New Zealand looks like an upside down Wellington boot!
Lewis the Lion was studying a map of New Zealand and noticed that it was mainly formed of two big islands: the North and the South Island. He actually thought that together it looked a bit like an upside down Wellington boot! And the funny thing was, that the capital city was called Wellington too: what a coincidence! That would help him remember that.
Lewis is happy to be travelling on the Stray Bus
He was happy when Helen decided that they would travel more or less all around New Zealand with a bus company called Stray. This was a slightly smaller company than some of the other tour operators but Helen preferred it as it was especially designed for backpackers like herself and Lewis the Lion, there were smaller group numbers and the bus would ‘stray’ off the beaten track. That meant that the bus would stop for good photo opportunities in between hitting the main highlights of New Zealand. The whole journey would last them 24 days and they would visit some of the main sights on the North and South Islands, including Stewart Island (which lies in the far south).
The hills are adorned with the yellow glow of broom
That would mean that besides stopping to do some of the many activities that New Zealand had to offer, that quite a lot of their time would be spent travelling on the bus itself.
Greenery is all around as Lewis the Lion travels through New Zealand
Besides chatting with the fellow travellers, Helen and one of the Stray bus drivers, Tim, taught Lewis a few cool games to help pass the time:
The Registration Plate Game
Lewis the Lion noticed that New Zealand number plates had a series of letters and numbers. The idea of this game is to be the first person to think of a word which contains the two or three letters that are displayed on the registration plate. If it’s a draw, the person with the longest word wins.
The second part to this game is to add up all of the numbers quickly too.
Can you have a go yourself looking at these photos of New Zealand registration plates?
1. Car registration plate
2. Car registration plate
3. Car registration plate
4. Car registration plate
5. Car registration plate
The Tractor game
New Zealand is world famous for its farming, particularly its sheep rearing as its lamb meat is transported all over the world. It’s famous too for its wines and kiwi fruit. (Lewis the Lion discovered that people from New Zealand are called either New Zealanders or Kiwis! There is also a rare New Zealand bird called a kiwi which Lewis the Lion will talk about in one of his future blogs!). So, with farming being so important it was common to see or pass tractors on the road. The principle of this game is that the first person to see a tractor in a field scores one point. If they see it on the road they score two points. If it’s parked in a garage it’s three points and if it’s on a trailer it’s worth five points. Remembering to call out when you’ve seen one can be challenging, especially on a long journey!
Hey cow
This was one of Lewis the Lion’s funniest games. Simply when you pass a field of cows, wind the window down and shout ‘Hey Cow!’ You then count to see how many cows look around at you!
What car games or travel games do you know?
Tell a friend.
