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 : 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)

On the road again!

A 16 hour flight (longest, long haul flight in the world), a bottle of Jameson under Brad's belt and regular visits to the toilet, to say ooroo to James set the scene for our 1000 mls road trip through the North of Texas.

Pickups, RV's and interstate truckers surge pass our compact Ford focus (road runner) as meerkat Brad strangled the steering wheel in a vice like grasp. The GPS pinged, the wireless crackled with cowboy moans about lost love , fiddles play and a Pastor preaches about the 'keys to heaven' as we sojourned down HWY 287.

Ghost towns beckoned. Names such as Turkey, Quitaque and Silverton, conjure up Bate's Motel like images. Signposted water towers, desolate main streets, RV trailer parks, lone windmills, oil pumps abandoned in fields and bizarre signs decorate the landscape.  However, the reality is always greater than fiction; as we stopped at these towns, whether for fuel,  a photo opportunity or to grab a coffee, we were greeted with much excitement, well wishes and stories that we felt like long lost kin.  Hospitality is certainly big in Texas!