We have named it in honour of our friends from the Isle of Wight who are in their 70s and turned up here in a tiny camper to get off road in NZ. As we saw Robyn loading up the only available space with gin, he said "Shirley and I are going orf piste for a few days" Shirley wondered where her clothes and the food were going. For those who don't know what Off Piste means : Getting off the main slopes at a ski field and Shirley and Robyn said it like "orf piste" in their very clipped english way!
A few things added over the weeks and now we have an Electrical Certificate which means we can plug in at camping grounds and the all important Self Containment Certificate so we can freedom camp (go orf piste). Yes it has a loo and shower and tanks needed.
A couple of pics inside:
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| One up and one down! Need to be 20 something or very little to be 2 - up. Stephen built the ladder. |
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| Vodafone towers nearby pretty important! |
So ready for a trial couple of days and that took us to Evans Crossing at the Pareora Gorge, an old haunt of my family for picnics and swimming.
We used everything inc. the shower, loo and heater and the tried and tested BBQ outside. There is a gas 2 burner in the van which we use for tea and toast and coffee on the road. And there was a very good sized trout in the awesome swimming hole right there.
For Toyo-nerds it's a 3-ton Toyoace with the 3L motor. We bought it with 76000 kilometres on the clock, which is just about nicely run-in for one of these. It has 4WD and low ratio, so it can climb out of river beds and get across paddocks nae bother.
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