Just for a bit of a laugh we decided to tour around NZ for about 10 days with 2 kids and the spare tyre. I think i was wearing that after a week in wine country!

Now my last 5 everday cars have been 4WDs, which tends to allow you to be a bit more generous when packing. Once even had to chuck stuff in the boat cause the bruiser was full! :o

I'd already chickened out on one trip (going in the wifes Xtrail instead) and damn it, it wasn't going to happen again. So a couple of "sucky bags", or (space bags as my wife calls them) careful packing the boot like an esky an Australia Day and away we went.

Thought you guys might like to see a few photos of Cape Palliser (wine buff's might recognise the name). It's as close to banjo country in spots as you can get and you can see from the roads why i wasn't relying on Mazda Assist or inflatible tyre goo.

Had a ball buzzing round the windy Wairarapa roads, damn fun having snow capped hills in the background and then hitting a beach for the kids to swim! (Not exactly Noosa I will admit but no polar bears either).

The RX went like a dream, amazing to belt along overtaking at will and man have i come to appreciate 5000rpm+++++

Anyway Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all and i hope the photo's attach, my first go at it!

Mike :D

PS on a sombre note hope you have all contributed to the cause, found out today we lost one of our Sales Guys (a local) in Galle Sri Lanka.

 

You squeezed all that gear into the boot?

I struggle fitting in the weekly shopping even without a spare tyre.

 

Bloody Hell man.....ten days with the family in an RX-8. Hilary wasn't that adventurous :p .

 

Sorry to hear of the loss of one of your colleagues......

 

including the kids....? i hope not :p

 

Did you shrink wrapp all the stuff

cheers
michael

 

:D shrink wrap the kids too :D

 

Now that would have been an idea, but a little Shinco 10" portable DVD kept them quite!

Was a blast, even managed a 9ft beach rod which I caught my biggest Salmon / Kawhai on, 50cm +.

Cheers

 

Beautiful weather and I doubt the whole NZ looks like in the picture... Where is the forest?

 

Had to chop them down to fit in the sheep!!!

Seriously Taka the weather this year has been very ordinary.

Very dramatic piece of coastline where the road regularly falls into the sea and they launch the cray boats down the rock beach with tractors! as you can see.

There are plenty of chocolate box images of NZ but this kind of wild coast is just great to cruise around. Ya get kinda bored with the velcro sheep on green hills. (ie stuck to the side of an impossibly steep hill, yeah and nojooc no need for the farmer jokes!

 

I wouldn't dream of it......... :D

 

mike, i like the way you've used the kids as a scale for all the stuff. alot like putting a 5c piece next to something!

weather does look a little bleak, then Sydney has been hot and cold all summer so far!