1 each

Retro Flask $3

We are planning a little trip away for the Easter long weekend and need some stuff to kit out of car for camping in. I went on a wander today to do a bit of thrifting at a couple of charity shops, or 'Op Shops' as they're called here in Nuovo Zelanda (short for opportunity). I had some great luck. Found a couple of lovely crochet blankets at the local Sallie's to keep us warm overnight and some handy mini camping plates. I also came across these pretty little houses for 50c each and couldn't resist. They're now sitting on my window-sill making me feel all warm inside as I think of Italy. The lady at the counter rounded it down to just 10 bucks, what a bargain! I then went down to 'The Great Opportunity Shop' in Sydenham, which turned out to be a huge treasure chest with a pretty cool retro clothes section too. I managed to steer myself clear of the retro corner in an attempt not to spend too much money and came across this wonderful flask. I've always wanted one of these and I just love the Scandinavian type decoration. It will definitely come in handy for steaming cups of coffee to keep us alert on our travels! I also snapped up a vintage sheet and duvet cover for $2 each to kit out our make-shift car-bed. Still in need of some curtains and a mattress but I'm nearly there. Maybe I'll be lucky again tomorrow!

Second Hand Delights

Peach Dress $28 (£14)

Jazzy Shirt £2 (£1)

Winter Jumper $2

Floral Shirt $2

Leather Jacket $16 (£8)

Brown Leather Purse $3 (£1.50)

Last week, I went foraging in a second-hand warehouse with my flatmate Gabby. She had been the day before and come home with a gorgeous black cover-up with gold roses for only $2. I wanted to see this miraculous place for myself! I spent $52 and returned from my adventure with a jumper, two shirts, a dress, a leather jacket and a vintage purse. Not bad for a morning's work! My best find has to be the peach chiffon dress. My favourite colour and it hangs really beautifully.

Giant and Minute

You may or may not already know this: stop motion animation never fails to make me smile. This morning, I was in need of a smile and I found these two delights on Youtube: the world's largest and smallest stop motions. I'd love to live in a tiny world where you can ride bee's and fight dark clouds with shiny pins.

To The Gorge!

Last weekend, we woke on Sunday morning and made an impromptu decision to visit Rakaia Gorge, 80km out from the city. Along the way, we saw a farm named 'Huddersfield', a field of lady deer, an Australian Harrier eating Possum roadkill and thousands of Cabbage Whites dancing amongst the wildflowers. We took a short detour to the town of Methren as we were running on an empty tank and enjoyed a picnic in the children's playground before going in search of something to mend Mr Bamboo Bear's injured paw (he reacts very badly to insect bites, good job we were in an English speaking country this time!) The Gorge itself is pretty impressive, as you can see from the above pictures. We returned home to be greeted by a lovely Christchurchian sunset to end the day. Another edition to the spontaneous weekend series.