Kaikoura sunrise.
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27th September 2024 at 19:29 - Damian
13km walk around the Kaikoura Peninsula today. Heaps of seals. Lovely weather.
We're parked up at Jimmy Armers Beach and there was a film crew plus a drone filming a family walking four llamas along the beach. No idea what that was about.
Exposed seabed.
View from the cliffs near the end of the peninsula.
Seals north of Kaikoura. Lots of pups. A few family dramas.
26th September 2024 at 16:31 - Damian
Bike ride around some vineyards today starting in Renwick. Forrest, Framingham, Nautilus and then Allan Scott for late lunch.
Nice cycling apart from the return along Old Renwick Rd which featured cars too impatient to slow down and squeezing past us between on coming trucks. Felt like we might die.
Another highlight of the day was popping in to Thymebank, a herb and lettuce hydroponic operation on the outskirts of Blenheim. Lovely people and fresh produce.
Sally's fancy lunch at Allan Scott.
Damian's fancy lunch at Allan Scott.
Sculpture at Nautilus Wines.
Bags of fresh-picked spring salad, coriander and parsley from Thymebank.
25th September 2024 at 20:11 - Damian
Some numbers for the North Island leg of the campervan trip for posterity:
8 days on the road.
923km total averaging 9L diesel / 100km = $193 = $24.13/day (incl RUCs).
Accommodation = $41.50 = $5.19/day.
Food = $676.40 = $84.55/day.
Total = $113.87/day
Hidden costs are the food we have in our pantry, the DOC campsite pass we pre-purchased and of course the investment in the van itself.
Edit: just topped up the lpg and we're averaging 570g/day = $2.21/day.
Our route for the North Island segment of our trip.
25th September 2024 at 13:20 - Damian
The South Island at last! Home for the next 14 weeks. Next stop, Renwick. I have an appointment with the first pub I ever had a proper beer in back in the mid-90s. The Cork and Keg.
First stop Queen Charlotte Drive for a pie.
25th September 2024 at 12:33 - Damian
Do tugs always chaperone the ferry into Picton's dock or have we broken down or something?
A tug boat guiding our ferry in.
25th September 2024 at 06:49 - Damian
On Monday we attempted to walk the Northern Path with cousin(ish) Andrew. Starting at Wellington Station and ending in Johnsonville. 17km.
But Sally got a flat tyre on the way around Oriental Parade so we had a cronut at Uncle Leo's Bakery instead.
Replaced the inner tube back at the van and cycled to Andrew's place for pizza dinner.
25th September 2024 at 06:05 - Damian
Yesterday we cycled to a tour of Wētā Workshop in Miramar. It's correctly pronounced 'weytaa'. The way we have been pronouncing it means poo.¹
In the morning we also dropped in on Sally's cousin Michael to check out his workshop where he runs a small EV classic car conversion company. Pretty cool.
Awesome kebab from Kilim in Petone!
Hobbit Feet
A converted 1971 MG.
22nd September 2024 at 18:55 - Damian
Last night we parked up in Evans Bay Marina in Wellington so that we could meet with a friend to walk a section of the Te Araroa. Our preference would have been to base ourselves in Ngati Toa Domain up in Paremata but with train line maintenance and strikes it was all just too hard. Evans Bay is only 20 minutes bike ride around the waterfront to the CBD.
We're going to base ourselves here until Wednesday when we sail to Picton.
Today we walked 10km from Oriental Parade to Island Bay.
Our route on the Southern Walkway (which is also the Te Araroa). A hilly, blustery walk but great views along the way.
Walking and talking with Kate.
Lots of cute houses perched on and below hillsides.
Also lots of cute boatsheds all along the waterfront.
Swans with cygnets. Mum was pulling up weed and draping it on the surface for the kids to eat. 🦢
21st September 2024 at 06:41 - Damian
Yesterday morning we parked up at Maymorn station on the west side of the Rimutakas and cycled along the old rail trail as far as the tunnel beyond the summit and back again. 36km easy peddling with a bit of cold wind up the top. Returned via Goat Rock Road and were grateful for assist.
Last night we stayed at the Masterton NZMCA and will be catching up with more of Sally's relatives in Greytown for lunch.
Sally entering one of the tunnels. The lights on the bikes came in useful.
19th September 2024 at 12:28 - Damian
This morning we carried on up the road toward Turoa Village and walked 2km to Waitonga Falls. An upside of this weather is that snow has fallen over the last week or so and we were treated to a winter wonderland.
Today we're driving to Upper Hutt and will be staying at Brewtown and catching up with a bunch of Sally's relatives this evening.
Rotokawa tarn on the way to the falls.
Waitonga Falls.
Perhaps the last and only snow we'll see this year.
Johnny Nation's Chocolate Eclairs in Ohakune. Absolutely massive and only $4. 10 points for size and value. 5 points for taste and texture.
19th September 2024 at 12:17 - Damian
After the bike ride on the excellent Te Awa between Ngaruawahia and Hamilton we drove to Te Kuiti for lunch at Stoked Eatery. A delicious alternative to our regular Bosco stop off.
From there to National Park. Rainy but managed to squeeze in a 30 minute walk to Tawhai Falls on the road to Whakapapa Village before driving to Ohakune.
Stopped in at the Powderkeg for a pint and nibbles and continued 2 minutes to our first (of many) DOC campsites at Mangawhero.
Tawhai Falls. More commonly known as Gollum's Pool due to featuring in LOTR.
The first of hopefully many DOC campsite stays. We bought 2 x year campsite passes for $273 through NZMCA.
The Chateau Tongariro still look spectacular against the mountains as you approach but up close is looking a little derelict. I hope they find some way to give it life if only for my childhood memories.
18th September 2024 at 10:04 - Damian
Yesterday we embarked on our 3 month van trip to the South Island.
We started with a short drive in blustery conditions from Auckland to Ngaruawahia where we pitched up at a free camping spot at The Point, the intersection of the Waikato and Waipa Rivers across the river from Turangawaewae marae. Lunch at Breaking Bread cafe.
This morning clear skies, calm and crisp and we cycled into Hamilton and back wearing gloves and beanies. Beautiful ride on a dedicated path (almost) the entire way.
36.4km there and back from Ngaruawahia to Hamilton. Took us a little over 2 hours.
Perry Cycle Bridge. A dedicated pedestrian and cycle bridge across the Waikato River.
Heading back from Hamilton along the river path. Plenty of people cycling and scootering to work by 0800.
9th September 2024 at 14:13 - Damian
We stayed overnight at Te Arai Regional Park last night and had an early start to walk the beach down to Pakiri and back. 24km all up and took us 6 hours.
Spotted some rare fairy terns, dotterels and a dead seal.
Our camping spot early this morning.
12km of uninterrupted sand.
4th September 2024 at 15:30 - Damian
The tyres on the van require 80psi/5.5bar and these days the air pumps at service stations only go to half of that.
There's a Caltex in Maungaturoto with one of those old wind-up-dial ding-ding ones that goes up high enough but that's the exception.
We've bought a portable pump that's compatible with our existing power tools (i.e. proprietary battery lock-in) which does the job nicely.
Takes 8 minutes(!) from 3.5 to 5.5bar. Also has a blower/sucker attachment for airbeds, etc.
A DeWalt battery/12V plug inflator. Noisy and slow but does the job.
3rd September 2024 at 09:23 - Damian
Geeking out here but Victron provide an app that connects to all the components via Bluetooth which makes life easy. They even provide an open source version for Linux which means I can check in on my Steam Deck.
A screenshot of the Victron app on the phone.
The Victron app running on the Steam Deck.
3rd September 2024 at 09:16 - Damian
The upgrade to LiFePO4 wasn't trivial. The van came with a system that was only compatible with lead acid and so I had to disconnect and route around much of it.
Many thanks to Steve Brackstone who documented his build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhhzU8Pa-iM&list=PLBy0Wq4Logxt0YN6NwOJn5bBycbShap_S
We went with mostly Victron stuff. It's expensive but reliable.
- 200Ah LiFePO4
- 100V/30A MPPT
- 10A DC>DC (alternator to battery)
- Smart charger (mains to leisure and starter)
- SmartShunt
- BMS
- BatteryProtect
- 500W inverter (not Victron)
Diagram of the new system. Mostly Victron-based.
Seats out. Cables and components everywhere. A total mess but following a plan.
The finished system prior to a bit of cable tidying and reinstalling the seats.
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