After a day of climbing cathedrals, getting certificates, even if we did have to pay for them, and drinking milkshakes in obscure cafes with free chocolate-covered marshmallows we began the whole point of our trip with the collection of our van! We arrived at ESCAPE at 10ish and were told all about the 'slight crack in the window to keep the cold out', not to damage the car too much (although we'd bought the top insurance just in case!), and how to actually drive an automatic. We'd both assumed it was going to be manual, how mortified we were when it wasn't! I had the task of reversing the van (the size of Jasper) out of the multi-storey car park as Jo directed me away from the numerous pillars laid out like an obstacle course. We escaped, get it, without a scratch and pulled out onto the rough tough roads of quiet Christchurch. I missed the turning for the hostel and so was forced to do a 3-point turn within the first 5 minutes! I passed fortunately!

We stopped by the local Pac 'n' Save to collect supplies, including a 5l bottle of water in case we ended up in the outback, although neither of us was quite sure if New Zealand even had an outback. Better safe than sorry though!

With a glut of petrol, cereal, margarine, and tinned fruit we headed off to our first van destination... as Jo tucked into a HUGE honeycomb muffin whilst I drove! We stopped in Omaru at the blue penguin lookout, only to be told that they weren't due in until 8pm, but the yellow-eyed penguins were arriving further up the coast at a more amiable time of 6pm. We decided they fit our schedule the best and drove there after greeting another of the ESCAPE vans. I should add that each ESCAPE van is painted with murals such as ours, which was the Mount Tamawera volcano that erupted in 1886. Tourists would go there to view the pink terraces, but got more than bargained for on 10 June!

Luckily the yellow-eyed penguins were on time and arrived just after 6, so we watched them from afar in our winter woollies, until one popped up the bank toward us, only to be snapped from every angle by the mass of huge cameras. Somehow when I wandered off, as I do, I spotted another one and tried to get Jo over without others noticing, of course my theatre-style whispering isn't the best and eventually the swarm descended on this patch too, but for a moment Jo and I had the penguin all to ourselves. Very cool. Only later did we spot the sign saying not to take flash photos as it scares them, better late than never, but I think it was never in the case of every other photographer there!

After being told to shush by a frizz-haired busybody when we were at a higher lookout, metres away from any penguins, (she got her comeuppance later on with another tourist telling her not to stand on the bench as it was blocking his view! Ha!)we drove off in search of the Moeraki Boulders in Waitaki, we didn't arrive there until 8, but the light was still with us and so we were able to get some pretty decent photos. As well as some wet shoes when we stood a little too close to the incoming tide! I wandered off further down the beach and was amazed to be suddenly so... amazed at the boulders. Somehow they just seem so magical, they're so perfectly round and yet so random in their position on the beach. My first experience of a little NZ wizardry. The magic soon ended when we failed to find the campsite the bloke in the ESCAPE office had said we would always be 'within 30minutes of', and so we, well Jo, drove all the way through the deep dark woods into the small town outback of New Zealand. Pubs that close at 8, takeaways that don't open for drivers, and a little place called Palmerston that somehow became our saviour.

The light of the pub shone brightly as we pulled up in Palmerston, and when we walked in to ask where the nearest campsite was we were greeted with the news that they had electricity points and we could pull up there with all the truckers! The magic of the boulders! Until the power cord wouldn't work and we didn't have light or heat. Both the owner, the barman, and eventually a very drunk husband, I assume, who asked me to reverse the car to another point tried the cord to no avail. We were going to have to buy a new $200 cord: we were assured it wasn't the dusty, spider-filled power points that hadn't been used since George Bush was considered clever. Assured. The drunk man got behind the wheel when the lock meant I couldn't start the engine, and suddenly all the horror films I'd ever seen ran through my mind as I stood outside with Jo still in the van. Like a scared teen in Wolf Creek I mouthed 'get out the car' at Jo frantically as I suddenly thought we were in a small town with a drunk man in the car with Jo. Argh! Jo got out and we found he simply started the car, tried another power cord, and went back to drink. Phew.

Drama avoided, we used the bathrooms that we were assured had locks but didn't, and slept in the van without the small crack we'd been told to ensure was open. Oh how we paid for that: we froze! With no heater to turn on because of no power cord, we both dreaded the forthcoming two weeks of van living. Happy Camping.