I was woken by the sound of the ducks quacking their way around the campsite trying to cadge breakfast off anyone. Ignoring them, I slept for a further hour and then, peering out of the curtains, noticed that the goat had been moved. Unfortunately, it seemed I was going to have to make alternative arrangements for breakfast. It was a little overcast so I resorted to breakfast thoroughly indoors. However, it wasn’t raining but, having washed up all the dishes and venturing outside to pack the cables away, it was clearly time to put a jumper on! The next problem was [View Full Entry]

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As I went to sleep, I could see storm clouds brewing over the mountains and yet, I slept soundly all night. Not a peep from me or the clouds. I awoke to a clear blue sky and, having eaten breakfast, opted for a brisk walk along the beach. Waitarere seemed to comprise maybe a dozen houses, and it appeared that all the occupants were on the beach that morning. I counted 5 of them! And so it was that I headed south along the beach in the fresh morning sunshine. The beach stretched for miles in each direction, in a dead [View Full Entry]

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It was rather interesting sleeping by the side of the road. I was disturbed by all sorts throughout the night and, upon hearing the refuse truck, was horrified to find that it was only 20 minutes past midnight. It was going to be a long night, made more difficult by the camber wanting to drop me out of bed and the pillow end of the bed pointing downhill! However, sleep came easily and I was up with the lark - literally! I appeared out of the van at 08h15 and decided to move it into the botanical gardens. The main reason [View Full Entry]

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I did not want to wake up this morning. It had been raining intermittently throughout the night and had sounded as though someone was playing drums (badly) on the roof. Come 08h30 though, I thought I should show willing. Peering out from the my bed, the weather still looked bad so I decided that it was pointless trying to see more of Napier as I’d already seen it in the rain. Instead, I’d have a leisurely drive to Wellington, over 350km away. And so it was that I found myself heading south at 09h30, having stocked up on water and emptied [View Full Entry]

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After the excess of last night (ok, I went to the beach and watched the fireworks), I really did not want to get up this morning. I have finally found the most comfortable position for the duvet cover and pillow and when the birds woke me this morning, I confess I lay there for another hour! Consequently, it was a quick shower, fast breakfast and, unfortunately, a trip to the dump station for the van. Despite all of this, I still managed to leave the site by 09h00. With the improved weather, I decided to take the road north east up [View Full Entry]

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New Zealand is certainly living up to its name; The Land of the Long White Cloud. It was raining when I went to bed, it rained all night and it rained most of today. So much so, that my schedule was shortened and I opted to assume that the weather would be better over the mountains in Gisborne rather than stop en route as originally planned. It was a long night, the warmth made worse with me being kept awake by the rain hammering on the metal roof of my bed. There was also quite a wind blowing which caused the [View Full Entry]

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To paraphrase; “Today, it has mostly been raining.” I awoke to a cacophony of bird song. Each camp has been selected with a purpose and this, because it had a thermal pool. It was also remote and therefore surrounded by trees; those very trees that attract the noisiest birds. Still, it was pleasant enough, waking up to bird song - and rain! Not being in a hurry, I had another 30 minutes dozing before forcing myself up. After the usual breakfast, map reading and getting the van ready, I set off, hoping to visit the Kaiate Falls. With all this rain, [View Full Entry]

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I slept comfortably. There had been some heavy rain overnight but that, together with the sounds of waves washing the beach provided a very soporific backdrop to my dreams. I awoke at 07h00 and continued dozing for a further 30 minutes before stepping out into my chilled mobile bedroom. I have to admit that this morning’s wash was very pleasant - hot water from the van! Breakfast was an unusual affair as this morning I had no need to study the map for the day ahead. I had already decided to don the walking boots and spend the day exercising. After [View Full Entry]

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It was a very hot night, punctuated by heavy rain and the fact that I fell out of bed! It wasn’t a loud crash, but I was awake enough to stop myself hitting the floor. That’ll teach me to ensure the double bed is set up each night, rather than the single one! Still, I had a good night’s sleep and awoke on time at 06h30. I washed, got myself dressed without any adult assistance and went into town for a slap up breakfast at Mrs Ahmed’s Pie Shop. After reading the paper (world news demoted to a single page), I [View Full Entry]

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It was a crisp spring morning that greeted me today. It had been clear overnight and as a result, the temperature had dropped. I recall a figure of 8C mentioned on the radio and, despite the vents being open, the inside of the windscreen had misted over. Stepping outside, it was still cold although the clear blue sky heralded a good day ahead. The birds were still busy singing, even though the sun had been up for an hour or so. I sat in the van, with the door open, munching my way through a few bananas, some toast and muesli [View Full Entry]

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