New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[Wayne Potgieter]

The open water swimming bug has bitten.

There is something special about early morning swims in the sea as the sun is rising. Really good for the spirit!

[davetapson]

Ha - Santa tells me he has put a Blue 70 wetsuit in his sack for me... maybe we'll meet up at a race...

[SwissVan]

On 11/25/2021 at 9:12 PM, Wayne Potgieter said:

The open water swimming bug has bitten.

There is something special about early morning swims in the sea as the sun is rising. Really good for the spirit!

I see a triathlon or 2 in your future 🔮 😁

[Wayne Potgieter]

9 hours ago, davetapson said:

Ha - Santa tells me he has put a Blue 70 wetsuit in his sack for me... maybe we'll meet up at a race...

Its not like we live that far from each other.

 

Keen for an early morning swim sometime?

[patches]

Love how the Herald makes this seem like some form of refugee exodus

Isn't this the scene nearly every year?!

Aucklanders are like the Vaalies of NZ... only difference being is that Vaalies are landlocked so their obsession with the seaside is understandable 😅

*said as both an ex-Vaalie and a current Aucklander*

But anyway, who here is planning their escape from Aukkies this holiday season?

It's South Island for us! Fly to Chch then road trip our way down to Fjordland and Southland.

Edited December 16, 2021 by patches

[hayleyearth]

5 hours ago, patches said:

Love how the Herald makes this seem like some form of refugee exodus

Isn't this the scene nearly every year?!

Aucklanders are like the Vaalies of NZ... only difference being is that Vaalies are landlocked so their obsession with the seaside is understandable 😅

*said as both an ex-Vaalie and a current Aucklander*

But anyway, who here is planning their escape from Aukkies this holiday season?

It's South Island for us! Fly to Chch then road trip our way down to Fjordland and Southland.

We are not going far, just Omokoroa for 6 days then Mt Manganui for another 6 days.

Our little man is only 2 months so we won't be camping this year, something we really love to do but now need a bigger tent, our are only 1.9mx2m... Not enough for 4 people 😅

[Wayne Potgieter]

No trips for me this year. Kids asked for a spa pool for the new house and a choice needed to be made.

The spa pool won.

[patches]

2 hours ago, hayleyearth said:

We are not going far, just Omokoroa for 6 days then Mt Manganui for another 6 days.

Our little man is only 2 months so we won't be camping this year, something we really love to do but now need a bigger tent, our are only 1.9mx2m... Not enough for 4 people 😅

You'll have to upgrade to one of those family sized tens with the various rooms... just for the next 5 or so years, then the kids can be in their own tent and you can dust off the 2x2m

My dirt-bike adventure tent only weight 1.8kg, but is like a coffin. I basiclly end up spooning my backpack and boots.

Then we have the "car-camping" tent which is a monstrous overkill, with separate rooms etc, but it takes up most of the car boot, and I don't think it's worth pitching for anything less than 3 days.

So the middle-ground is a Quechua pop-up tent from Decathlon. So quick to put up (2 seconds according to the name. Realistically about 3min including pegs). Pretty spacious (2.85m x 2.3m, but may still be a little tight for a family of 4), and it has a black-out/reflective coating, so stays cooler in the heat, and doesn't wake light-sensitive sleepers up at the crack of dawn.

Only downside is it's odd shape. Can highly recommend though!

https://www.decathlon.com/collections/camping-tents/products/camping-tent-2-seconds-3-person-fresh-and-dark?variant=39370553557054

46 minutes ago, Wayne Potgieter said:

No trips for me this year. Kids asked for a spa pool for the new house and a choice needed to be made.

The spa pool won.

The tribe has spoken!

I'm sure many memorable summer memories will be had in said spa-pool!

 

One of the things I'm really looking forward to (weather dependant) is an overnight cruise in Doubtful Sound. I've done Milford Sound a couple of times (never had brilliant weather though), but I believe Doubtful Sound is supposed to be better... just harder to access... or maybe people just say it's better to justify the hassle of accessing it.

Edited December 17, 2021 by patches

[hayleyearth]

16 minutes ago, patches said:

You'll have to upgrade to one of those family sized tens with the various rooms... just for the next 5 or so years, then the kids can be in their own tent and you can dust off the 2x2m

My dirt-bike adventure tent only weight 1.8kg, but is like a coffin. I basiclly end up spooning my backpack and boots.

Then we have the "car-camping" tent which is a monstrous overkill, with separate rooms etc, but it takes up most of the car boot, and I don't think it's worth pitching for anything less than 3 days.

So the middle-ground is a Quechua pop-up tent from Decathlon. So quick to put up (2 seconds according to the name. Realistically about 3min including pegs). Pretty spacious (2.85m x 2.3m, but may still be a little tight for a family of 4), and it has a black-out/reflective coating, so stays cooler in the heat, and doesn't wake light-sensitive sleepers up at the crack of dawn.

Only downside is it's odd shape. Can highly recommend though!

https://www.decathlon.com/collections/camping-tents/products/camping-tent-2-seconds-3-person-fresh-and-dark?variant=39370553557054

The tribe has spoken!

I'm sure many memorable summer memories will be had in said spa-pool!

 

One of the things I'm really looking forward to (weather dependant) is an overnight cruise in Doubtful Sound. I've done Milford Sound a couple of times (never had brilliant weather though), but I believe Doubtful Sound is supposed to be better... just harder to access... or maybe people just say it's better to justify the hassle of accessing it.

Yip, those Quechua tents gets my vote. Our small one is also one of those work the dark coating. It made camping with a 6 month old a dream due to being able to do naps in the middle of the day in summer!

 

That size one looks like it can work for us!

[GrahamS2]

On 12/17/2021 at 4:57 AM, patches said:

It's South Island for us! Fly to Chch then road trip our way down to Fjordland and Southland.

At some stage in 2022, I'm going to pester you for ideas. I've been wanting to fly over and do this exact trip (with a little fly fishing planned in...)

[patches]

3 minutes ago, GrahamS2 said:

At some stage in 2022, I'm going to pester you for ideas. I've been wanting to fly over and do this exact trip (with a little fly fishing planned in...)

Pester away! Hopefully the January 16th date for opening up a little more with Aus will hold.

I've heard from an Aussie or 2 that fly fishing on the South Island is world class. I can also have a colleague that spent 3 months fly-fishing all over the South Island. He should have some good info.

[DJR]

3 hours ago, patches said:

Pester away! Hopefully the January 16th date for opening up a little more with Aus will hold.

I've heard from an Aussie or 2 that fly fishing on the South Island is world class. I can also have a colleague that spent 3 months fly-fishing all over the South Island. He should have some good info.

Correct that. 

[Wayne Potgieter]

"Camping - it's not a holiday if you have to build your own house" - Wayne Potgieter  😈

[Slowbee]

[Slowbee]

Eish, sorry about the big images.

 

But if you guys ever get a chance to go to Lake Tekapo, it is well worth a visit. Especially as it is a Dark Sky Area, and you can go to Mount John to the observatory.

The place is mind blowing.  Oh yes, I also need to post a picture of the famous church.

 

[Slowbee]