We decided that after a week of doing exactly as we pleased (it can really take it out of you, honestly!) that we should head towards the thermal pools in Hamner springs before hitting Kiakoura for the Seafest. We took a slow and scenic drive to Hamner which is about 200km North of Christchurch. On the way we stopped in the perfect spot to enjoy a lunch.We arrived mid afternoon and after searching for a good free camping spot and being denied on all attempts we b...

We decided to go back to Christchurch in order to have one final stab at getting a job for the future. After being signed onto many employment agencies and having no luck I decided to take things into my own hands and contacted all the engineers in Christchurch and try and sell myself to them. This paid off and since then I have been along for a couple of interviews where they liked what they saw and will be starting at the beginning of November as a Senior Techn...

We decided to go back to Christchurch in order to have one final stab at getting a job for the future. After being signed onto many employment agencies and having no luck I decided to take things into my own hands and contacted all the engineers in Christchurch and try and sell myself to them. This paid off and since then I have been along for a couple of interviews where they liked what they saw and will be starting at the beginning of November as a Senior Techn...

We had spent the night in the car park of the only hotel in Barrytown. This is pretty much the only building in Barrytown too! It was nice and cheap and meant that we were a short 5 minute drive away from Steve and Robyns house. These were the couple who were going to show us how to had forge our own knives. Steve used to be a ladies underwear designer many years ago before him and his second wife bought an 80 acre plot of land on the West Coast. He now spends ...

After our recent use of luxury transportation in the helicopter we continued in the style that we had been accustomed to and continued up the coast in the Van! Just a short drive the wind and rain found us in Hokitika. This place swarms with tourists in the summer as they all arrive to buy Jade in copious amounts from the towns many stone shops. We booked into a small campsite on the outskirts of the town which had a menagerie of animals including Llamas, chick...