Time with the Parents Pt 2

So we are making good use of Kara's parents time in New Zealand by staying in as many forms of accommodation as we can. The first 3 nights saw us in a lovely B&B in the "town" of Waikuku beach. Highlights of this accommodation include:

• they let us park our van outside and we slept in that but got to use all their facilities
• a 52" screen tv with a DVD list of over 300 films... categorised...we're talking serious geekdom
• an owner (the woman) who was well up for a game of "how much can you get the blonde English man to eat for breakfast"
• comedy injured pets - cat with tube sticking out of its neck (very disturbing) and horrid little yippy dog that tried to bite everyone.
• 20 minutes walk via a lagoon from a very very pretty beach

We spent time in the local area sampling hot chocolates, cakes, and going out for dinner. Pleasant with a capital PL.

We've now moved to the rural and coastal "French" settlement of Akaroa. A pretty little harbour village on the Banks Peninsula. There is "Le Bon Internet", "La Boucherie du Village", "La Gendarmarie - Police". It's like being on a set of 'Allo 'Allo... basically, two hundred years ago the French set this place up, then the English got to claim NZ. Anyway, it is very cute here and picture perfect.

The French are actually the reason NZ is a non-nuclear country. in the 1990s, the Greenpeace anti-nuclear ship, the Rainbow Warrior, was attacked in Auckland Harbour, by the French Special Forces. The Kiwis were outraged that this had happened on their water and even more pisseed off by the lack of international censure. It kind of spurred the Kiwis on to taking a stand and then they passed the law on no nuclear.

Anyway, we part company with Kara's parents tomorrow. The weather has cheered up so it'll be back to solar showers, instant noodles, peanut butter and crackers, and cereal combined with so many oats (cheap and bulks it out) it's almost a form of homeopathy...