The evolution of the Green Machine

We headed down the coastline to the southern-most tip of the North Island for a little sight seeing and camping and the high hopes of fine weather for painting our van. We drove all the way to Cape Palliser, a stunning location where you can catch glimpses of the South Island on a clear day. The lighthouse we headed to is over 200-steps straight up the side of the cliff (God only knows how they built it in the 1800's, let alone maintained it!).

I was desperate to see the fur seals, but we chose to climb the steps first - Iain promised me I'd catch a glimpse of them before we left the area. I have a love of lighthouses, it comes from living behind one I think. This one was a beauty! New Zealand has automated most of their lighthouses, just like Canada, so there are no lighthouse keepers. They are now monuments to a past filled with maritime tragedy, and tourist destinations with unparalleled views. With the wind howling around our bodies, I could only marvel at the men and women who guided ships through devastating seas...even on a clear day it was a daunting stretch of water.

After our trip up, and down much appreciated stairs we headed off to see the Fur Seal colony...and we saw BABIES!!!! Yes, I even type that in a high-pitched girly voice. How can you not when you are allowed to watch the equivalent of flipper bearing puppies frolic in the water? They were funny, adorable and loud! I could have watched them for hours, but the sun was setting and we still needed to find a place to sleep, so we headed back up the coast to the DOC camp site.

We spent 3 nights in Cape Palliser. The camp site was beside a creek bed that lay beneath huge crumbling cliffs laced with fossils and sheep tracks. The creek was fairly low but provided enough water for evening bird baths and mid-day fun for holidaying families. We were the only people in the camp ground not from the local area, let alone out of the country, it seemed to be a locals spot which made it all the more special for Iain and I.

We drove into the site with the Blue Meenie and after 3 days we headed out with the Green Machine...all the more impressive because we left no trace of our transition. Having witnessed a caravan dumping the contents of it's chemical toilet into the creek bed I felt very smug at our 'leave-no-trace' behaviour.

It had been a glorious, sunny and screaming hot 3 days but I felt no sadness at leaving the area as the weather had changed and we headed to Wellington under a cover of thick, grey cloud and horizontal rain.