Camping. The preparation is often as fun as the journey itself. It marks the beginning, and with camping, whether you may be the mountaineer of all mountaineers or the weekend go getter type, there comes those few essentials items that you cant leave without.

A form of shelter, that in our case is the Crow's Nest 2-Man Rooftop Tent. A bed, that in our case is built into the tent, because we like things easy. A blanket and a few pillows, because hey nobody likes to be cold. A light (or a few) as the woods are dark away from those city lights. And something to cook with, something to eat, a surfboard (or two), a book (or two), a deck of cards and a camera. 

But above all, we must have a means of transport. New Zealand is a thing of beauty, with so many nooks and crannies. Often such nooks are off the beaten track with a road that has seemingly been left in the past or created over time by locals.

And thats were we where stuck. With only a dingy hatch back this did not live up to nor fit the adventure mode we were after. 

The search began.

As keen seekers of these types of nooks we sought after a vehicle that yelled adventure and toughness, a vehicle that would see us through. After hours, weeks and months or searching through the auto trader (well Trade Me but thats not glamorous) we found a thing of beauty. A 1988 Land Rover Defender 110. Joel exchanged a few phone calls with a kind southern bloke and it all seemed to good to be true. We were sold, or at the very least intrigued, and before we knew it Joel and I were on the next flight or two (we missed our first flight) down to Christchurch to see what dreams were made of. And boy we weren't disappointed. 

Dormant in suburbia laid this 1988 Land Rover Defender 110. With a tidy body, sound Discovery engine, low kms, unworn bushes, a sparkling chassis and none of the other pesky problems that come with owning a Land Rover we were two very happy adventurers. We throw our money at John and set off on our trip North. A much deserved trip for our new/old Landy we thought. 

We drove into the night and we enjoyed every loud moment of it. Stopping in and spending the the night at Kaikoura for some RnR, it was an early rise with the mandatory coffee stop and straight back into the drive ahead. New Zealand is truly beautiful and north of the East Coast of Kaikoura is no exception.