Afflicted with the perfectionist and the uber-organised gene means that everything I have around me has a place, a home and there is an order. Therefore, it stands that this first week of ‘flip-flopping around New Zealand’ has been chaos (at least by my standards) as I find out where things live during the day and night, what things I need to access, when and how often and what things I don’t need.

On my first night camping, while I was having an internal conniption over the lack of car camping organisation and inefficiencies, unbeknownst to me a conversation was being conducted between a couple of neighbouring campers about how organised I was. They deducted from their observations, that I must be German. Funnily enough my German friends have frequently told me that I do have Germanic organisational tendencies. Perhaps they are more than just tendencies if a stranger can observe them! On hearing of this conversation later on, I laughed and then politely corrected them stating that I am a Kiwi girl who just likes things organised.

A few nights on, I have had the chance to figure out exactly what I am using and how. Realising that the large plastic box I employed to house camping gear was simply too cumbersome for effective boot packing. It was passed on to one of the camp wardens, who gratefully accepted the gift. In doing this I have streamlined the packing of the boot – which is now a pleasurable experience! I have worked out what I need, when and in which bags and boxes to house these items to facilitate a smooth car camping experience. Perhaps there will be more modifications as I travel but imagine what my fellow campers would say if they saw me now!