Question: What happens when Krispin is on a long flight with a dead laptop and no book?
Answer: Bad puns spill fourth...
Example: What do you get when a Tongan man starts a family with a Fijian woman?
Answer: Cross-Polynesian
(Zean, that one's for you...)
We arrived at Christchurch International Airport after a two-leg flight from Honolulu. The first leg of our trip was on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Krispin had never flown on this aircraft but wanted to very badly. By contrast, Claire didn't know if she had ever flown on a Dreamliner but also didn't care so much as long as it didn't fall out of the sky and landed at the correct destination. In this case, Sydney, Australia.
The Dreamliner lived up to Krispin's expectations! The aircraft had a large, well-lit interior and was very quiet during flight. So quiet, in fact, that the screaming babies seemed unusually loud...
Unfortunately, this fine craft was in the hands of the shrewdly-run airline, Jet Star; the budget wing of Qantas (no pun intended this time). On this twelve-hour flight, nothing is provided for free...not even water! To be fair there are some water dispensers by the emergency exits; but, if you are cold/hungry/thirsty/bored you have to pay. Fortunately for us, we got forewarning of these wacko airline policies. One of the co-habitants of the hostel on the north shore of Oahu was an Australian who had just arrived via this same airplane and airline.
With Claire firmly in command of the pre-flight preparations, we stocked up on snacks and water for the long trip; trail mix, crackers, fruit and plenty of water. Our last host in Honolulu also supplied us with hard boiled eggs, "cuties," and granola bars. Still, by the time we landed in Sydney, we were just about out of everything. We did still have some apples though...stay tuned for more on them - yes the apples...
Jet Star did have one pleasant surprise for us; getting us free Australian visas! It was our understanding that because we were not staying in Australia (just transiting), that we didn't need visas. The airline was unsure and so just issued us each a three-month multiple entry visa for FREE! Normally, they charge twenty-five dollars each. As it turns out, we didn't need the visas, but they were very handy to have if we decided to return to Australia after NZ.
It was hard to give too much praise to Jet Star however, after they charged us ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY dollars to check one 25kg bag to New Zealand! We learned that lesson the hard way; never again will we jump at the chance to book a super cheap flight without first checking the baggage limits.
The second leg of our journey, from Sydney to Christchurch, was on an Airbus; and therefore unremarkable.
How does the saying go? Get me a Boeing or I ain't going... Something like that.
We landed quite late, about one in the morning. The immigration officers asked a question or two and stamped our passports, YAY, we were in New Zealand!!!
Not so fast... Remember those apples? Customs and the agricultural checkpoint were up next. They were much more particular and strict than immigration. On our landing card, we marked that we had fresh fruit. We went to the line for inspection and along the way passed signs that said we could be fined four hundred dollars for bringing a variety of food items into the country. We chose to declare (and subsequently forfeit) our three apples and skip the fine.
We had arranged to stay at a guesthouse very near to the airport, on the outskirts of Christchurch. We planned to stay two nights so we could get our bearings and rest after eighteen hours on the go. This place was perfect; the host picked us up at 1:30am, and it was quiet, clean, and included breakfast. Thumbs up to M & Y Guesthouse!
While Christchurch was once dotted with old brick and rock buildings, an earthquake "storm" leveled much of the city in 2010-11. We would have liked to see some of these old buildings, but we were about five years too late. The botanical garden has survived just fine though. We spent a day walking around trees from all over the world, including Coastal Redwoods from California.
After a few days of exploring Christchurch gardens, earthquake damage, and restoration efforts, our next planned stop was a sheep farm to the south of Christchurch to do a week of work exchange. To get to the farm, we would stay a night in Lyttelton, a small village located on a shipping port south of the city, and take a passenger ferry across to Diamond Harbor the next day.
On our last day in the city, we had a few errands to do; buy a sim card for our phone and pick up some cheap work clothes. We got off the bus and started walking the six blocks to a thrift store (or as they call them, "Op Shop") that Claire had found online. Just as we were approaching the store, we passed a Backpackers Car Market. Our original plan for New Zealand was to go to the farm and while staying there, search for a van to travel and camp in. But, all of sudden, here we were standing in the middle of a bunch of campervans, and fate stepped in. The first van we saw was an older Toyota Hiace with an awesome fern/camouflage paint job. We were standing next to the van, reading the "for sale" sign in the window, when a girl walked up and asked us if we would like to see her van. We were a bit caught off-guard, as we weren't planning to even looking at vans for another week or so.
We had a quick look at the van and said we might come back and have a closer look after buying the work clothes. While shopping, we decided we might as well have a look at all the vans at the market. When we returned to the car market, the van with the paint job was being test driven by two other backpackers so we viewed some of the other vans there. Most of the vans looked like they had been sitting for a long time. Some had parts sitting in the front seat or a high price tag. Krispin test drove a number of vans, but nothing jumped out at us as THE ONE. We were still waiting for the fern van to come back from the test drive.
After about twenty minutes, the people that had gone for the test drive came back... but in a different car!! Apparently, the van had broken down about three blocks away. That's a good time to walk away, right?! We tried to keep our distance from this problem but the more they described the problem the more Krispin thought it would be a quick fix, and the poor girls who were selling it were leaving on a flight the next day... So, everyone began to walk to the van to have a look: the two girls that owned the van, the two girls that had test driven the van, Claire and Krispin.
The van would not start. When the key was turned the starter would make a clicking noise. but the engine would not turn over. Krispin had seen this problem before and knew that the starter solenoid contacts were worn out. On Krispin's last trip to New Zealand, he had a van with exactly the same problem. The van had a tool kit, so Krispin removed the starter and confirmed his suspicion.
During this, the girls mostly sat in the middle of the road, complimented Krispin's handiness, and offered him mostly useless help - "Here, need a wrench? Oh, not that kind?...." After two failed attempts to shim the contacts into a working position, we push-started the van and drove it back to the car market.
To better understand the situation, more back story on the current van owners needs to be understood. This van was owned by two German girls that were planning to fly to Australia the next morning. They had tried, unsuccessfully, to sell the van online and were now in their second day of trying to sell it in-person at this car market. They had paid NZ$95 so they could wait around in the hope that a buyer would show up and like their van over all the others. There were lots of vans and very few buyers... At this point, if we didn't buy the van, the german girls had one option; pay the owners of the car market $450 more to store the van until it sold. If, and when, the van sold, they would get their money. The German girls would also have to pay a mechanic to fix the starter.
We liked this van. Eye-catching, with a great interior set-up, and something just "felt right."
So, feeling like we were half-nuts; we started negotiation. The original asking price was $4200 NZ. We knew they would have to pay $450 to the car market and about $250 to fix the starter, so we offered $3200. After some haggling, the four of us settled on $3400 and we did the paperwork and paid by PayPal at 5:15pm, just after the car market closed.
We gave the girls a ride to the place they were staying for the night, let them bid their sentimental goodbye with K-MO (the van), and took a picture.
And just like that.... we bought a van!!!
Now what???
Well, no more need to take the bus; so we drove to our accommodation in Lyttelton! Krispin did an excellent job driving (left-side) on the fly.
Next adventure, the sheep farm!
Answer: Bad puns spill fourth...
Example: What do you get when a Tongan man starts a family with a Fijian woman?
Answer: Cross-Polynesian
(Zean, that one's for you...)
We arrived at Christchurch International Airport after a two-leg flight from Honolulu. The first leg of our trip was on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Krispin had never flown on this aircraft but wanted to very badly. By contrast, Claire didn't know if she had ever flown on a Dreamliner but also didn't care so much as long as it didn't fall out of the sky and landed at the correct destination. In this case, Sydney, Australia.
The Dreamliner lived up to Krispin's expectations! The aircraft had a large, well-lit interior and was very quiet during flight. So quiet, in fact, that the screaming babies seemed unusually loud...
Unfortunately, this fine craft was in the hands of the shrewdly-run airline, Jet Star; the budget wing of Qantas (no pun intended this time). On this twelve-hour flight, nothing is provided for free...not even water! To be fair there are some water dispensers by the emergency exits; but, if you are cold/hungry/thirsty/bored you have to pay. Fortunately for us, we got forewarning of these wacko airline policies. One of the co-habitants of the hostel on the north shore of Oahu was an Australian who had just arrived via this same airplane and airline.
With Claire firmly in command of the pre-flight preparations, we stocked up on snacks and water for the long trip; trail mix, crackers, fruit and plenty of water. Our last host in Honolulu also supplied us with hard boiled eggs, "cuties," and granola bars. Still, by the time we landed in Sydney, we were just about out of everything. We did still have some apples though...stay tuned for more on them - yes the apples...
Jet Star did have one pleasant surprise for us; getting us free Australian visas! It was our understanding that because we were not staying in Australia (just transiting), that we didn't need visas. The airline was unsure and so just issued us each a three-month multiple entry visa for FREE! Normally, they charge twenty-five dollars each. As it turns out, we didn't need the visas, but they were very handy to have if we decided to return to Australia after NZ.
It was hard to give too much praise to Jet Star however, after they charged us ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY dollars to check one 25kg bag to New Zealand! We learned that lesson the hard way; never again will we jump at the chance to book a super cheap flight without first checking the baggage limits.
The second leg of our journey, from Sydney to Christchurch, was on an Airbus; and therefore unremarkable.
How does the saying go? Get me a Boeing or I ain't going... Something like that.
We landed quite late, about one in the morning. The immigration officers asked a question or two and stamped our passports, YAY, we were in New Zealand!!!
Not so fast... Remember those apples? Customs and the agricultural checkpoint were up next. They were much more particular and strict than immigration. On our landing card, we marked that we had fresh fruit. We went to the line for inspection and along the way passed signs that said we could be fined four hundred dollars for bringing a variety of food items into the country. We chose to declare (and subsequently forfeit) our three apples and skip the fine.
We had arranged to stay at a guesthouse very near to the airport, on the outskirts of Christchurch. We planned to stay two nights so we could get our bearings and rest after eighteen hours on the go. This place was perfect; the host picked us up at 1:30am, and it was quiet, clean, and included breakfast. Thumbs up to M & Y Guesthouse!
Krispin upon arrival in Christchurch!
While Christchurch was once dotted with old brick and rock buildings, an earthquake "storm" leveled much of the city in 2010-11. We would have liked to see some of these old buildings, but we were about five years too late. The botanical garden has survived just fine though. We spent a day walking around trees from all over the world, including Coastal Redwoods from California.
A statue at the old city center that suffered much damage; now a place to get some good eats from mobile food trucks.
After a few days of exploring Christchurch gardens, earthquake damage, and restoration efforts, our next planned stop was a sheep farm to the south of Christchurch to do a week of work exchange. To get to the farm, we would stay a night in Lyttelton, a small village located on a shipping port south of the city, and take a passenger ferry across to Diamond Harbor the next day.
On our last day in the city, we had a few errands to do; buy a sim card for our phone and pick up some cheap work clothes. We got off the bus and started walking the six blocks to a thrift store (or as they call them, "Op Shop") that Claire had found online. Just as we were approaching the store, we passed a Backpackers Car Market. Our original plan for New Zealand was to go to the farm and while staying there, search for a van to travel and camp in. But, all of sudden, here we were standing in the middle of a bunch of campervans, and fate stepped in. The first van we saw was an older Toyota Hiace with an awesome fern/camouflage paint job. We were standing next to the van, reading the "for sale" sign in the window, when a girl walked up and asked us if we would like to see her van. We were a bit caught off-guard, as we weren't planning to even looking at vans for another week or so.
We had a quick look at the van and said we might come back and have a closer look after buying the work clothes. While shopping, we decided we might as well have a look at all the vans at the market. When we returned to the car market, the van with the paint job was being test driven by two other backpackers so we viewed some of the other vans there. Most of the vans looked like they had been sitting for a long time. Some had parts sitting in the front seat or a high price tag. Krispin test drove a number of vans, but nothing jumped out at us as THE ONE. We were still waiting for the fern van to come back from the test drive.
After about twenty minutes, the people that had gone for the test drive came back... but in a different car!! Apparently, the van had broken down about three blocks away. That's a good time to walk away, right?! We tried to keep our distance from this problem but the more they described the problem the more Krispin thought it would be a quick fix, and the poor girls who were selling it were leaving on a flight the next day... So, everyone began to walk to the van to have a look: the two girls that owned the van, the two girls that had test driven the van, Claire and Krispin.
The van would not start. When the key was turned the starter would make a clicking noise. but the engine would not turn over. Krispin had seen this problem before and knew that the starter solenoid contacts were worn out. On Krispin's last trip to New Zealand, he had a van with exactly the same problem. The van had a tool kit, so Krispin removed the starter and confirmed his suspicion.
During this, the girls mostly sat in the middle of the road, complimented Krispin's handiness, and offered him mostly useless help - "Here, need a wrench? Oh, not that kind?...." After two failed attempts to shim the contacts into a working position, we push-started the van and drove it back to the car market.
To better understand the situation, more back story on the current van owners needs to be understood. This van was owned by two German girls that were planning to fly to Australia the next morning. They had tried, unsuccessfully, to sell the van online and were now in their second day of trying to sell it in-person at this car market. They had paid NZ$95 so they could wait around in the hope that a buyer would show up and like their van over all the others. There were lots of vans and very few buyers... At this point, if we didn't buy the van, the german girls had one option; pay the owners of the car market $450 more to store the van until it sold. If, and when, the van sold, they would get their money. The German girls would also have to pay a mechanic to fix the starter.
We liked this van. Eye-catching, with a great interior set-up, and something just "felt right."
So, feeling like we were half-nuts; we started negotiation. The original asking price was $4200 NZ. We knew they would have to pay $450 to the car market and about $250 to fix the starter, so we offered $3200. After some haggling, the four of us settled on $3400 and we did the paperwork and paid by PayPal at 5:15pm, just after the car market closed.
We gave the girls a ride to the place they were staying for the night, let them bid their sentimental goodbye with K-MO (the van), and took a picture.
And just like that.... we bought a van!!!
 |
| Meet K-MO! |
Well, no more need to take the bus; so we drove to our accommodation in Lyttelton! Krispin did an excellent job driving (left-side) on the fly.
 |
| Lyttelton Harbor |
 |
| After the Kalalau hike, Claire decided that she didn't like her hiking boots and Krispin was on the lookout for a free replacement pair. Krispin found some but Claire was skeptical. |
Next adventure, the sheep farm!
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