Day 3
We went for a meal
with Stephanie yesterday, which was fantastic, learnt of many new places to go
in New Zealand, and finally got to meet one of Bergsman’s best friends from
London!
After saying goodbye,
it felt like it was time for us to start planning our way out of Auckland, so
we got to it. First we checked ourselves in at the hostel beside the one we’d
been staying at, called Queens Street Backpackers. So much cosier and
friendlier than Nomads! And it had a funny Fijian guy who knew some Swedish.
Anyway, we rang the ‘KiwiExperience’ to get ourselves booked on the tour, which
leaves Wednesday morning. So we had three days ahead of us with nothing
planned…and a campervan trip was of course the first thing we wanted to fill
those days with! So we booked one, and decided to head to the northland, and
the Bay of Islands.
Well I’m sitting here
now in the campervan on the edge of the starlit bay, beer in hand, Johanna
beside me, and Xavier Rudd on the sound system.
Let me tell you how I
got to this point.
After booking the van
at QSB, we went to chill out in the dorm room, promising ourselves that we
would stay up and ignore the jet lag. But it took over, and we were both fast
asleep by seven o’clock. I was up at three in the morning, fresh as a daisy,
and Johanna was up soon after, so we chilled out together in the common room
discussing possible destinations for the day ahead. After a lot of debate (and
discussion), we decided a bit more sleep would be helpful, but it was all in
vain as the jet lag and excitement of the day ahead kept us from drifting
off…and after lying in bed, staring at the ceiling for two hours, we got up to
start (resume) the day.
We got to the
campervan depot at nine o’clock, and went through all the terms, conditions,
technicalities, rules, and regulations that they have. Took about an hour and a
half. Then we were on the road! We were given a huge van, with all the
amenities except for a toilet and shower. Driving it was weird at first, but I
soon figured it out. It felt like we’d really begun our holiday, and driving
along listening to music with the beautiful NZ countryside all around, was an
amazing moment.
We drove north for
about four hours until we arrived at the Bay of Islands. It’s such a special
place. I’ve never had a nicer driving experience. The scenery and the roads are
just immense. We got to a place that Steph recommended called Paihia, (we call
it Papaya) which is the cosiest little seaside village, with the most
beautiful, picturesque bay we’ve ever seen. We parked up on a campervan site,
and then went for a walk. On the way we booked tomorrow’s adventure, the Cape
Reinga and 90 mile beach tour.
When we came back to
the campsite, a woman came to us and told us that campervans without toilets
couldn’t stay there. Proper pissed on our chips. So we went for another mooch
to find a campervan site. After a few failed attempts, we found the one we are
at now. Expensive…but well worth it. I’ve never been this happy I don’t think…
Sweet as.
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