The Beginning...

17 May, 2011 – Day of departure from Boise headed to LA. Flight was short and sweet…I think the thing that we were both dreading most was picking up all of our baggage from baggage claim. A whole year of travel means a whole LOT of bags. We were lucky enough that all arrived unharmed and we made our way with a cart full of baggage to the rental car place. With our Toyota Corolla locked and loaded we headed out on the open road in LA…then promptly returned after getting lost to pick up a GPS. As we made our way to the hotel, the surroundings became less and less touristy and more and more Hispanic. We landed in Hawthorne, just north of Crenshaw, a well known sketchy area. Checked into our room and headed out to the Dodgers game. 2-1 LA lost to the Brewers. Great pitching matchup, awesome stadium complete with Dodger Dogs and Sam Adams.

Dodger Stadium.

We made our way back to the hotel via Sunset Blvd, Staples Center and other iconic downtown LA locations. Time to rest up for the big flight… After breakfast that morning, headed to Redondo Beach for some sunshine and seafood. A nice way to start the day when you know you’ll be crammed in a plane for the next 16 hrs. Besides the seagull attack, lunch was great. Off to the airport (after filling up our rental car tank at $4.13/gallon).

Later LA...

Arrived at the airport 5 hrs early, plenty of time for them to tell us our carry on luggage was overweight. Luckily when they heard we were moving for a year, VAustralia allowed us to reshuffle and check an additional 2 bags for free. Post security… snagged an ideal spot next to the much coveted electrical outlets and watched Wedding Crashers in the lounge to pass time (such an American classic). FLIGHT TIME! John says long… long… long… long… long…except on the leg room. They’re pretty tuned in on these long flights, they give you everything for free – decent meals, VINO, movies, games, TV shows, music, water (a concept we’d find to have disappeared once we reached Australia). Long layovers and delayed flight in Australia turned our 22 hr travel into a full 30 hrs in planes and airports. Yes it was 30 hrs, yes it was long…but we survived to tell the story.
Sort-of – John.

Forward to May 19th… (we missed the 18th if anyone wants to fill us in).

CHRISTCHURCH!! Or Churchcrist as we’ve heard some German brewers refer to it. We arrived around 4PM - tired, exhausted, famished… We made our way via Supershuttle to Gothic Heights Motel in downtown (city centre). Dragged our MANY bags inside and headed out in search of food and beer. Beer was good at Pegasus Arms, food was sub standard. Steak sandwich (definitely not up to John’s standards) and fisherman’s platter was weak at best. Back to hotel…passed out.

Christchurch day 2-6…business time! Without a means of transportation, too much walking incurred. Through our walking travels we found that everything in this place costs $$...NO FREE INTERNET, even at Starbucks, which was a huge obstacle for us. Begin thinking budget, walk to grocery store (Pack N Save – the Winco of NZ) for food to make at home, walk to bank, walk to car lots, walk, walk, and some more walk. We heard about a gem of a place called the backpackers car market to purchase cheap reliable cars for travelers such as ourselves.

John climbing through the many vans.

The back lot, full of treasures.

It was like a dream come true from what we had previously come across…forward to the Adventureship. We purchased our 1997 Honda Odyssey minivan on 23 May, 2011 and let us tell you, she’s a beauty...see for yourself.

Oh yeah…fully equipped with a sleeping compartment and fierce car alarm.

Now that we have wheels, off to Blenheim (Blen-um), by way of Highway 1 up the east coast. We stopped in a quaint fishing village called Kaikoura, amazing seafood BBQ right off the side of the road toward the seal colony. For those who don’t know what a seal colony is (JIM HANEY) it’s a colony of seals. Or, to be more specific, see photos below…

John taking it all in. Kaikoura Seal Colony grounds.

   










Back on the road to Blenheim, we found very windy, two lanes incredibly narrow roads. They took us through rolling green fields, mountain passes and plenty of sheep pastures - 7:1 ratio sheep to people. Enter Blenheim, center of the Marlborough wine country. The most valuable thing we found here was FREE INTERNET at the library. It’s amazing how much you take for granted free Internet at every café in America…until you don’t have it anymore. Serious job search begins. After a long day of applying for jobs what more would you want than a glass of wine to unwind? We’ve been trying a lot of the different wines from this region, and making a trip back down once we have settled in is on the list. Our favorite thus far…a Cab-Merlot by Brancott Estates, appropriately named Montana. Also important to note, key breweries in the area: Renaissance Brewing focus on Ales, while the rest of the country seems to stick to malty lagers. Moa is the other preferred brewery in Blenheim and makes some quality beer and has the price to match. Craft beer here is considerably more expensive than in the States (as the Kiwi’s refer to the US). A quality single bottled beer (16oz) usually runs around $7, at the pub $10. Draft beer is around the $10 range for a pint. Notable pub we came across, The Secret Garden.


A quick 2 day trip in Blenheim and we’re back on the road toward Nelson…homeward bound? Stay tuned for next week’s update…