Christchurch stop number 250
They’ve stayed in 175 Airbnbs in 250 cities in 70 countries – and now they’ve added Christchurch to their list.
Michael and Debbie Campbell are known as the ‘‘Senior Nomads’’ and have spent years continually travelling – so far covering Europe, Turkey, Israel, Russia, Mexico, Africa, Cuba, the Middle East and, most recently, Central Asia.
After six weeks in New Zealand, the Seattle couple spent their last day in the Garden City yesterday.
The retired couple began wandering almost five years ago when their daughter, who lives in France, wanted to see more of them.
‘‘I think she wanted us to spend more time in Europe near her,’’ Michael Campbell said. ‘‘We thought maybe we could quit work and sell everything. Maybe we could travel for the same amount of money that we would spend if we were retired in Seattle. [We’ve been] living in other people’s homes – for five years.’’
The couple were surprised by how expensive, wealthy and clean New Zealand was.
‘‘Everything’s so clean and just really well kept. It’s a beautiful country. A person would want to move here,’’ Michael Campbell said.
They were also surprised by the way Kiwis drove. ‘‘Why do they want to drive so fast on the windy roads? I’m trying to go 100 and people are going ‘beep beep’ and I’ll pull over and there are lorries and buses on these teeny tiny roads,’’ he said.
They were challenged by exCyclone Gita on the West Coast last month, losing power at their Airbnb accommodation on the Fox River. ‘‘We had our candles, we had our food. I had made soup and pie, so we were all good,’’ Debbie Campbell said.
She thought New Zealand houses were mostly similar to those in other parts of the world, except for the villas.
‘‘I love the villa style, I think those are so awesome.’’
Despite trying many foods around the world, she had not been able to bring herself to try whitebait.
‘‘I’ll go just about anywhere now and eat just about anything except . . . whitebait. They just put me off.’’
The Campbells said the most interesting place they had stayed in was in Kigali, Rwanda.
‘‘It was a small place and the bathroom and their toilet and the kitchen were all outside, so you’d sleep in the room and then you’d walk around the house to the kitchen and the other side to get to the shower and the bathroom and watch for bugs and things,’’ Debbie Campbell said.
She felt she had become braver and more patient from the experience of travelling the world. Michael Campbell said he thought he had become a better husband.
New Zealand had become one of their favourite destinations, alongside Croatia.
The Campbells headed to Melbourne last night and would spend the next six weeks in Australia.
"Maybe we could travel for the same amount of money that we would spend if we were retired in Seattle." US visitor Michael Campbell