I really don’t want to write an entry right now. Yesterday’s kept me up until I think after 3:00 a.m. 😅
Of course, I didn’t start the entry until something like 2:00 a.m. 🙃
Then the CamperMate app said that I had to be out by 8:30 in the morning, and though there were no camping signs anywhere of any kind getting any information about camping there, I wanted to go with what was on CamperMate, so I set a countdown timer for five hours and woke up to it somewhere around 8:15 a.m.
Far too little sleep, especially being such a light sleeper and waking up who knows how many times.
I thought about trying to nap for a bit, But then I noticed and was reminded of an email that I had gotten from one of my Banks that they had sent me a message, so I went over to check my message, and found that it was a warning that if I didn’t call the bank within 24 hours, I was risking having my money sent back to my other bank account because they had flagged my account for potential security issue back in December, and had sent me a message then, and I hadn’t responded in over 2 months.
Ugh.
Frustrated that I couldn’t just deal with the issue via text or chat or something and actually had to call (I don’t currently have an active international plan, so I have to pay by the minute otherwise), I went ahead and called. The first time, after a few minutes, or so, the call was cut off, so I had to start all over, still paying by the minute. 😅
Gratefully, I think I might only have been on hold on that second call for a grand total of one or two minutes. 🙏
And rightfully, the issue was resolved quite quickly. They had flagged my account because I had logged in from an IP address in New Zealand, and they were concerned about someone possibly hacking my account.
I think that second call was over in something like 5 minutes. 🙏
Anyway, with that out of the way, I spent a fair chunk of the morning on YouTube watching different educational or news related videos. I also did some push-ups and sit-ups to at least start trying to get some strength training exercise to mix in with the walking and hiking (which is good, but it’s not sufficient).
There was a bit of trash spilled near the trash can, a diaper and some other stuff, and I picked up the diaper and some of the other stuff but left the chicken bones on the ground. 🙃
It wasn’t but a handful of minutes later that the garbage people showed up, so at least they didn’t have to pick up the diaper. 😅
It was late morning when I left the Outram Glen Scenic Reserve area to get moving for the day. My route took me over through Balclutha, and I noticed there was a Woolworths there, so once again I stopped on by in the hopes of being able to dispose of my flexible plastic recycling, but once again, I was disappointed in my efforts.
Maybe this region simply doesn’t recycle soft plastic?
🤷
My sister Leslie called, but with the international charges, I declined the call and immediately called her back via WhatsApp.
I’m grateful for apps that provide calling services via Wifi. I don’t understand why my regular call app can’t do that. 🤔
Had a good long conversation with my oldest sister, chatting for about an hour before she had to get going on some work she needed to finish up.
Glad she called. ☺️ I’d texted yesterday, and she suggested catching up today, and it worked out beautifully. 😊
I spent some time just sort of chilling on the side of the road by the beach for a little bit before deciding I might as well head over to Nugget Point Lighthouse, because I had other places I wanted to visit today as well, so it was time to get moving.
I snapped pictures on the walk to the lighthouse.
On the walk, I ran into a retired British couple that I chatted with for probably an hour or two. He’s a bird watcher, so he had his binoculars.
Quite likely an item I’m going to add to Rover’s adventure kit when I get home. 😊
Speaking of over and getting home, a big shout out to Cory for letting me keep my van at his place and for periodically starting the old beast up. 🙏
Crazy to me that it’s almost time for me to go back to the States. 😶
It’s coming too quickly!
Gave my mom a call about 5:00 and chatted for about an hour as well.
Texted family and friends a bit.
Sorry this entry is jerky and without flow. My eyes are heavy, and I’m barely functional. 🙃
I stopped off thinking I might go to Tunnel Hill, but then decided against it and headed over and grabbed gas in Owaka, grateful once again, the self-serve machine actually accepted my credit card. So either my efforts right at the beginning of my trip here paid off, and it just took a long time for the digital pin to be added to my account, or something shifted in either my credit card company’s processes or the digital requirements in New Zealand changed.
I have no idea which happens, but I’m very grateful I was able to buy gas, despite the fact that it was quite expensive gas.
Texted multiple other family members named my friend Cory.
The next adventure of the day, which would also turn out to be my last intended adventure was heading over to Parakaunui Falls. I wound through the hills, then past a lake that looked more like a huge tidal flat. 🤷
And then, just as I pulled around a corner, the landscape dramatically shifted from ranchers’ fields to rainforesty-looking vegetation and I completely recognized the play a location to Chase and I had visited 3 years ago.
There was a single vehicle in the parking lot, another camper thing, night and I could tell that they were waiting for me to get out of here, so they could ask me something, so I got out of my van, and they both got out and in broken English (they were from France) asked me for help in understanding whether or not the language describing the reserve where we were both parked allowed for camping or not.
Coming around the bend and going down the hill, I had lost reception, so I couldn’t look anything up for sure, and I was just as confused by the information on the sign that they had been trying to figure out as they were. 🙃
So I told him to sit tight, that I would drive back up the hill, get signal, and then look everything up. It wasn’t very far going back up the hill that I was able to get signal, and I had taken pictures of the QR codes, so I was able to look those up as soon as I had signal, finding that where we were parked was not an area where Freedom camping was permitted.
So I showed them that, and then I showed him a couple of places on the doc government website that were supposedly available for Freedom camping, and then I bid them farewell.
Oddly, my van was completely dead. Completely black. 😶 So I popped the hood, figuring that my poorly installed battery cables were probably the issue, which seemed even more likely after checking the battery voltage and finding that it was quite well charged, but once I had the hood popped, both battery cable connections were on and tight, so… 🤔
🤷
I pulled off the negative and put it back on, just to reset things to see if that would resolve anything, and, it did. I’m guessing that what happened was that one of my lease connections lost just enough connection to cause the issue.
Great thing, it’s been fine since.
But I also had the same dilemma as the French couple. It was late at night, and I was going to need a place to crash for the night.
After taking the short walk to Parakaunui Falls…
….I started driving back toward the lake to a couple of freedom-camping spots listed on the government’s DOC website. The next closest location I was aware of was all the way down by Curio Bay, which was not a short drive– a desired destination, for sure, but just not tonight. 🙃
I accidentally drove by the first of the supposed Freedom camping spots, and then I accidentally drove by it again going the other direction. 😆
Unfortunately, though it was listed as an acceptable feeding-camping location, including details of the area, it had a nice little no camping sign that threatens a fine.
Lovely 😕
So I drove from there over down the same same River/ Lake to another place that according to the government DLC website allowed Freedom camping, but I met with the same problem–clear no camping S signs
Ugh! 😒
What do you do when the government website says that it’s fine to camp there, but the local sign says it’s not? Which one do you trust?
Beautiful sunset, at least.
Gratefully, as I was giving up and getting ready to head down the road in the direction of Curio Bay, I noticed a truck parked on the side of the road, and as I pulled up alongside it, I recognized that it was a local government vehicle, one would be specifically out there ensuring people were adhering to the Freedom camping rules.
🎉
So I rolled down my window and asked if I could bother them for a moment, and then I told them about my plight, that I’ve been driving around for a couple hours, or whatever it was, trying to find a place that I could stay, having tried the ones listed on the doc website going to find the local area had prohibition signs threatening fines.
The government workers were surprised by the information on the government website, as it was far out of date. One of the workers said he’d been working there for something like 5 years, and hadn’t seen the areas that I was trying to freedom camp at ever having been acceptable. 😶
One of the workers took a snapshot of the info that I had on my phone, and hopefully they’ll be able to get that corrected. Gratefully, one of the workers handed me an information pamphlet about the area and they both told me about Freedom camping spot at Parakaunui Bay.
I think them both both, letting them know they were my lifesaver for the evening, as it was already late, and I had no idea exactly where I was going to be staying.
So I made the drive from where I was on the side of the lake winding down through the pills and dirt roads to the campsite.
And that’s where I am now. There’s no reception of any kind, not cell, not internet, nothing, so I won’t be able to add pictures to this post nor send the post at all tonight, but I’ll get everything squared away tomorrow.
I’m really really tired right now. My eyes keep closing, and then I keep having these little micro dreams where my voice is still dictating journal, but somehow reality has shifted to a reality in a dream, and so I start dictating what’s going on in the dream or what I’m thinking while I’m in the dream.
It’s all nutty.
I watched some LDS video podcast episodes that I had downloaded to my phone, and I’ve since spent about the last 45 minutes, or so, dictating this journal. Really tired.
Yep. I keep falling asleep, so I’m going to call it. I’m in my van. It’s just coming up on midnight, and it’s time to crash.
Love to all. 🤍
Lift the world.
Bring it on.
~ stephen
Lift the World 