Intrepid BnB was the name of our accommodation in Christchurch, and it was more than suitable enough for what we needed (and for the cost of it!).
Despite being advertised as multiple units with garden furniture, an outdoor BBQ, and a private bathroom and kitchenette, none of this was true.
However, we didn't mind too much. The host was nice enough and the bed was comfy - and that was enough for us. We were welcome to help ourselves to anything from the fridge (honey cheerios for breakfast) and he'd left out bread, eggs, and other cooking essentials for us to make ourselves at home.
The bathroom was at the opposite end of the house, but that didn't really matter as he left the lights on throughout the night so that we didn't walk into anything.
On our first morning, I was introduced to his little kitty cat - Gypsy - who we didn't have the chance to interact with until the second to last day, but she really was a sweety.
This is Pip the Polar bear in our accommodation window:
Despite the mismarketing of the accommodation, it served as exactly what we needed for the week - a base from which to go car-hunting!
Our host recommended a place, but through there we managed to be sent around the area until we found Doug Drake Motors. Looking like an old scrap yard, this place probably boasted the fewest selection of vehicles, but he had something suitable that nowhere else had.
Learning of the 2006 Nissan Wingroad that was available for viewing from Wednesday, we put all our eggs in one basket and considered that the best option for us, deciding that was enough for the day and heading into the centre of Christchurch again to get an idea of the kinds of shops and resources that were available to us.
We found pizza :) and it was very tasty, especially when combined with some craft IPA from the same indoor food market that made for a great lunchtime meal.
Having walked all the way back from town the day before, we decided it was far easier to get e-scooters back to the accommodation, and it was way more fun, too! An hour's walk in stupid heat (again) became 10 minutes on a scooter, and we were home with supplies for dinner before we ever thought we would be.
The next day we slept in a bit (travelling is tiring - we need a lie-in every so often!) and Matt woke up at 10am with the words "Maccies!". One small rush later, and we managed to get there in time for breakfast, also discovering that it was attached to Eastgate shopping centre which had things that we figured we needed for the coming trips. However, without a car, it seemed pointless buying stuff and carrying it all back so we window-shopped for a bit before heading back to the BnB.
This is the point at which we made the blog live for all you lovely readers! After being sent out to friends and family first, we updated it with a few more posts before we were happy and satisfied that it would give a good idea of what we were up to and how we were doing (great, thank you for asking!).
It was a change for us, being inside, as this was the hottest day so far with temperatures of 27 degrees and more, so we were more than happy to sit inside and flop for an afternoon.
We watched 'Focus' that night, which is all about pickpocketing and sleight of hand. I've seen it a few times but would recommend to anyone who likes a bit of action and a bit of humour (and those who can forgive Will Smith for his behaviour at the Oscars).
Wednesday was car day! After checking it was ready for viewing over the phone at 9am, we were there for just after 9:30am, and took the car on a small test drive down to Lyttelton. We quickly figured that it was just what we needed, and managed to book it in for a pre-purchase inspection that afternoon.
After a quick walk back to the BnB to heat up some paninis we bought nearby, we were back in time to take the car off for the inspection. The wind was freezing that day, and we were more than happy to spend time indoors, looking at camping equipment and charity shops nearby that would have stocked what we needed.
By 3pm we had the results back and, with no mechanical faults, we decided to take the car back to the dealership and buy it there and then.
It was super exciting, and the process was relatively simple. The only thing that the dealership wasn't so keen on was the fees that Matt's debit card would have imposed on them, but he'd been previously burned by a Mastercard user and therefore it was more than understandable.
There was a point at which we thought he wasn't going to sell us the car because of it, but Matt managed to be the one to explain it all to him and reassure him that he wasn't going to be charged an extra $100 or so because of it.
Moral of the story: don't have a Mastercard when travelling abroad.
We also managed to get an extra $200 off of the original cost as they hadn't changed the information card in the window, so that may have contributed to his reluctance as well, but all in all... WE HAVE A CAR!!!
We drove back to the BnB and got fish and chips for dinner. My battered sausage wasn't the best, but the chips were amazing and we were both super happy to finally have a car, so it didn't really matter.
By 9am the next day (Thursday), we were up and about, and after doing some laundry, we were out shopping in our new car by 10:30am.
We got most of our camping supplies from KMart (super cheap and basically had everything we needed), as well as a tent and hiking boots from Mountain Warehouse. They had a Black Friday sale on, so we basically felt like we were robbing the place with a tent for around $200 (worked out at about £80) and new hiking boots for myself.
We bought kitchenware from the Salvation Army charity shop (op shop - as they're called here) as well as some general storage boxes that we constantly worried were not going to fit where we wanted them to in the car.
Moral of the story: always carry a tape measure, especially if you've brought one all the way from the UK that would be perfect for that kind of job.
Early afternoon, we got back to the BnB and began packing it up as a test, getting more and more surprised at the amount of space that it had, including all sorts of little hidy holes that have become our little kitchen and bathroom sections - very cute.
At 4pm, we'd booked in to fix the chip on the windscreen, and after about an hour it was done, saving us hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars in the future.
That evening, Matt worked more on this lovely blog while I finished up some work, rounding out the evening with some more crocheting and sewing on buttons on Matt's shirt before chilling and relaxing on our last night in Christchurch.
Despite the website saying checkout between 10am and 12pm, we found out at 9am that we had to be out the room at 10am (typical), though we were invited to hang around the kitchen area for as long as we wanted (we did not want).
We packed up in record time and were out of the room well before 10am, making our way to ol' reliable Maccies for breakfast and planning our next move.
On some recommendations made by Matt's parents, we booked into a Top10 (brand name) campsite in Akaroa, about 1h30mins from Christchurch, and stocked up in Countdown (a supermarket) and The Warehouse (had almost anything you could want) before setting off.
It was our first 'long' trip in the car, and it went really well, except for the fact that the cigarette lighters didn't function as charging ports (as we'd hoped they would - basing most of our plans for keeping in contact with everyone i.e., charging phones and our airbed pump).
We got to Akoroa around 1pm and wandered around a little. It's a little French town where the French landed once upon a time and therefore had a lot of influence on its street names, architecture, and tourist trap-ness.
We went to a popular fish and chips shop, and a storm looked like it was closing in, so I ran off to grab some drinks for the evening while Matt waited for food, meeting up at the car later before heading up to the campsite.
These Top10 campsites are super well set up, and we had campsite-wide WiFi, as well as all the amenities you could ask for (hot showers and drinkable water - the luxuries of camping!).
We set up the tent for the first time and were super happy with it; it's a little bigger than what we've been dealing with the most recent times we've been camping, and it's a welcome change for sure.
We played some cards throughout the evening (Shithead - if you must know) before cooking meatballs and pasta in the communal kitchen and chilling out for the night.
Quiet hours started at 10:30pm, which most people stuck to (with it being a Friday, at least), but who knows how that'll hold up over the weekend...
Long post this one, so thank you very much for reading if you've made it to the end, and we look forward to keeping you all up to date on our future trips and travels!
- Abi
What's wrong with the cigarette lighter then? Does it heat up the cigarette lighter? If not, then there's just probably an issue with wiring, or fuse? It shouldn't cost very much to get that checked out at a garage in a large town...if you're passing one? Might also be worthwhile getting the battery checked out...i.e. if you're going to be charging devices, etc. it could put additional strain on the battery, which - if it is old - will very quickly go flat! ...as an alternative, consider purchasing an additional 12v battery, which you could then hook up to a 12v cigarette lighter adapter, and then use that to charge up devices, etc. ...then when you get to mains electricity you could charge up the 12v battery (it might be a step too far to get it charging off the car alternator (to have a second "domestic" battery like a motorhome?
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