Because Life is Beautiful

In 2004 fate, plans and a yearning for travel led Gareth and I to Australia. 3/4 of the way through my trip and about halfway through Gareth’s we met, travelled together for as long as we could, then parted ways. Through many more years of fate, plans and hard work, we were married, bought our house and set up our life in Edmonton, Canada.

But that yearning never left us.

With us both coming from participating countries in a global scheme we were able to apply for one year working holiday visas in New Zealand. After three years in the making, we packed up our house, put our photography business on hold, and said good-bye to our loved ones. On January 27, 2011, we landed in Auckland. Armed with the knowledge we had gained from travelling in Australia, we vowed to make the most of our time in New Zealand.

We bought a camper van, laced up our hiking boots, and set off to see this stunning country. This past year has exceeded our expectations by spades. We have learned so much about ourselves and about each other. We have achieved things we only ever dreamed of. We met some gorgeous, kind people and have seen more than we ever hoped. Our time in New Zealand has set the stage for how we want to live the rest of our lives.

Spending time on experiences.

Spending money on necessities.

Spending energy on what matters.

They say life is short, but I believe that if you try you can pack a ton of amazing adventures in there.

To the wine makers who made lovely hand crafted wines and blends, the DOC workers who kept the trails groomed and camp sites ready, to the Kiwis who welcomed us into their homes without question, to the other travellers we met and have become lifelong friends with, we are raising a glass of perfectly handcrafted NZ wine to you. Thank you, from the very depths of our hearts right down to our little toes. You have helped shaped us into the people we are becoming, and we couldn’t be more grateful. 2011 was a year neither of us will ever, ever forget.

You will be in our hearts forever,

Shauna & Gareth

p.s. We may be leaving, but we have so much more to share with you. Our hikes on the Milford and Routeburn tracks, cruising in Doubtful Sound, and so much more. Stay tuned!

We bought some of our favourite NZ wine the day we sold our beloved Bingo. Our trip really felt like it was finished.

One of our last days in NZ was spent in Christchurch. There are tons of community projects going on in the city right now to bring people together. This one is part of the Fill the Gap project, where they are adding art installations and having activities in the lots that buildings have fallen due to the earthquake. We made clay sculptures - Gareth’s was of Bingo and I made a camera to symbolize our time here.

Gareth and I left Lake Tekapo after watching an absolutely gorgeous sunrise at The Church of the Good Sherperd (missed seeing it?! Shame on you. We forgive you though, just this once - check it out here).

Onward we drove, our hearts happy, our minds madly attempting to process the unbelievable sights. We were heading to Mount Cook even though we had been warned of some serious bad weather heading that way. Hey, we’re brave like that…travel warriors you might say. (No, you wouldn’t say that? Okay, just me then).

Bingo came around a corner, and we were so in awe that we had to stop. Gareth couldn’t quite contain his excitement. 

We stopped at Twizel for a break and a grocery shop and saw this sign, which baffled us beyond belief. How was CHRISTMAS coming?! Summer was just starting to awaken here in beautiful New Zealand.

This also shows you that we’re a bit behind on the blog.

Onward we drove, until we had to stop again. This drive is incredible, unreal, absolutely beautiful.

One man, his trusty van, and his tripod. In the middle of the road. This made me slightly nervous so I walked up the road to play lookout for other vehicles.

My turn to play Ruin the Picture.

Keeping the romance alive!

Mount Cook stood vigil in the distance, its peak piercing the swirling clouds. At this point we didn’t care that bad weather was heading our way, this experience was worth the risk.

We arrived in the tiny village of Mount Cook. It has only the essentials - a hotel, a YHA, a DOC campground and a pub. We were sad to hear that the pub’s walls had been blown down due to a recent storm, so we headed straight for the DOC campsite. Not a bad place to park up for a day or two.

We set off for the short walk to Mueler glacier lookout. The clouds were thick and a bit of rain fell on us as we rock-hopped our way to see the glacier.

We got to chatting with a few lovely people, as we do, and Gareth convinced them to do a jumping picture with him. As they were lining up for the shot we discovered it was the lady’s birthday! Fitting to celebrate with a good old-fashioned jump.

Once we finished the walk we went for a quick drive to check out the scenery. In a short time we landed in this gem of a spot.

The rain was really starting to come down, so we headed back to the DOC site for the evening. There is an awesome cooking shelter there, so we hauled our gear in to cook our dinner. We were running out of fuel for our cook stove, so it took an hour to heat soup. My stomach was not impressed! In the meantime, we worked on our journals. Here’s Gareth (Dear Journal, today we came to Mount Cook. It is nice. It is fun. I like mountains). ;)

We ran back to the van, dodging the rain drops. We cuddled up in Bingo for the night as the wind howled, the rain poured down and the storm we had been warned about raged around us.

We laid there wondering what tomorrow would bring.

Shauna & Gareth

When people hear that we have been living in our camper van as we travel New Zealand, most people think it’s fantastic. Some people think it’s romantic. Some give us a strange look and think we are nuts. We have been asked many questions, the common being: “So…where do you shower?”

I tried writing this by explaining a typical day of ours, but trust me, there is no such thing so I’ll just explain some of the basics.

Showering
Let me tell you, wet wipes have become my best friend. We have found that we can stay clean and stink-free for three or four days if we have a sponge bath in the van or use wet wipes. They work wonders. When we feel the need (usually every 3 or 4 days), we stay at a proper campground and clean up. Most times we stayed in DOC campsites, and a lot of those have cold showers, which work great in the summertime after a hot day in the sun and on the beach.

Space
If it sounds like living in a van isn’t a lot of space for two people, you guessed right. It’s not. We each have a plastic container that fits under the bed for our clothes (a very fancy closet) and our packs are stored under the bed, along with camp chairs, dishes, tripods, and food. Everything has to go back in its place or the van immediately becomes a mess. So on a good day everything is where it’s supposed to be and everything is neat and tidy. On a rough day, nothing is where it’s supposed to be. We try to minimise those days.

The bigger issue with space is personal space. Space to dress, groom, or just be alone for a few minutes. We have learned to ask each other for what we need. If I need five minutes in the van alone, Gareth will happily go for a little walk. We go for runs alone to have some time to ourselves. We often say that if our marriage can survive living in a van for a year, it will survive anything.

Food
We don’t have a fridge, so figuring out food has been fun. We try to eat healthy since it makes us feel best, so we have learned to shop for fresh food every few days. Eggs and baked beans for protein are constants, along with fruit, veggies and cheese. We eat simply and repetitively, and we enjoy what we eat. Veggie and cheese sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, omelettes, baked beans. Simple, healthy, easy.

Parking
Most nights we stay in DOC (Department of Conservation) campsites. They are basic, cheap and in beautiful locations. They all have toilets, some have water, and a few have showers (mostly cold). We have also experienced incredible generosity from people and have been invited to stay in people’s homes. When we need to charge batteries we head to full-serviced campgrounds to shower and recharge.

Power is by far our biggest obstacle. That, and me trying to have a hairstyle while we’re living in the van. We have been much more successful at sorting out the power than the hair.

Living in the van for most of the past year has been the best possible way to travel New Zealand, we wouldn’t have it any other way. It hasn’t always been easy - rain and freezing cold temperatures have made it tough some days. But it has allowed us to see more than we could have hoped, experience places that most travellers never get to, and learn how little we really need to survive, thrive and be happy.

We were recently asked to share our experiences on My Desintation New Zealand’s website. It was fun to recall everything we have learned and pass along the information. I would have loved to have the information at our fingertips before we came away. Have a look if you like, you can read it here.

**ADD ON**

Money

When we posted this, someone asked how we were able to fund this trip for a year. It was with the wonders of the Working Holiday Visa. Both Gareth and I have used this multiple times. I shall write a blog post about it soon!

I hope this has given you a view into our life on the road!

Shauna & Gareth

From the east coast of the South Island we turned west and headed inland. New Zealand may be known for its stunning coastline and surf beaches, but nestled in between the calm east coast and the roaring, wild, west coast lies some of the most gorgeous lakes I have ever laid eyes on.

Lake Tekapo is famous for its stunning blue waters as well as the tiny little church perched right on the lake’s banks. It is known as the most photographed building in New Zealand, and its no wonder why - the views are incredible with the hills framing the lake in a most outstanding scene.

We arrived in Lake Tekapo and immediately headed for the church. I wanted to capture the view from the inside, to show you all how it must have felt to sit in that tiny little church for Sunday service. You just can’t help but feel calm and at peace with something like this, can you?

He’s a keeper my friends.

The grounds around the church were teeming with people eager to catch a shot of this iconic building so we made a plan to come back for sunset. In the meantime, we headed up the hill to revel in the view overlooking the area.

These tufts of grass are in many places around the South Island. Gareth developed a fasination with them, and they became a wonderful foreground in many of his photos.

We found a lovely little campsite to hang out at for the night overlooking Lake McGregor, another beautiful lake right beside Lake Tekapo. We chose our spot, cooked our dinner and sat beside the lake taking it all in.

Just before sunset we set out back to the Church of the Good Sherpherd to watch the sky dance as the sun made another round. We never quite made it - Gareth got sidetracked and captured this instead.

Since sunset at the church hadn’t happened, we vowed to get up for sunrise. Now here’s the beauty of living in a van - when morning came Gareth quietly got up and drove to the church, leaving me in bed for just a few more stolen moments of sleep (don’t tell the cops!)

When we arrived, there were a few people around who kept getting in Gareth’s shot. Bingo saved the day and Gareth jumped up on him to get his shot.  

So, so worth it.

For fun, we tried one more spot.

We walked around once the sun was coming up and spotted this little guy. After spending time on Grant’s farm, watching the sheep dogs work and being told that farming would be impossible without them, we weren’t surprised at all to see this tribute standing tall honouring all of the sheep dogs that have worked in New Zealand.

Lake Tekapo, you amazed us.

Shauna & Gareth

We left Grant’s sheep farm grinning from ear to ear from our lovely experiece with them. It was so nice to welcomed into a family home and play with the adorable sheep!

We drove on down the highway, destination Christchurch. Along the way we picked up some new hiking boots that had been shipped to Gareth as he had worn out his first pair (thanks mom!), then we headed to meet my cousin, who spent a semester going to school here.

We headed into the city center, and we were immediately shocked, humbled, and saddened by the state this beautiful city is in.

The city center looked like a construction site. It was so incredibly sad to see. We spoke to one woman at the museum (which is awesome by the way!) who broke down and started crying as we talked about the extensive damage. These people have been so deeply affected by the destruction, Gareth and I struggled to even comprehend the depths of their anguish.

And yet, Christchurch is a beautiful city - beautiful statues and sculptures still exist.

After a day in the city, we cooked up the lamb roast Grant had given us, and had a feast with my cousin and his flatmates. It was a fitting end to a quick visit. 

We fly out of Christchurch so we knew we would be back to see more of the citys recovery. For now though Akaroa was throwing their annual French Fest, so we headed out to the Banks Peninsula to check it out.

Just arriving, Gareth is pumped!

The lighthouse in Akaroa

Gareth and I sporting our new shoes!

We went for a drive around the Banks Peninsula - wow! The landscape was absolutely gorgeous, the drive windy, up and down the hills. We kept pulling over to take in the different views.

And as the sun went down it just kept getting better…

Even the moon came out to play.

The next morning there was just enough time to climb one last hill, just enough time to soak up the panoramic Banks Peninsula.

Next stop Tekapo, Mount Cook and Beyond….

Shauna & Gareth