First Overnighter

I decided to have the first night away in our 'new' bus not too far from home. Bernie was working so it was just me and the dogs.

After looking at the NZMCA app and reading posts in various Face book groups, I chose to go to a DOC campsite near St Arnaud - Teetotal Camp. First, and most importantly it was dog-friendly,  with several walks right beside the camp. Secondly, we hadn't been away overnight in this particular bus, I thought if I ran into trouble, I was only an hour from home.

We (Oakly, Boo and I) arrived just after midday on a hot summer's day. Only one other camper was there so choosing a spot to park was easy. I decided on an area beside some trees for some shade for the dogs.

As I mentioned, one of the reasons I picked Teetotal Camp was due to reading some Facebook posts. One post had shown photos of dogs in a river and with that thought in mind Oakly, Boo and I set off for a walk. Usually I don't walk the dogs during the day in summer as I'm mindful of how hot it can get for them. However they were itching to get out to explore and I figured they could cool down once we got to the river.

After walking for more than half an hour there was still no sign of a river. I thought of turning back, the dogs were hot and seeking shade to rest. However, I thought if we turned back they'd have to walk another half hour or more and still wouldn't get to cool down in the river. But, how far away was this river?

After some toing and froing, I decided to keep going, hoping the river wouldn't be too much further. Oakly is 13 now and in the last 12 months has started slowing up. Nowadays he likes to stop every few metres to smell everything in sight, so it was a slow walk.. 

In the distance I heard some dogs barking and when they appeared, along with their owner, I asked how far ahead the river was. She told me there wasn't a river ahead. Fortunately she lived in the area and suggested rather than returning on the same track, we follow a less trodden path. She knew the area well and explained the shorter route. So off we went.

Oakly handled the return-walk surprisingly well ... it was Boo who struggled, so I had to carry her some of the way. I felt awful having them out walking in this heat.

It was great to eventually see the campsite! 

And, after a nice, big drink of water we lay down to rest.

The dogs signal when they're ready for dinner - I never need to check my watch. It's alwaysbetween 4 and 5pm. When they indicated they were hungry, they ate in the shade and not long after were napping again.

I had a rough idea how to turn the inverter on so I could turn Netspeed on, but when I tried it didn't work. Normally, this is when I'd see if Bernie knew how. However, he wasn't there so I had to figure it out myself. I know it's not rocket science but the set up in this bus was different than our previous set-up. However I'm pleased to say, I figured it out!  Then I celebrated a successful day with a movie and wine.

Later that evening I messaged my Facebook friend to ask where the river was that she'd posted while staying at Teetotal. I laughed when I read her reply. Turns out, when she stayed there they took a day trip to Nelson and stopped at the Motueka River to give their dogs a swim. When posting photos of their time at Teetotal she'd included the Motueka River photos. LOL.

Wow, we could have walked for hours and not found a river! Thank goodness we stumbled across that local lady walking her dogs!