First Travelling Day

8^th July 2015

 

First Travelling Day

 

Dire weather forecasts came thick and fast. When my friend, Marie, had asked if we had chains for the car and caravan I had laughed at her.

 

 “If there’s snow around, we won’t go,” I said. But now we were about to set off down the east coast where bitter cold and snow were forecast. There had been a few hail showers during the night and the car and campgrounds were still covered with hailstones. We hoped to somehow miss the worst of it as the storm moved north and we moved south. It would pass us by quickly was the theory.

 

The morning was fine and sunny as we prepared to leave, although very cold outside. Inside the caravan it has been cosy with a very effective heater.

 

The first hiccup came as Dean prepared to put the 50mm tow ball on to the tow bar we’d had fitted to the car. (Another task that could have been done a day or so ago, left to the last minute.)  Problem 1: the hole in the tow bar was too small for the high-rise tow ball bolt to fit into; problem 2: the tow ball bracket interfered with the safety chain shackle. So a hasty trip into town to the tow bar fitters was required.

 

With Ashburton only an hour away for normal travelling, we had first thought of leaving after lunch, but in light of the forecasts and the present good weather, we decided to get on the road earlier, so pulled out of the camp at 11.30 am. First stop was the Parkhouse Eco Depot where we could weigh the car and caravan and make sure everything was in balance.  All was good and we were on the way.

 

Dean did well on his first day driving. We were thankful that the road between Christchurch and Ashburton has many passing lanes and he was careful to pull over whenever possible to let cars behind pass us. We stopped at Rakaia for hot pies and coffee and a welcome break, and pulled into our camping site just out of Ashburton at 2.30 pm. The weather remained fine all the way with a good view over to the snow-topped mountains. A text message from my sister reported that Christchurch by now had sleety showers.

 

About an hour after arriving we had a few light showers and the wind got up a bit in the evening. We will see how it goes during the night.

 

We are parked on a POP site, one of many Park Over Properties in the NZ Motor Caravan Association network. These are private properties, mostly of other members, where they allow NZMCA members to park without charge. The farmer, Andrew, came to chat with us briefly and make us feel welcome. We have pigs, sheep and lambs, and horses as our neighbours.

 

Now we get the benefits of our self-containment certificate, without which we couldn’t stay in places like this. We have no power, but have gas, so can boil water on the gas cooker for hot drinks and cook for tea. The heater is on gas, but we won’t leave it on all night as we did when we had power.

 

So our first day has been successful. We will see how things go tomorrow, and hope the worst of the bad weather has passed by morning.