A little bit of tutoring

After a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs our two English visitors were getting ready to set off on the next phase of their New Zealand holiday. But first they needed a hand to sort out some issues with the campervan.  Although they had been given a quick run through of instructions when they collected the van, it was a matter of receiving too much information all at once.  The Kea had all sorts of buttons, switches and gauges and Glennis and Sue had not been in a campervan before.  They were having problems with opening the sliding door after a night spent safely tucked up inside.  They just couldn’t get that dratted door catch to unlock and had taken to clambering over to the front seats, and exiting through the cab door.  There had to be an easier way, so Robin climbed into the camper to have a go at sorting out the problem.  He shut the door, locked it, then tried to open it.  No go, it stayed firmly locked.  After pressing a few buttons, he worked it out.  The door had an electric release which meant a master switch had to be turned on and a unnamed switch above the sink pressed and hey presto the sliding door opened. This was only part of the problem as the locking mechanism for the motor-home also deadlocked the sliding door and a separate button on the key ring needed to be pressed. Once we had that sorted it was onto the waste water and chemical toilet emptying and priming. Robin then topped up the water for them so they had a full tank when they arrived at their next stop.  What goes in must come out, so the next step was to show how to empty the grey water tank.  He advised leaving the waste hose to drip dry for a short time to make it drier to pack away.

Explaining the wastewater connection

How to empty the toilet cassette was the next lesson.  A necessary job that must be done, then it is washed out and the toilet chemical added to keep it sweet and clean for next time.

The toilet cassette slides out here

Years of camping have taught Robin that the last job to do is to make sure you never drive away with the cord still plugged in to the power point.  (This makes the camper look stupid, and damages the cord and connection).   Unplug it, then roll it up neatly, he instructed.

Rolling up the power cord

It goes away in here

Glennis and Sue were heading up to Napier to check out the Art Deco city, then travelling on to Rotorua.  We wished them safe and happy travels as we waved them off on their big adventure.

Sue and Glennis and their Kea campervan