Meeting the locals
As we moved closer to Christchurch we spent our first night at the Rangiora Leigh Holiday Park on SH71. It has a wide, open grass area and a very strong honesty policy. When I phoned, a friendly lady told me, yes pets are allowed and I was to grab and envelope at the door, fill it out, place the correct amount in it or make an online payment. Then just put the envelope in the slot on the side of the building and that's it! First time at a camping site where I didn't talk to someone at reception! The camp itself is good, with a newer facilities block where the bathroom is shared by males and females and an older block where the bathrooms are separated. This block was a little creepy though - A long narrow hall (the kind that makes you want to look behind you as you walk down it) with a very rustic, wooden lounge-area and bathrooms to the sides of it.
Deciding I would like to be a little closer to Christchurch (or so I told Ferrari anyhow) we spent the next night at the North South Holiday Park. The first site we were allocated was super tiny. We had to squash the motorhome in between two outdoor table sets which meant we couldn't even open the door! So I asked for a slightly bigger site and the staff were very helpful and accommodating.
Our neighbour on the right hand side also had a cat who wasn't on a lead but didn't seem to go more than a meter away from the campervan - what is this trickery?
On the other side was a lady and her husband who had bought a lifestyle block and had to wait a few days before moving in. She works for a Foundation that helps kids in lower decile schools with life skills - nope, doesn't sound like there are any vacancies.
The reason we started to talk - I saw Ferrari glancing at a big, black dog through the opening between the wheels, but all dogs must be tied up, surely this one is too.... yeh, not so much. The dog came flying around the motorhome and I grabbed the cat. In her mind It might as well have been the dog grabbing her, so she started scratching and heading for higher ground, which in this case was my head, as she did so, poor baby, she also decided to mark her territory a little - you know - the way cats do.
The neighbour grabbed her dog and promised to keep it tied up from now on and so we started to talk.
Ferrari was upset for about 5 minutes and then seemed to return to her usual self, but she didn't feel comfortable walking around the park. There wasn't the usual odd bush to hide in. So we only stayed for the night.
