It's pretty, isn't it? It's one of the nicer holiday parks I've stayed at.

It really is so much cheaper to mix it yourself, especially when you factor in that they bulk up the bought ones with coconut flakes (which are very cheap). Adding peanuts and coconut flakes is a cheap way to bulk up keto cereal. I add plenty of cinnamon to mine because it smells amazing 🥰

Thanks, Alan 😊 You're the best. It takes such a long time to put together a video and there's no earnings from it, so I tend to only make one a month. But it's good to have these memories. The NZMCA Tekapo park was building toilets, so it would be interesting to see the changes now.

I loved that location 🥰

Good advice. I never let any power station or lithium battery get below 40-50%. That's why I bought three of them so I can always recharge when it shows 50% remaining power. No, I haven't had any issues with any of the power stations I've bought, but I do know that electrical wiring is so delicate that anything made in China and shipped all the way out here is going to potentially have issues with lose connections (especially if the guys working at the shipping yards and warehouses drop the whole box of products and they don't own up to it).

@@caravanlifenz Thank you for that. Yes I suspect that's what's happened because everything else works.

The retailer will swap the faulty one for a functioning unit (consumer guarantees). But if you did happen to open it up, I'd suspect you'll see a loose wire in there somewhere. A common problem with electronics is when they're transported on rough, bumpy roads for a long distance and it causes the wiring to loosen or break from the solder. If I ever build a tiny house and live rurally off-grid, I'd do all the electrical wiring on site to avoid that problem.

That's right; we have a uniform rate of 15% GST, including on essential food items and healthcare.

Thank you :)

That's right; the minimum wage increase to $23.15 during the Labour government's time in power was dramatic. Growers were forced to increase their prices, which has meant $23.15 an hour after tax only buys us a cabbage, a broccoli, a dozen eggs and that's about it. NZ needs affordable accommodation to control this spiral.

We have been lucky enough to have traveled to Canada, the US and Australia in the last 6 months and we aren’t alone. We were shocked to see how high groceries were in Canada especially.

That's right. I was in Australia last year and their groceries have increased dramatically. Some items are almost as much as in NZ, even with their 0% GST on food. Australians believe Woolworths and Coles are taking excessive profits. Food in the UK and Germany is very reasonable. In both the UK and Germany, I could make £20 or 20 Euros go a long way at the supermarket.

Are you sure the solar panel you bought actually is an EcoFlow solar panel? I made sure I bought an EcoFlow solar panel from a reputable dealer that is approved to sell EcoFlow products, otherwise you may find you get scammed into buying a cheap knock-off product that isn't an official EcoFlow solar panel and doesn't have the right connectors. Because both my solar panel and River are EcoFlow products, each had a male and female connector that easily clipped together with the other male/female connectors without any issues.

It's great having such a nice hike right there in the city 🥰

It's a fantastic walk and it was great to see so many families getting out and enjoying it.

Thanks for the comment :) The best part is that this hike is right in Christchurch City, so people don't even have to leave the city to get exercise and see the views.

Thank you so much ❤️ I live out rurally where there are no gyms, and gyms are very expensive in NZ anyway, so I hope people will see that you can get fit with push-ups, planks, walking, and using household items for weights.

@@caravanlifenz let me know if you’d ever consider coming on the channel for an interview. Thanks again!

Thank you :) I'd need to get a lot fitter before doing that. It's going into winter here in New Zealand, so it's getting pretty cold exercising in the garage now. Keep well and God bless.

Thank you. I bought my generic 180W solar panel for my caravan roof from GoodsDirect2U in Rangiora (I collected it when I stayed at the holiday park out there) and it performs well. I chose the EcoFlow solar panel for my EcoFlow power station purely because the warrant is void if you use unbranded solar panels with it, but since my warrant is about to expire anyway, next time I buy a cheap solar panel I'll try it out with the power station and see if gives me better cloudy day performance.

The Willows NZMCA park is so quiet compared to the busy NZMCA Weedons :)

The entrance gate to The Willows has an NZMCA padlock? That would make things much safer. I was worried that if someone needed to go to hospital during the night, they wouldn't be able to get out of the exterior gates after the park ranger locks them. Thanks for clarifying.

You'd love it, and it's easy to get to from Chch. Highway 73 from Chch leads to Old West Coast Road. West Melton has a few cafes for coffee and snacks, but I haven't tried the cafes yet.

You've got nice walkways on the other side anyway :)

Thank you. I love the Waimakariri River and the view of the alps.

Thanks so much 🥰 People in England always say the NZ and Australian accents are awful, but the rest of the world says the NZ accent is nicer and softer than the British accent, so I'll go with that.

Great question. I would expect it to be higher to begin with as it heats up and then it would maintain its warmth after that, but I only monitored it using my power station for the first 20 seconds when it was warming up and using consistent wattage. I should have monitored it over a few minutes. It's been warm all year so I haven't taken the blanket out of the cupboard yet this year, but it will turn cold in May, so I'll test it out then :)

Thanks so much :) Have a great week.

Keto already encourages high protein animal products like tuna, chicken and red meat. You're confusing it with something else.

Same, and it's more tasty and filling than regular cereal like cornflakes.

Thanks so much, Tim ❤️ I live out rurally where there are no gyms, and they're really expensive in NZ anyway, so it's a waste of money having membership.

It's only packed over summer and New Year's because that's when all the university students have their summer break. It's unlikely to be busy in April, as the South Island is already quite cold now, so that will put tent campers off staying. With the 3 night maximum stay I mentioned, people are forced to move on after their third night, so that prevents holidaymakers staying longer.

I really enjoy your videos.. I just wish I was as motivated as you. Keep up the awesome work! 😊👍😊

Thanks so much. If you want to get fitter, the easiest way is just to ensure you walk at least 5 km per day, but walking does get harder as winter arrives ❄️ My biggest mistake was eating too much cheese, but I think it's important to show my mistakes so others don't make that same mistake 🤡🥰

@@caravanlifenz slight change of subject.. Have you ever considered doing audio books? I rather enjoy listening to you.

That's a lovely idea. When I tutored adults, they sometimes said that because my accent is easier to understand than many other native English speakers. But I don't have a quiet place to record audio. You can hear occasional cracking noises in my videos from the caravan roof expanding and contracting from heat or rain on the roof. If I had a quiet place, I would 🥰

Yeah, it's great there.

I know, cheese is the best, but not for weight loss.

Yes, I loved this one.

Thanks, but I took these photos a year ago (last summer). This summer I had to work, but I'll aim to hit the road again after I finish uploading the last of my photos from a year ago ❤️ The cost of petrol is so crazy high, so I'll save up and go to the North Island in the future.

It was great staying there after New Year's Eve (which is summer here). I was jealous of your Spain holiday video; my British grandparents retired in Spain. It's a shame our UK passports only give us 90 days there now 😮

I love fried or grilled halloumi cheese. ❤️

No, I'm LGBT+ and I've never experienced any anti-gay comments or actions and neither have any of the other gay members I've met. There's plenty of us non-straights in the club and it's never been an issue.

Thanks, Seraphi. It doesn't leave you with that overstuffed feeling you get from fried potatoes :)

Thank you so much. I hope more people try it and realise how easy it is to grow lettuces that way.

@@caravanlifenz I really enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work. I'm envious of the life style and one day hope to do a similar thing 😊

I always wanted to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Caravans like mine only have enough hot water for a 2 minute shower, so it's really taught me how limit my energy and water usage. And heating the whole caravan in winter is easy. But being on the road wastes a lot of petrol, so I'm very cautious to plan where I go and limit driving :) In the future, I'll build a tiny house instead.

@@caravanlifenz my dream, one day, is to have a tiny home.. Cabin type of thing, over in the bush in the west coast. Hopefully one day 😊

I met a lovely couple who is doing that in Cape Foulwind, on the West Coast. They said the weather is reasonably good there, despite the ominous name of the town 😮

😂 I've got to work and earn money. I can't just travel all the time.

Starlink in caravan = working from home 😂😂😂

I use Wireless Nation for my remote internet on the road. My job requires employees to physically be there at work, sadly. Are you a photographer?

I am.

Photography is a dream job. You're living the dream :)

Thank you :) I'm trying to get fit at the moment and keto meals are known for reducing belly fat due to having no or low carbs. I was eating too many potatoes previously 😮

Thanks so much for the kind words, Allan 🥰

I loved that campground. If you're into photography, it's a dream because the turquoise lake looks so good against the park's green grass. You might find the cost is still expensive now though - I went in spring, which is the off-season when it's cheap.

@@caravanlifenz We went camping down at Moeraki a few weeks ago and there were already some campgrounds closed in the area which I found strange.

Freedom camps or holiday parks? It's common in the South Island for freedom camps to close once the rain and cold nights begin. Here in Canterbury, it's been dry all March, so it's been great. It makes up for an awful December :)

I can't remember the place now - but I do wonder why a freedom camping spot would close when nobody needs to run the place :)

I thought the same thing when I bought my caravan and saw that freedom camps close over winter. Part of it is because they don't want the grass ripped up (people driving on it when it's muddy kills it and leaves bald patches, especially if bogans get in there and do donuts). The other reason is that the councils pay for cleaners which is expensive. In Canterbury, the Selwyn Council provides a cleaner every day in summer at Chamberlains, Coes and their other freedom camps, which is expensive. So they close up the camps in winter to save money on services (rubbish collection, cleaning etc).

It's a great region to visit :)

Thank you :) It's really worth trying. You can adapt it to a keto meal if you cut out the orange and apple.

Thanks so much, May. Grüß Gott (I studied in München for a semester). I'm just compiling a video for the hydroponic lettuces. I'm hoping to have that finished on Wednesday, as I'm not working that day :)

@@caravanlifenz Oh, cool, then I‘ll be looking forward to that, thanks! As I‘m from northern germany, we say „Moin“, kind of short for „mooien dag“/„nice day“😉, even if it is late at night. I‘m just transitioning into a more plantbased lifestyle, after gaining weight, problems with too many of my organs. So far I am very happy and astonished, how good it feels and how easy it is. I listen to my body and obviously it likes greens, beans and vegetables the most at the moment. Even though I have some stomach issues, I tolerate kimchi, but not bread. I craved kimchi and didn‘t think that that would be right, but I tried it and its good! So cool. My kids are mostly on bord with that and I cook things just for them, so they can choose from a variety, no need to force them or frustrate them, they love raw veggies, thats good for a start. I hope you are well and wish you all the best.

North Germany is a beautiful, friendly place. I had a German teacher from Hamburg who said "Moin" as a greeting. I'm enjoying vegetarian alternatives, such as fried halloumi cheese in place of meat. I'd never go vegan because I want to eat eggs, yoghurt and cheese. I miss German quark because in New Zealand it's hard to find those German/Scandinavian products like quark.

Thanks, Sergey. I hope you have a great week.

@@caravanlifenz 😊

Grilled or fried halloumi is the best ❤️I love that sound when it's cooking.