JW in NZ

Ok, I'll be a bit more honest about my 'Suby'. It's quite old (1990) and it's not exactly in 'as new' condition. And there's a problem with the 4wd system. Will probably get it sorted pretty soon - that stuff seems pretty cheap over here. I bought a car radio and did the classic 'it really doesn't look that difficult to fit' in the shop. And it wasn't. Maybe I'm just brilliant but it really made me wonder why we get charged so much for it; with a little practise, I think I could fit one in 5 minutes. Just hope it doesn't get stolen now!

I remembered much of the route driving down from Christchurch, which was quite nice. One thing I didn't remember seeing before is a government subsidised scheme called 'driver reviver'. Put simply it means you get free pots of tea at various cafes along the main interstates. Can you imagine stopping at South Mimms and being welcomed with a free pot of tea?! It's fantastic.

It was quite late when I arrived and I decided it would be easier (and cheap!) to sleep in the car, which was a mistake - it was freezing. I stayed at the lakefront youth hostel for a few nights in a 3 share room. It was really pretty big, with a patio and sofa, yet still only cost 10GBP per night.