Today we had the pleasure of picking up our 2nd camper van of the trip, and after a quick ‘how to’ briefing from the nice man at the rental office we hit the road. First stop was a supermarket to pick up food supplies and a little radiator…it is set to get VERY cold people. Then after Nicola’s directions went a bit ‘off’ piste and we did a tour of the Auckland suburbs we finally joined the 1 heading north, passing over the Auckland Harbour bridge.
Once over the bridge and on the north shore it wasn’t long before we were in open country with rolling green hills, and sheep!! We took the non toll highway up the Hibiscus coast, and stopped at Orewa for lunch on the beach. It also gave us a good opportunity to check out the van; it has a snazzy pink cd player, ample kitchen space, with microwave, toaster, kettle, grill and 2 hobs and a fridge…no more bags of ice in the eski for us!
We then rejoined the 1 for a short hop up to Warkworth where we took a turn toward the coast and the Goat Island Marine Reserve. When we arrived at the reserve the sea looked quite choppy and cold, so the promise of good snorkelling with the vast marine life did not seem as appealing. We opted instead to wander down to the beach and see if we could see any of the famed inhabitants of this area; snapper, blue maomao and colourful sponges.
We left after seeing a total of 4 ducks, not of the exotic type…more the Mossley canal type! Our trip to the campsite was short but very steep and winding, and for 4 kms on an unsealed road, so quite bumpy. On arrival at the Pakiri Beach camp site it seemed as no one was home, however on investigation Ben found the manager and checked us in…we were the only guests in the whole place!
Our pitch is overlooking the beach, and after unpacking we wandered down for a walk along the stunning stretch of white sand.
Dinner tonight was cooked by van chef Ben, and eaten in the van…after the small chubby camper we had in Aus, this feels like a bit of luxury!
Tracy…can you spot your bed…its in the penthouse suite!
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