Start of New Zealand

---

New Zealand

Thursday 14th January - Day 130

We arrived in Auckland at 9am local time feeling half dead from the flight. Lizzy had her works visa approved at passport control but Rick's hadn't come through yet. We jumped online to get some telephone numbers for hostels as we were desperate for somewhere to sleep!
After phoning around for about an hour or so we realised that there was actually nowhere with a vacancy for us unless we wanted to pay for a 5* hotel. It wasn't until later that we discovered that we happened to arrive just when there was a huge music festival on in Auckland and EVERYWHERE was full.
After 4 hours of ringing around we sat down with a McDonalds to think about our options. We thought about hiring a campervan for a week but the prices we were quoted were ridiculous as it was peak season.

Finally we decided we needed to get out of Auckland to find a bed so we started looking at the best options in the area. We decided on Whangarei, 2 hours north but we managed to book a bed at least! This was also our first experience of trying to pronounce Maori words...we read Whangarei and pronounced it WAN-GAR-EYE however it is actually pronounced FON-GOR-OI. Lizzy got a bit muddled when booking our hostel as the guy on the other end kindly offered to pick us up once we got to "FON-GOR-OI", so Lizzy asked where this was, to which he replied 'well it's where you're coming isn't it??'...urhhh okay... Lizzy still hadn't clicked by this point that it was in fact the same place.
Rick went to book our bus ticket (it was now about 3pm) to WAN-GAR-EYE and as the guy was printing out our tickets Lizzy checked that the bus also stopped at FON-GOR-OI, the boy looked at her like she was crazy and was like '...yeah...?'.

Anyway...once we arrived in Whangarei, Peter from the hostel, true to his word came to pick us up. He was an artist, probably in his 60's and owned the hostel with his wife Noell who was a diving instructor. The hostel used to be their family home and definitely felt that way. We munched down fish and chips and basically went straight to bed, glad the day was over!!

Friday 15th January - Day 131

Didn't get out of bed until 11:30am! Got a lift with Peter into town and strolled around the marina. Went to a clock museum which turned out to be very interesting. Went to Pak'n'Save (New Zealand's cheap supermarket) and stocked up with some food. Didn't do much else that day...still exhausted!

Saturday 16th January - Day 132

Up early and got on a bus to the Whangarei Falls which was a 30 minute bus ride north of town. From the waterfalls we took a 30 minute walk through a Kauri forest. The kauri trees are among the most ancient trees in the world and are the largest in New Zealand.
Back at the hostel in the afternoon we started job hunting, we found out that picking jobs don't start until mid-February. Also, due to the recession a lot of the jobs which would of gone to travelers were going to locals. No jobs but we found out that Rick's works visa had been approved which was good news.

Sunday 17th January - Day 133

Spent the day relaxing and preparing to go back to Auckland the next day to get Rick's work visa, a job, a car/campervan and a plan!

Monday 18th January - Day 134

Got to the bus station for 9am to get the 9:20am bus to Auckland. When we got there it was full so we had to wait till 11am. We used the time to go online job hunting again.
We finally arrived in Auckland around 2pm and headed for the Frienz hostel. Rick found a leaflet saying it was brand new so we figured it would be clean!
Once settled in a dorm we dumped our stuff and Rick headed out to pick up his works visa. We then went to The National Bank and opened an account for when we start earning some money. Both these missions got completed within 2 hours of getting off the bus so to reward ourselves we sat admiring Skycity and the people jumping off it, while enjoying a nice cold beer!. Skycity is a tower 328m high which dominates the Auckland skyline, inside there is a casino/restaurant. We went back to the hostel to make dinner to find that the kitchen was such a mess, there were dirty pots/pans/plates everywhere! It was a disgusting city hostel which was run (poorly) by other backpackers... we decided to change hostels in the morning!

Tuesday 19th January - Day 135

Checked out of the hostel without making breakfast, couldn't face the kitchen again. Woke up to find ants in our beds (and we were staying on the 4th floor!). We decided to look for somewhere outside of the centre and decided on Ponsonby which is a arty/trendy area with an array funky bars and restaurants. We found a gorgeous hostel called Ponsonby Backpackers. We met , working there, a really nice English guy called John who sat with us and gave us information on the best places to buy a car, good websites for jobs etc.
We went to the post office and applied for our IRD numbers giving the hostel as our address.
After that we got the bus into town and sorted out a New Zealand mobile to help with job hunting then arranged a couple of viewings of cars for the following day.
In the evening we sat with John and his girlfriend Holly who also worked at the hostel and had a drink. A really nice couple. We all got on well and ended up joining them at a bar nearby where there was some live music.

Wednesday 20th January - Day 136 through to Saturday 23rd January - Day 139
We spent the majority of the time looking for a car as we couldn't afford a campervan due to it being peak season. We arranged many viewings with differing results. One viewing involved us getting a bus to this really long road, walking the whole length of it only to discover that there were 2 roads with the same name and we were miles away!
We saw a nice Toyota Camry which we liked, got an inspection done on it to find out it needed $600 worth of work to keep it on the road! Test drove another which Rick thought was going to breakdown there and then. And eventually found a Subaru Legacy which we loved. After some tough negotiations we got it for $2200, $200 off the asking price.

During this time we bumped into Alexis from the GAP adventure in Peru and had some catch up drinks in the city. It was also a chance to celebrate landing an apple picking job in Hastings due to start mid-February!

6:30pm Saturday and we were all packed and ready to get out of Auckland. We hadn't spent anytime seeing the city, all the time was spent stressing about the car and job, we were happy to leave. With Willie Nelson - "On the road again" blasting out we drove 2 hrs north and stopped at a campsite in Mangawhai on the east coast. By the time we arrived it was dark and we had to set up the tent for the first time without a light (we were skint after buying the car so didn't have a torch), to make matters worse it began to rain.

Sunday 24th January - Day 140

After a less than comfortable night in the tent, we make a quick breakfast and get back on the road. We decided to cross over to the west coast as directly north of our position was Whangarei (or Fongery?!). We headed towards Dargaville, as it looked like a large place on the map and we needed to get some money out. We were down to $50 on us. Dargaville wasn't as large as the map may had alluded to. 1 main high street and a small supermarket. We had a nice riverside picnic and continued the journey without having got any money out.

We drove to a lovely spot on the coast called Baileys beach, which you are allowed to drive on. We pushed on into the forests and eventually found Walpoua Forest Campground. And for $14 each we had toilet, shower and kitchen thrown in. After setting up camp we drove to see the largest Kauri Tree in New Zealand. The road there was a series of tight switchbacks going up steeply, through the thick forest. Rick was loving it. The Kauri tree was huge but almost looked upside down, with the roots at the top. We went on to see the second largest, which we thought was actually a better specimen, and the Four Sisters which are 4 sizable trees which are joined at the bottom. Rick did his Colin McRae impression again on the way back down to the campsite.

Over dinner we discovered that we were 90km away from the nearest ATM,... in either direction. We had $10 on us. Tomorrow maybe interesting...

Monday 25th January - Day 141

The Quest for an ATM began. Driving through the mountainous roads for just under an hour and we hit civilization. We were in luck, an ATM! But it didn't accept overseas cards, only Kiwi cards. We were almost half way there. We put the last $10 into the petrol tank so that we might actually make it to the mythical large town with a sacred ATM. About an hour later we make it to Kaikohe. Now according to the map this should be a metropolis, full of all the modern amenities. No, 1 small high street and a supermarket. We were starting to wise up to these so-called maps over here. They were more like theme park maps showing where the rides were but bearing no reference to size or scale.

After a few more minor dramas we eventually get out some money and are able to restock on food and petrol and we headed for 90 mile beach. We arrived at Ahipara, a small beach town at the start of the 90 mile beach. We stayed in a recommended holiday park which was a bit expensive at 18 NZ dollars each/night but it was a good location. Once we'd set up the tent and cooked ourselves a campers dinner we spent the evening strolling along the beach.

Tuesday 26th January - Day 142

Spent today soaking up the sun and generally relaxing with our books. Ended up staying another night at the holiday park.

Wednesday 27th January - Day 143

Up early and headed back to Kaitaia to withdraw more money so we didn't end up being stuck without an ATM again! We headed straight to Warehouse (huge cheap store, sells everything) and invested in a queen size blow up bed which was necessary if we wanted to walk again. We also picked up some other camping equipment to make the next 3 months of living in a tent slightly more bearable.
Once all our purchases were crammed in the car we began our journey up the 90 mile beach. Ended up driving straight to Cape Reinga, was a really easy drive apart from the unsealed road for about 10km right at the end. The views from Cape Reinga were amazing and it was the most perfect day. From the lighthouse we saw a beautiful beach in the distance called Spirits Bay. We knew from one of the booklets that there was a DOC campsite there so we headed there afterwards. The campsite was free as there were no facilities apart from a longdrop but we didn't care. We were camping underneath a tree, surrounded by mountains and horses running freely in the next field. Then a stones throw away we had this perfect bay.
After a bite to eat we walked to the beach and paddled along the sea. Rick was fascinated by the tiny jelly-like fish eggs everywhere. We ended up sitting there for a few hours and watched the sunset.
When we first got into the tent we found a huge furry bug inside which looked like a bee but we didn't think it was. Using Lizzy's flip flop Rick tried to get it out of the tent or kill it, either way. After what seemed like forever of fighting this little bug it disappeared so Rick thought he'd killed it. Finally starting to relax and close our eyes...10 minutes later the furry bug was back with vengeance and wouldn't leave Rick alone...but Rick finally got him once and for all.
Then, in the middle of the night Rick was awoken by some rustling outside the tent. When he got out to inspect he realised that the rustling was coming from our rubbish bag. He tentatively opened it to discover a hedgehog inside. It took Rick a while to get the poor thing out as the spikes had got caught in the plastic bag but he was patient enough. Once he'd put the bag safely away in the car he came back to the tent for some well needed sleep! He was just about to doze off when he realised we were not alone in the tent. During the hedgehog fiasco about 20 mosquitos (no exaggeration) had joined us and there were about 50 buzzing madly outside desperate to get in. Using Lizzy's flip flop again Rick was then on a killing spree and he wouldn't rest until he got them all...needless to say it was a long night!

Thursday 28th January - (Day 144) - Friday 29th January - (Day 145)

Today we drove south to the Bay of Islands...Rick found a nice little spot for us to camp at near the Haruru Falls so we headed straight there. We were able to camp next to the falls and swim in the lake and it was only $15.
Had 2 nights at the Haruru Falls campsite as it was such a nice spot and so we had time to explore the Bay of Islands more. Lizzy cut Rick's hair...wasn't a bad first attempt but doubt it will ever happen again! We explored the area which was a nice...lots of bars/restaurants. Relaxed in the sun during the afternoons by the lake with a good book!

Saturday 30th January - Day 146

Lots of driving today which was done in shifts! We drove to the Bay of Plenty however by the time we got there it was raining unfortunately. So apart from a very short stop in the Bay of Plenty, all day was spent driving. We didn't have anywhere to sleep as there weren't any DOC campsites in the area so we decided to find a quiet picnic spot and sleep in the car. Luckily, while trying to find a secluded area we found a campsite which only cost $12 and was right next to the beach. The rain had eased off by the time we arrived so had time to set up the tent. This didn't last and before too long it was wet again! We calculated that we drove 550km today which was a lot for us so celebrated with some wine!! After dinner we walked to the beach and saw some massive storm clouds approaching us!! The storm didn't hit until the middle of the night however it was so strong it literally destroyed our tent. The rain cover blew off along with the window cover and we were woken up with rain splashing on our faces, we got soaked. Rick went outside to brave the elements and try and fix the tent but the mud was so soaked the tent pegs wouldn't stay against the wind. After a while he decided we'd have to sleep in the car. Rick just wanted to sleep in the front seats but Lizzy insisted on emptying the boot so we could stretch out. It ended up taking quite a while and by the end it looked like we'd fallen in a swimming pool. Our clothes were drenched to the bone. We tried at one point to squeeze the blow up mattress in the car but it was too big! Finally went to sleep grumpy wet and tired!

Sunday 31st January - Day 147

Woke up at 11am still feeling very tired! After all the driving and rubbish nights sleep we didn't fancy driving again but we needed to go so off we went. As we didn't fancy too much driving we decided on just driving to Gisborne (3 1/2 hours driving max) and spending some time there. After 200kms we had put the night behind us and were both in good spirits. The roads were very windy mind you, not exactly easy driving conditions but the scenery was amazing. We were basically driving through a gorge. We finally got to a little town called Matawai and noticed that we were only 75km away from Gisborne. Not far now!
Once we'd passed the town we had to drive around a tree which had fallen in the road, obviously from the previous nights storm we thought.
Further on we came across some flooding and had to drive on the wrong side of the road to get round on a blind corner! There were no police around or anything which was a concern as you could imagine that was an accident waiting to happen.
A little further down we came to a queue of cars...after seeing nothing on the roads for km's this was strange. At first we thought there had been an accident...people were getting out of their cars so Rick got out to see what was going on. Basically it turned out that the whole road had been flooded and there was no getting through. There was also a risk that the smaller flooding we'd crossed earlier was going to get worse so we turned around so we didn't get stuck!
We stopped back at Matawai to think about what to do...it was now 2:30pm and we hadn't eaten so got some fish and chips to help us think! Eventually everyone from the queue started coming back as well. Some people started booking rooms at the only hotel in Matawai. Other people were hanging around as there were rumors that the road would soon clear. Soon all the rooms at the hotel were booked. Every 10 mins the news would change, one minute the road was closed for the night, next it would be open in an hour or so. We didn't know whether to stay or just go. There was no other way to Gisborne and the only way out was the 200km windy road we'd just driven. That was also a concern because of the possible landslides...all along the road there are warning signs about boulders falling etc. By the end we realised that was our only choice so we turned back and drove cautiously through the gorge again.
Soon enough we were through and back where we started at the beginning of the day! We carried on driving to Rotorua. You can smell Rotorua before you see it due to the sulfuric hydrate geysers everywhere...very eggy smell. We looked round Rotorua however cut it short to find a campsite. We knew it would soon be dark...the only campsites in Rotorua were expensive but luckily Rick had done some research on DOC campsites so we headed outside of town. We finally found one in the middle of nowhere but was a great location by a little lake. It was dark by the time we arrived however we just crashed.
Exhausting day...

---

Photos

Ponsonby Backpackers
Where we stayed for 1 week sorting out buying a car!!

Comments

[Jane]

hello
Hi glad youre back!! love reading these blogs xxxx