NZ always on my mind - Part I - CarZ

This blog (and us) needs a serious shake-up - so many people have told us that it's been neglected for too long (to my defense I did say it was going to happen a few months ago)... and what a better way to redeam ourselves than with the gorgeous secnery of NZ south Island?!

in one word, it was a blast - great outdoors, fantastic wheather, wide open roads... then again there were sand flies, crowds and all-booked camping sites...

but sticking to the good stuff, we had a pleasant companion in our road trip - Evan's Jaguar, or at it would like to be called - Evzjag. Evan is a very good friend of mine from the Bike Trip I took to the red heart of Australia. I think he and I bonded because we were the only ones in that trip that hated vegemite (i.e. a disgusting Aussie spread). there was also the matter of me telling someone who's old enough to be my dad that he's too stiff... but that's another story.

Evan came to pick us up from downtown Christchurch in the Jag and then left us with the keys. Now you might not know Evan but let me just tell you that he scared Liat with his tidiness... so think about driving his luxury car for two weeks...




By contrast, NZ is full of old cars which are a heaven for vintage design fans like us. Rich yet spatialy remote population, steep and long driving routes among other factors are all contributing to a superb selection of cool cars. like this mini-minor collection in distant campsite on the Fiordland region.



another sample, this time with the amazing Kepler range and Lake Manapouri on the horizon.



Kiwis are very creative people that also like to think of themselves as seriously committed "greenies" (yet, in another digression, their collective environmental record is shocking). Therefore, the possibilty of recycling an old truck into a travelling collective/commune/gypsy home is so appealing to many of them. This scene is quite common.



Evzjag with some Kiwis who are more environmentally-responsible than us next to the Kawarau Gorge (just above Nevis Bluff, probably the best accessible whitewater section on the planet... ah, if only I had my Kayak with me and I hadn't spent the last two years drinking beer and updating this blog...)



And this one's for the road...