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Landing in Auckland we were without doubt the two most happy excitable backpackers on the planet! We had enjoyed Oz but had been craving a new challenge - so we were more than ready to get our teeth tucked into Kiwi country!! First stop was New Zealand's largest city - Auckland.
After arriving late the previous night we were up bright n breezy to go and pick up our new campervan. Wow - this was a belter, spray painted from tip to toe in the smurfs! After driving about town looking super cool in our new abode we went for a wonder around the city centre. Apparently Auckland gets a pretty bad rap from most visitors but we thought it was not too shabby! After taking a few wrong turns we ended up in the beautiful suburb of Mount Eden. This place was almost identical to Stockbridge! Lots of quirky wee shops and snazzy bars. It was a sunny but crispy cold Saturday so we jumped into a cosy Belgian bar where we spent the rest of the evening tasting the famous beers and munching on lamb shanks and Chicken Pie! We were both in our element - the climate
and atmosphere of the area felt like a home away from home. Sort of like a cold winters day in the Christmas holidays when you hit the pub with the family to warm your socks after wondering the icy streets!
We left the big smoke of the city the following day - just to drive south and encounter even more blooming smoke!! We had rolled into Rotorua - New Zealand volcanic and thermal pool heartland. We spent the afternoon scouting the landscape pointing out all these big smoky clouds on the horizon, even finding time to take a peddle-o out on the lake! That night we had our first kiwi bushcamp on the banks of Lake Okirika - an absolutely stunning place to wind down for the evening. Made us both really happy to be in New Zealand - the scenery rivals anything we have seen on our whole world adventure. The next morning we heard that there was a thermal stream somewhere out in the sticks, so we headed for the hills in search of our own slice of spa heaven. After taking the campa up some winding roads we found it. Was a freezing day so was
Auckland City
You can even bungee off that big tower!really weird swimming about under this waterfall in scorching water!
We continued south to Lake Taupo later that day - yet another breath taking setting to explore the great outdoors. We visited nearby Tongariro National Park. This was the land of yet more volcanoes, even one of them was used as "Mount Doom" in the Lord of the Rings. Sadly for us the weather had gone all misty so no hobbit spotting on offer for us 😞 ! We still made the most of the day though - putting on every t-shirt/jumper/pair of socks we had (our suitcases are full of summer clobber unfortunately!) and set out for a big walk through the hills.
That night we were really struggling for somewhere to park up for the night. After popping our heads into the information centre we were pointed in the direction of a vintage car collector on the outskirts of town. Apparently he let campers park in his courtyard for 5 bucks! After running short of alternatives we thought we would give it a shot! On arrival we were greeted by this old fella who was the absolute spit of Captain Birdseye. Anyway turned into a great
night - him showing me round all his garages with endless Jags, Rolls Royces and other bizarre creations from yesteryear. Talk about landing on our feet! The guy also turned out to be a real character, a cynical but likeable old santa who lived in a renovated bus outside the family home!
Our last stop on the north island was "windy welly" - the capital of New Zealand. We spent the next few days learning about Maori culture in the national museum, powering up and down this hilly town on its famous cable cars and sampling some fine kiwi beer at Macs brewery - special mention to "Macs Black" yum! On our last night we went out for dinner - we got right into the local spirit with me munching some of New Zealands famous lamb and Claire getting tucked into a delicious Beef Wellington! The following morning we were up at half 6 to get to the pub for the Champions League Final - I had made this a top priority the previous evening!! Actually turned out to be a great morning, the pub was packed to the rafters before the sun was even up. I did the
honourable thing and joined the local footy fans for a pint of Guinness!
Heading to the south island tomorrow - our last stop before our world tour comes to an end!
Will be seeing you all back home in just a few weeks now!!!
Love James and Claire x
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