In the world kitchen! NZ!

GINGER SLICE.

150g butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
3/4 cup plain flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp ground ginger
1.5 cups whole oats
¾ cup desiccated coconut

Icing150g butter
2 – 3 cups icing sugar, sifted
3 tbsp golden syrup
4 tsp ground ginger

Method

Preheat the oven to 180c. Line a 32cm x 22cm slice tin with baking paper.

Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a large saucepan over a medium heat, stirring gently to combine. Remove from the heat.

Sift the flour, baking powder and ginger into the pan with the buttery mixture. Add the oats and coconut, and fold to combine. Press the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth out with the back of a spoon. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and leave in the tin.

Heat the icing ingredients (2 cups of the icing sugar) in a saucepan (just rinse the one you used for the base), stirring over a medium heat until melted. If the butter isn’t all mixing in nicely, add more icing sugar until you have a nice smooth icing – up to a cup more icing sugar. Pour over the warm slice. Leave in the tin to cool then cut into slices. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week

                             
Sweet as!

Gypsy NZ! Road trip travel tips!

 A camping, road trip can give you the freedom to come and go as you please. We have compiled some tips to  help make the gypsy life easier.



*Go to tourist information center when you arrive in a town. They will tell you a suitable place to stay as well as what to do in the area.

*DOC (department of conservation) camp sites are truly beautiful. At $6 per person per night, it is a fantastic to get away into nature. These are very basic camp spots in picturesque surroundings. There are toilets and camp fires and that is about it folks!

*Shop around for tours or cruises. Jucy offers the same deal at a cheaper price. You even get a further discount if you show your Jucy key tag.

*Travel clothes line is great for drying underwear whilst on the move.

*Ensure your fuel tank is full  before you leave each town.

*Make sure you have a couple of basic meals stocked up in case you stop for the night away from a town.

*Golden rule of road trip travel is to be settled in camp site by 4 pm each day.

*Purchase a bucket, so you don't have to leave the van for that midnight wee.

*Read van manual. Then you will realise that ! red light means that the hand brake is still on and not that the engine is going to explode. Knowing your van also helps when it comes to emptying gray water and filling up fresh tank.

*Just because the title has beach in it, don't assume it is anywhere near the beach.


What are you waiting for? Hit the road, Jack!

Gypsy NZ! The Greene road traveled!

We flew into Christchurch to 6 degrees, rain and gale force winds. Beanies, scarfs and extra socks were quickly retrieved from our luggage as we questioned our sanity. As luck would have it; we actually only had 2 days of rain and we acclimatized quite well.

After picking up Jucy, we headed north toward the old whaling town of Kaikoura. Set up camp at the sea side and  then set off to explore the area. Tramping along the coast was an orgy of delight from the colony of seals at Otumatu Rock to the spectacular coastal walk.

Onward bound past Nelson to Able Tasman National Park. Here we booked a short cruise into the national park, where we were dropped off to tramp out. Again , mesmerizing scenery confronted us at every turn.

Down the west coast to Fran Josef Glacier. Our camp  was a surrounded by snow capped mountains and over looked Lake Mapourika . The township of Frans Josef Glacier is very picturesque but the tramp to the glacier itself was not lush. Granite mountains tower above the glacial rivers and waterfalls trickled from the cavernous alps. Having been to the Grandaddy of all glaciers (Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina),  we found it  very enjoyable but not thrilling.

Gateway for the ski bunnies; Queenstown is such a delightful place. We did however have an unfortunate encounter with a hobbit of a man demanding that we move Jucy 2 steps over as we were taking too much space. Brad inquired if he was using metric or imperial as his little hairy feet stepped out the alleged overhang.

Marvelous Milford was a highlight. The scenery; sensational. We camped for 2 nights in the DOC camping sites and much to Brad's delight; campfires were allowed. Time here was spent exploring and tramping through this garden of eden. The Gods must have been with us as the sun shone for our cruise on Milford sound.

Cross country to the east coast, Oamaru was the surprise package. We meandered through its Victorian precinct; sampled scotch, ale and fudge. Once again the camp site was beautiful over looking the inlet. This region is also home to the amazing Moeraki boulders. These unusually large and spherical shaped boulders lie on a stretch of Koekohe Beach . reminiscent of dinosaur eggs.

Akaroa; our final stop before bidding our dear Jucy adieu is a little yuppie, seaside town with boutique restaurants and bars. reminiscent of Sorrento in Vic.

In summation. NZ is breath taking. The panoramic views as we motored around the South were recurrently wonderful. The land of the Hobbits is truly a must do!

 

Gypsy NZ : Road Trip!

Two weeks as nomads (without the grey hair) has been a sojourn of many facets.  We quickly got use to the minky & fuggy cramped lifestyle of living out of a Jucy van as well as an itinerary written on a postage stamp. (Not sure how well the Jucy people clean their vans as a sealed condom made an unexpected guest appearance amongst the dinner plates and postcards suddenly appeared in the most unusual of places).  Apart from these quirky findings, the van gave us freedom to do what we wanted, whenever we wanted. 

Our journey took us through an artist's palette of landscape spectacular. Aquamarine churned through the ocean currents whilst glacier purity suckled from the mountain tops. The hills meandered across the coastline and rivers screamed through the ancient gorges. We headed off on our visit across the land of the 'Concords' with the GPS singing along in the background.

                                           
                                                               Our Beloved Jucy!

                            A hobbit demanded that we move Jucy over 2 steps to the right.
                                                    Let's do the time warp again!

                             DOC campsite. Brad stoked with the elements (fire and beer)