After spending the morning walking around Picton and hanging out in the park, I drove to Kaikoura - my next stop. I listened to a couple Dwight Nelson sermons on the way. That was my church service :)
I didn't have any big expectation for Kaikoura as this was really just a stopover for me. But as I approached I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Amazing views. When I saw the color of the water in the ocean I started talking out loud. lol Oceans are cool but I’m all about the mountains. But after seeing the color of the water and the black sand beach, I felt like it would be a hard act to follow. Truly amazing. I didn't expect anything like this in NZ and especially not on the south island. My campground here in Kaikoura is somewhat near water, but has an amazing view of the mountains behind it. Not just simple mountains, but mountain clusters if that makes sense. Mountains with character. Love them. And I can see them in the backdrop of my beach pics. This has been a very scenic place. Well, as is my custom, it’s late and I need to shower still. I’ve been going to bed around midnight and waking up a few times, but waking up for good around 9:00 AM. I think check-out is at 10:00 at these places, but people roll out even earlier it seems. By the time I leave my tent to clean up, the place is mostly empty. Lots of older generation campers that are up at 6:00 AM. I head to Christchurch tomorrow, and will stay in an apartment for a few days which will be nice. I also pick up the campervan. Once I head off with that I’ll feel like the road trip is truly under way. Made the drive to Wellington today. Before the trip, Wellington was the city I decided I'd live in if I had to choose a place in NZ to live. However, I'd just be driving through Wellington to get to the ferry this time. I've got plans to come back in a month. Finding the ferry proved to be difficult for some reason. I was watching for signs, but somehow drove past the exit. I gave myself plenty of time, so I still made it with time to spare. Actually, I had to wait for about 45 minutes before they'd let us drive onto the ferry. Lots of people recommended taking the ferry over for scenic reasons. I'd have gone without a car as it's substantially cheaper that way, but I was relocating a car to the south island, so I didn't have a choice. I preferred having the car, though, and relocations are free. Once I parked the car below, I went up to wait out the three hour tour... I mean, three hour trip on one of the passenger decks. The views were great and you could see the stadium where New Zealand was playing England in a Cricket World Cup match, a match New Zealand would completely dominate. At the end of the trip, while standing in the front of the boat watching as we entered the harbor, I heard an American accent behind me. Having not heard that in person yet on the trip, I turned and asked the two girls about it. They were from Boston. It was a surprisingly welcome treat. We talked for about 20 minutes about what we were doing here, then parted ways. They are here as part of a university course. Once we got off the boat, I rushed to check in at the campground, which I'm grateful to have done. The place was booking up quickly. I then walked to the awesome town of Picton to find food. It was while walking around that I found the two girls from the ferry looking for food options as well. I walked with them for a bit, then split off to cross the street and eat at a pizza place. They ended up coming over, eating there too, and inviting me to join them at their table. Jess, and Ellie had been on the ship before. Now their colleague Jenny was there and Olivia whom they’d just met at their hostel. So we ate, and then walked around town for a bit. It was great to hang out with people. Good times. Today I woke up, got ready, and headed straight to car rental place near Auckland Airport. Since this trip north was last minute, I would be turning in my last minute car for another that I'd use to get to the south island where I would eventually pick up my campervan. I needed to turn in the one, then pick up the other. I know, confusing. I drove to the first place, put my stuff in the new car, then drove to the other to turn it in. Then they drove me back to the first to drop me off. I then drove to Whanganui Top 10 where I’d stay the night. The drive, mainly the last half, was what I came to NZ for. Rolling hills, and sleep slopes covered in sheep or cows. Reminded me of the south island. No place to pull over so there weren’t many opportunities to take pics unfortunately. Other than that it was another long day of driving. I got in around 7 PM and set up my tent by the river. Should be a good night I hope. Tomorrow I take the ferry over to the south island, which is where I feel like the real fun begins! I hiked Whangarei Falls this morning, then drove to Orewa, pronounced Oh-REE-wah. I was hoping Orewa wasn't far from a beach as I wanted to see another beach before heading to the south island where it would be a little cooler. I was hoping there was one within 30 minutes of the campground and even considered stopping at one on the way in. Ideally, though, I could set up camp, go to a beach somewhere, then come back and get cleaned up. Turns out, Orewa is not only on a beach, and not only is the campground located next to the beach, but for $3 extra NZ dollars I could have my campsite beach side. So that’s what I did. So from my campsite I can see the beach… and hear it. I set up my tent, changed, then headed to the beach. I walked for about an hour then went into the water. Felt great and the water wasn’t deep for a ways out. I really enjoyed today. This is what I came for – days like this. The casual walk, the swim, and then walking to the store about 10 mins away to get water after dinner. Loved it. Then I went down to the beach afterwards around 9:30 PM to listen to the waves and look up at the stars. Should be good sleeping tonight. I’ve really enjoyed this location more than any others so far this trip. The beach has been great, even though I'm not really a huge beach person. Tomorrow I turn in this car and trade it for the relocation car. Not sure how all that will go. We’ll see. I won’t miss the radio in this Corolla station wagon, though. Lots of room in the car, but that radio drives me nuts. Went to Cape Reinga this morning. Not including Maori land, this is the furthest north you can go in NZ. As I was leaving the area I found a road that went down to a beach and decided to take it. Most people probably drive by the road with little notice. I drove down and found a great, large, practically empty beach. I took off my shoes and walked on the shore for a bit. So nice. After that, it was another long drive to my next campsite in Whangarei, NZ Brian drove me to the place where I would pick up my rental car after a nice breakfast made by Margaret this morning. She is very kind. I’ve never come up in the morning and not found her in the kitchen. This morning was the same but my breakfast was laid out around my regular seat at the table ready for my arrival to the table. : ) I arrived at the Whatuwhiwhi Top 10 Holiday Park today after a five hour drive from Auckland airport where I picked up the car. The drive went well. My first time driving by myself in NZ, I believe. I've driven before, but someone was always in the car with me. No real issues. If I was too relaxed, I felt I may fall back into my American way of thinking about the road. At times I wanted to be lazy about it, but the consequences could be too large to allow such negligence. The GPS, whose volume doesn’t seem to be working for some reason, took me through a little town full of circles and turns. Then through confusing Auckland. Great way to practice driving! Then onto the road I'd stay on for the next few hours as I headed north.. I arrived and claimed spot 35 and 36. The lady at the reception desk kind of grouped them together as they were right next to each other. I asked for quiet with a view and this is what I got. Not a bad spot and at the top of the hill near my site I can see the ocean. I can kind of hear it from outside my tent as well. I didn’t think to get food coming in, though I half expected there to be options around. I asked the lady at the reception desk about food options and she told me about a convenience store up the road about five minutes. The next closest place was 30 minutes away, so I opted for the closer place figuring they'd have what I needed. I entered the store, looked around, and didn’t see much. Starving, I grabbed a can of spaghetti, a can of asparagus, and a bottle of water. $11 NZ. The water itself was $3. I asked if they had a plastic fork, but all they had was a spoon. I didn’t want to ask if they had a can opener in the case they sell them. I'm not buying one for one meal. When I got back to the campsite, I was going to walk around to see who had a can opener when I spotted the kitchen. Certain they’d have one there I entered it as a couple was cleaning up after cooking their far superior meal. I asked them about a can opener and the lady lent me hers. I took the opened cans back to my site and, not having a utensil, ate both with my hands right out of the cans. Not the prettiest scene, but it was food and for that I was grateful. I washed up then grabbed a granola bar for “dessert”. I’ll save the other two for breakfast as I didn’t get anything for breakfast tomorrow, though, I didn’t see anything anyway. After eating I went to the beach and walked for a bit. I climbed over a rock outcropping that jutted out into the ocean a bit and found another beach on the other side. It may have been 300 yards long and I had it all to myself until a couple and their dogs occupied the other side of the beach after I'd been there a little while. I stayed there for an hour, sitting in the sand listening to the waves and feeling the breeze blow in. You could see across the way to a distant shore and mountains further out. Was very nice and I started to relax a bit. I wondered what months on vacation would be like, and realized I had plenty of time to enjoy life for a while. This wouldn’t be the last time I’d sit on a beach and savor it or enjoy a view for a while during my trip. I’m in my tent now, and can hear the night sounds around me. This would be the first time I’ve ever brought a laptop into a tent. It also won't be my last. Today Brian took me out driving. Felt like I was 16 and learning to drive lol Went well and I wasn't hugging the left shoulder as much as I thought I would and as much as I did three years ago when I was in New Zealand. Sometimes I repeat in my head, "Stay left. Stay left. Stay left."
I didn't have a lot of time, but I loved walking around Auckland. Got me some good food, went up in the Sky Tower, and ended the day hanging out in a local park before catching the light rail home. Probably wouldn't want to live there, but I really enjoyed hanging out there!
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July 2023
AuthorI've exchanged my ID badge for a passport, and am chasing the wind Categories |