Domestics

There area number of aspect's of our daily lives here that we thought we would share with you, which are detailed below.

Our home on wheels we have named HaWK after it's reg number (HWK22). It is a Fiat Prestige Kyros Duo, which meant nothing to us either. The floor plans and photo's we looked at beforehand did not show how little space there is (obviously).

At the back of the vehicle there are two single benches/beds which we converted into a double, and left as so for the duration of our journey. The access now to this is either by opening the rear doors or climbing on to the end of the bed from the two foot gap between the toilet and fridge. (to help Bobby do this we have bought some plastic steps).

There is a lot of storage space under the beds, however most of this is unavailable now we have converted the beds. The storage is in small cupboards around the bed and living area, which means that whilst we have unpacked our cases most

of the clothes have remained in the travel cubes they were bought in.

Over the fridge there is a half wardrobe which is big enough to store jackets, shirts and tops. There is a shower head over the toilet, which we have managed so for to avoid using. Next, walking towards the front of the van is the kitchen and dining area, (sounds posher than it is) and then the drivers cabin whose seats can be swiveled around and turned to the living area. (The pictures will make this clearer).

Our real problem is that the space to walk between all of these areas is only large enough for one person, and it also happens to be the kitchen area, so there is a lot of waiting for the other to finish something, or alternatively, close encounters. (we are on holiday!). It is like a game of solitaire we play. To move around you have to get the other person to sit down or step in the closet to move from the front to the back and when past they can go back to where they were, until you want to return. (Follow).

As you will be aware it has been important for us to enjoy the food and tastes that New Zealand has to offer whilst we are on our trip. There is so much fresh, tasty and local produce available, (and not just the cheese, wine and chocolate we mention), that have ensured that we eat well when we dine out, which we feel we ought to do as good tourists, and when we cook for ourselves. Even the fish and chips here are tasty and different than at home. Our favoured fish is either Gurnard or Snapper and we have Kumara chips (NZ answer to sweet potatoes). Delicious.

In the van the limited cooking facility of two gas rings and a few pots and pans is supplemented by our slow cooker, in which we have done things such as roasted vegetables, an interesting way of cooking. A lot of our cooking is driven by the produce we find on our daily travels such as courgette flowers, day old farm eggs, smoked ham hock, a daikon (radish), tempura batter mix, dukkah, numerous types of seafood and shellfish and cuts of meat, especially lamb, from butchers.

The meals we have are very varied, and after talking to one or two people we are considering writing a cook/travel book for a campervan traveller. If anyone would like to test the following recipes please let us know.

- Tempura battered courgette flowers with pan fried Snapper
- Lamb souvlaki with homemade tzatziki
- Prawn fajitas with salsa and avocado
- Chicken in ginger, lime sesame oil with sauteed courgette, kumara and daikon.
- Gurnard goujons in tempura batter with dukkah, accompanied by salad.

Now a bane you are advised about when you visit NZ about is the sandfly. A small little insect that likes to inhabit campsites, beaches and practically everywhere you might want to go. Their size is misleading as they have a terrific bite that can swell and become very irritating. A common question we ask arriving somewhere is 'are there sandflies'. If we get an affirmative response there are a few things we can do. Drive away (a bit extreme), hope its blowing a gale (very possible here), cover yourself from head to toe (shorts over the top wouldn't look good) or get out Bobby's anti biting insect repellent (recipe below). Whilst putting it on within the confines of the van is not a great idea it works really well.

The following pure essential oils are poured into empty spray bottles (travel size) in the following ratio's, shaken together and are then ready to repel;
50ml base of Almond Oil (this time we had to use Olive Oil)
10 drops of Citronella oil
10 drops of Eucalyptus oil

No insects have been killed in the making of this potion, only REPELLED.

Now I promise not to get started on the internet but to say it is very variable. I think we have only had a few nights at sites where you could call it good. And on South Island a lot of the cafe's do not have it for the public! l have not visited the Public Library so much, which even in the smallest place has free wi-fi.