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.
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.