Wet and Weird

This past holiday season I learned about another New Zealand tradition: the holiday camping trip. It’s a rather odd phenomenon in which whole families pack up their goods, close their shops and houses, and head to the beach to enjoy a few days or weeks of summer laziness and sunny weather. Having picked up a good friend that flew in from the states for a short respite, we decided to abide by NZ tradition and packed up our gear heading for a beachside plot. That is when the fun began and all my childhood concepts of camping were thrown out the window.

If you’ve ever been car camping in the states, you generally bring yourselves and what fits in the standard car. This usually includes a tent, sleeping bags, maybe a foam pad, a small grill, a cooler, and maybe a few games to keep you occupied. In New Zealand camping goes to a whole new level. They don’t just bring any ordinary tent, it’s usually about the size of a small Bach that will sleep anywhere from 4-10 in a bunk bed-style arrangement. Or, if you’re unfortunate enough to “rough it” on the ground, then a queen size mattress brought from home will be used. Then there’s the full size BBQ grill, the small refrigerator (and possibly freezer), maybe even a microwave if you’re lucky enough to procure a powered site. These are all towed behind the car in a trailer, that’s conveniently parked in front of their site for easy loading at the end of the trip. If you think this means families are venturing a great distance from their homes to camp, you are sorely mistaken. Often they’re within a 60 minute drive. After all, what if you needed an extra mattress? You could simply drive home, load it in the back of the car and bring it back, as we witnessed one family do. Seriously, you couldn’t really leave the comforts of home; then it wouldn’t be a true vacation. The only thing that closely approximated my stateside camping experience was the rain that graced us for the entire 48 hours. Ah, some things just don’t change, no matter where you are in the world.