Corbridge Family Blog: Family Togetherness in an RV

Since beginning this adventure we have had a lot of family time together. Sometimes that has been the best part of the trip and sometimes it has been the hardest part. Here in New Zealand we brought the togetherness to a new level as we spent two weeks in an RV.

When we went to pick the RV up we were a bit surprised how small it looked. We had reserved a 6 berth grand, but it didn't look grand or like it could hold 6 adults. I guess Internet descriptions can be a bit deceiving! We got the rundown on how everything works and then we were off (driving on the left side of the road) for two weeks of exploring New Zealand.

Riding in an RV is an adventure. We took turns sitting in the almost comfortable front passenger seat. That left four people in the back supposedly seat belted in the uncomfortable bench area. The windows were small which made viewing scenery or anything else from the back a little hard. Each day as we left we secured everything, or so we thought. As we rounded a corner we discovered which drawer, cupboard or thing was not secured as we tried to catch flying objects. It's most exciting when the knife drawer gets left open. We tried to play cards at the table and found that cards sliding off the table added a new element to the game. Then we discovered the cards didn't slide quite as fast and far when we had a fleece blanket on the table.

Driving an RV is a whole other adventure. The first part of the trip I had no desire to drive. I am not sure what I was afraid of, driving on the left side of the road, the manual transmission, the size of the vehicle (which seemed big when it was time to drive) or maybe a combination of the three. Eventually I overcame my fear and took my turn driving. I happened to pick a part of the drive on narrow, winding mountain roads with road construction to begin my New Zealand driving experience. I was not calm and relaxed during my drive. Instead my shoulders were tight and my fists were tightly gripping the steering wheel. But I managed to drive just fine except for a few times trying to shift with my right hand and hitting my hand on the door and one time turning out of a parking lot onto the right hand side of the road (no other cars were around.)

Living in an RV is a whole other type of adventure. As I mentioned earlier, it was a bit tight. we couldn't all stand up at the same time. The table area could seat 4 (but then someone was always touching someone else!). We had to transform the couch and table area into beds each night which involved rearranging most of our stuff and having some people strategically out of the way. The beds were not all equally comfortable so we rotated who slept where each night. We had a small bathroom where we could change our clothes, but you couldn't turn around in it! We each had a small cupboard to store our things. All of this provided us many opportunities to work together. I wish I could say we all lived together in peace and harmony for two weeks, but I can't. We had a few challenges, but when it was all over we all said we would do it again.

We spent the first 5 days in the north island visiting the temple in Hamilton, the geothermal area and some hiking in National Parks. We discovered that it is cold in New Zealand, especially in the mountains at night so we made a stop at Kmart to buy sleeping bags, sweatshirts and warm socks.

We took the ferry to the South Island and I really worried as we boarded the ferry because it was stormy and I could remember all to well the ferry ride a few weeks earlier where so many passengers were sea sick. This ferry started out pretty rough but then calmed down and was a pleasant ride. We visited four national parks on the South Island and found New Zealand to be absolutely beautiful. We saw beaches, glaciers, mountains, lakes, waterfalls, rock formations, fields, and beautiful scenery. I think we just scratched the surface of the South Island and I am already trying to figure out a way to return to see more!