05 Feb - RV Pickup and Trip to Oamaru

Our RV Rental Company nicely drove us up to their base to check-out the camper van so we could be on our way.

We rented a Longboarder 6 RV. It nominally sleeps 6 and came well appointed with a kitchen including a sink, fridge, oven, stove and bathroom with toilet, sink and shower (if you wanted to call it that). It also had other niceties like a TV and DVD player and a rooftop A/C unit you could use when plugged in. The rental company provided sheets, towels, dishes, all kitchen implements, sleeping bags and car seats for the boys and the thing was spotless.



You can take a virtual inside tour HERE

We got a thorough check-out on all the systems and warned about the usual gotchas - don't use drive-thrus, don't put gas in the water tank or unleaded in the diesel tank. As far as driving a 22 ft RV in downtown traffic on the left side of the road we got a "ah, it's no problem mate!"

We unpacked all our stuff into the RV, stored our bags at their base and gave the boys a stern talking to about our need to concentrate on driving and off we went to find a grocery store to stock-up. After a few roundabouts, small parking lots, several blood pressure spikes and navigating the intricaties of food allergy labeling in New Zealand we were provisioned and on the open (and thankfully less busy) country road headed south.

The RV was great for meals - easier to feed the boys and saved a bunch of money and hassle

The rear lounge during a spot of afternoon tea

Our route was down the eastern coast to a small town called Oamaru. We actually stayed just north of town at a holiday park.

Scenery down the eastern coast was rolling farmland crossed with large rivers and the Southern Alps in the distance. As expected you could look nowhere without seeing a sheep. Once we were outside Christchurch we rarely traveled on a four-lane road.

The RV park, like all the others turned out to be a breeze. Pull up, register with the front desk, park, plug in and you're set. All of the parks had laundry facilities, spotless bathrooms and were quiet and friendly. Most had wireless internet for a small charge as well.

Our RV Park, located right next to the collection of buildings above and a short walk away from the mouth of the Wataki River

Kind of late by the time we got settled and we used the rest of the day to get some energy out of the boys by checking out the 'beach' on a long walk. The 'beach' consisted of a dune about ten feet high composed of river rocks. Kinda crazy. Boys could actually climb up and slide down all the rocks and they made the most of throwing them in the ocean and river.