South Island on Wheels: Timaru

Click the link to see the summary of the trip!

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Spaceships Rental

Spaceship Beta 2S

Rental Dates:  13 October - 22 October 2014
Rental Rates: $64/day [Rent 10 days, pay only 8 days]
Insurance: All-inclusive $30/day
Add on: Table & Chairs ($50), Gas Canister ($12), GPS ($5/day) & Mains Plug ($40)
Website: http://www.spaceshipsrentals.co.nz/


We finally reached the Spaceship depot and met our companion, Banthas (named after the big elephant in Star Wars), for the next 10 days! All of Spaceship's vehicles are aptly named like Agent Smith for one.

This was our bedroom, our car, our kitchen, our storage area, everything for 10 days. The only thing lacking was probably a shower.

beautiful sky

Our initial plan was to stay one night in Christchurch to catch up on sleep and jet lag and drive to Dunedin the next day. However, we were so excited, felt well rested and didn't want to drive for 4 hours the next day, so we drove to Timaru (1.5 hours) to break the journey.

That was a good idea because we could now spend more time in Oamaru and didn't have to race with sunset.

Glenmark Holiday Park Timaru

Address: 30 Beaconsfield Road, Rd 2, Timaru, NZ
Tel: (03) 684 3682
Website: www.timarumotorcamp.co.nz
Rate: $30 for 2 pax for power site

We finally arrived at the little habour town of Timaru. It was close to sunset and we were exhausted from the flight, the many pit stops along the way for coffee, photo taking and enjoying of the crisp cool air.

Road tripping! #NataBertinNZ #timaru #nofilter #newzealand

A photo posted by Natasha Lim (@natatatasha) on Oct 10, 2014 at 6:48pm PDT

It has a clean kitchen, spacious camp ground, playground, clean shower facilities and TV lounge! The only thing that irked me was that there was a separate tap for hot and cold water at the sinks. Little did I know, this would be the start of many sinks with such taps to come! It was you either scald yourself or freeze your hand off.

After a nice shower, I still felt like the weather was still cool enough to wear shorts. I must either be stupid or trying to be a hero. I cooked dinner in shorts and I went to bed in just my shorts and t-shirt thinking the car would block out the wind and the comforter thick enough to keep me nice and warm.

I woke up in the middle of the night and woke Gilbert up with a trembling hand. He was smart to have worn his long pants and jacket. He suggested putting on my jeans and gloves and used a sheet which we just tossed a side to layer the blankets.

I just fell right back to sleep.

At that point, I regretted having the initial regret of bringing all my thermal wear.You have no idea how thankful I was for all my warm clothes.

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Read All About:

• Timaru
• Oamaru
• Hampden
• Dunedin
• Queenstown
• Lake Wanaka
• Fox Glacier
• Franz Josef
• Arthur's Pass

TIPS: Travelling in Korea

Here are some tips and recommendations about travelling in Korea! You may or may not follow my advice, but I believe this will make your planning and travelling easier!

Booking through 3rd party websites

I am sure some of us may book through 3rd party websites like booking.com or hotels.com. Always email the hotel/hostel with confirmations prior to your departure to ensure they have received your reservations.

Sign up as a member

When booking airfare or making a car rental reservation, sign up as a member first before purchasing your ticket as they offer discounts to members! I received 75% discount for my car rental in Jeju!

Renting of car

I would recommend renting a car in Jeju. There are no trains in Jeju and walking from bus stop to the attraction's entrance will be a very long distance (like 20 mins long). We rented a car for about $160+ for about 36 hours. It is affordable in Jeju, so if you have a driver with you, RENT A CAR! It really saved us a lot of time from waiting for buses and energy. 

International Driving Licences 

If you're renting a car in Jeju, please bring along your International Driving Licences. They will not rent it to you unless you have it. Making one in Singapore is easy, you just have to apply and pay for it online and send in the confirmation together with a passport sized photo.

Ask for English navigation

If you're renting a car, email the company to provide you with English navigation/GPS. It is based on first come first serve basis so you have to reserve it in advance. Most navigation comes complimentary with the car rental.

Bring a light jacket/windbreak along

If you happen to go during the shoulder period when Spring transits into Summer, please bring a light jacket/windbreaker along. Temperatures drop like crazy at night and you want to be prepared.

Language
Most Koreans in Seoul are able to speak a little bit of English, so do not worry. We only faced difficulty in Busan and Jeju and so, we just ordered what we knew like Ramyeon or Jajangmeyon or point at pictures.

Medicine & Hydration

This really shouldn't be a tip, but a necessity for all travelers around the world. I fell terribly sick in Jeju after several nights of Korean BBQ (sore throat) and when I climbed Mt. Hallasan, the cold wind blew against my shirt (drenched in sweat) and I caught a terrible cold! I had very bad flu and fever that evening.

iPhone Subway App

For iPhone users, there's a Korean Subway App for you to download. It has a white train logo with blue background and it's just called Subway. It is really good because it helps you plan your travel route and tells you the fastest or cheapest route to take, what time the train arrives and what time you will arrive at your destination. It has subway maps of the major cities in Korea like Seoul, Busan, Daegu, etc.