on friday, feb 13, we picked up the camper van. it was surprisingly comfortable. (except when finn would decide to sleep cross ways in the queen sized bed). it had a gas stove top, three way fridge (could run off of car battery when we were moving, gas when stopped, and outside power when hooked up at a campsite). it also had a microwave that only operated when hooked up to outside power. there was also a toilet and shower. since we generally stayed at campsites with showers & bathrooms, we didn't use that feature much. which made it so we only had to clean out the waste water & sewage once during the trip.

finn had great fun in the camper:

before we went to NZ, i found a five day driving tour that looked interesting:

http://www.newzealand.com/travel/getting-to-around-nz/driving-routes/christchurch-fox-glacier-christchurch.cfm

here's the map if you want to follow along:
we gave ourselves eight days to do the five day tour, so we able to do so extra stuff or stay longer in cool places.


the first day that we had the camper was over cast, and i think we got a few sprinkles. one of the first places we stopped (after getting groceries) was Castle Rock:


finn was napping in the van, so debbie stayed with him while i ran down a little path and took a few pictures. there was a little hike that led up to rocks that would have been fun to do, but we let finn sleep and continued on.

the next stop was Arthur's Pass. there were a number of hikes. we did one to a small water fall where finn had fun tossing rocks:



then we went back to the camper and found Michy & doggie looking out the back window:
too bad there is so much reflection off the glass.