17.12.18 Finally, it's starting - Arthur's Pass & Keas!

Monday 17.12.18

Today is finally the last flight and then the journey really starts. The alarm goes off at 5 o'clock, at 5:30 I sit on a bench in front of the hotel in the rising sun and mild breeze, waiting for the shuttle to the airport. I check in at the self-check-in shortly after 6 o'clock, get rid of the large bag. Air New Zealand constantly makes warning announcements that only one piece of carry-on baggage is allowed and it must weigh only 7kg. My backpack weighs about 11kg and I still have a handbag... But first a coffee and a scone. At 8 o'clock, I board with my heavy carry-on bags, no one checks and I have a window seat and great views of my favorite country.

After 70 minutes, I land in Christchurch. It's 24 degrees, sunny. I call Wendekreisen, a woman picks me up after 10 minutes, I sign all the papers, find salt, pepper, a plastic bowl, a frying pan among the shelves of leftover food and other things, and then inspect the camper. It's not the best model... Rust, dents - everything is listed. The functioning of the porta potti, the water canister - which makes the camper self-contained - is explained quickly and I will see that I don't use either. The camper, a Koru 2+1, is a 3-person camper, although the upper bed would be more suitable for a child. Since I don't need it, I leave the cushions at Wendekreisen and have more storage space instead.

Shortly after 1:00 p.m., I sit in my vehicle and realize that it only has crank windows. So I can only adjust the right side window while driving, I can't reach the left (passenger) window - also annoying when you want to quickly take a photo from the side. So there's a constant draft in my face. Somehow I can't find a switch for the air conditioning, which was advertised for the driver's cabin.

In the supermarket, I first stock up on all kinds of stuff for about $100. The fridge is small and I'm glad I brought this plastic bowl because now I can store all the smaller items like cans, tea, coffee, cereal, toast in it. Otherwise, everything would be lying loose somewhere or would have to be stored under the seat benches in the compartments, which means you would have to lift the mattresses for every little thing. So this plastic bowl with all the stuff ends up in the large compartment above the driver's cabin and swings back and forth during the drive.

My drive takes me about 150km to Arthur's Pass. I'm excited about the beautiful landscape, the flowers, the hills, the sun, the blue sky - oh how great it is to be back here. In Arthur's Pass, I walk around the town, get a flat white in the café, and observe what I came here for: Keas! These intelligent mountain parrots can usually be found here, although they already annoy the café guests a lot and there are signs on all the tables warning not only to be careful around them but also not to feed them. But they take care of the latter themselves and eat everything that is left on plates or ends up under the tables. Unfortunately, this leads to diseases and a decline in the Kea population in New Zealand, as the birds find food scraps everywhere and, where that's not the case, are unfortunately also fed by tourists with bread and cake.

My first campground and the only one along Arthur's Pass is in Jackson, about 30km west of the village of Arthur's Pass with the Keas. What a dreamy campsite. Huge area, beautifully maintained, flower pots everywhere, several walking trails and even small forests with glowworms at night. The temperature has almost reached 30°C this afternoon. However, as soon as the sun is hidden behind the surrounding mountains, it immediately gets very cold and sitting outside is no longer an option. The weather forecast states that the weather will dramatically change tonight. Gusts of up to 100km/h, along with heavy rain, a severe weather warning for the West Coast region where I have now arrived.

So tomorrow I will leave here and go back to the east. However, my plans are completely torpedoed when I realize that my camper, which is plugged into an outlet so that I can charge my batteries, has no power in the kitchen area. Fortunately, the car still starts, so it must be an issue with the interior electrical system, but I can't get hot water in the kettle, nor can I charge my phone, tablet, or camera batteries.

In addition, I now realize that the refrigerator hardly cools and the temperature control knob is stuck and - even though it's set to 4 - everything is at best lukewarm. At first, I was annoyed that the right box (on the driver's side) in the driver's area didn't work and when you listen to the news, you can't hear anything because of the general rattling noise the camper makes without turning up the volume completely. Now I have no hot water, no electricity, no toaster, no charging option. Plus, I have found that the camper doesn't have air conditioning, although it was advertised. So now I will have to deal with these stupid crank windows for 18 days and - if it gets hot - suffer in the driver's seat. The backrest of the driver's seat cannot be adjusted, I am practically sitting at a 90° angle and wonder how it is possible to drive like this when you are 1.80m tall.

I lie annoyed in bed, the rain starts to pour and I ponder intensely what to do with this crappy vehicle.