New Zealand North Island 2023
By Helen
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| Tasmania 2023 | New Zealand South Island 2024 |
We had an early morning drop off for SPD in Hobart, TAS. Sarah was great to deal with again. Weirdly, we struggled to get an Uber. The first one showed up and drove away because we had “luggage”, 2 small packs and a duffle bag, even though we indicated we had luggage when we booked. Apparently people going to an airport shouldn’t have luggage! We made it in the end and had time to head outside for some fresh air and coffee. While enjoying the coffee, we met a really nice couple who were returning home to NZ after visiting their son in Tasmania. They gave us lots of suggestions for stops in New Zealand. We also met another couple when returning the van, who happened to be on the same flight, also returning home to New Zealand. He sat in our row for a bit and gave us some ideas for the North Island and their contact info. We had given ourselves almost a month for the North Island this time, last time was 10 days and we didn’t feel it was enough. The flight was really good and we made it on time.
Got off the plane, got our duffle, went through customs, got sim cards, stored the duffle and went to catch our shuttle to the hotel. We decided to store the duffle since we had to come back to the airport to meet Wendekreisen for the van pickup and it meant one less thing to deal with. When we were putting our packs on the shuttle, I noticed Paul didn’t have his sling and asked where it was. Chaos ensued and we spent the next 2 hours at the airport filling out lost proprty forms, talking to staff and running back to where we thought he might have left it. Unfortunately we came up empty handed on all fronts. The good news was that Paul still had his Canadian passport in his pocket and his phone… bad news was all his credit cards, earbuds, kobo and chargers were in the sling. After one of our credit cards got hacked in Australia we started making sure we kept our cards locked, which meant we didn’t have to worry about people using the cards right away. We often forgot to unlock them which made for some funny moments at checkouts. Eventually we exhausted all possibilities in the airport, so caught a shuttle to the hotel. The Supershuttle was good and made sure we had a spot, even though it was later than what we booked. We had to wrangle the credit cards for the security deposit but the reception at The Grand was helpful and we managed to get it done. Unfortunately when we got to our room, it hadn’t been cleaned properly. A quick call to reception had someone up to clean it and they also tossed in complementary breakfasts for our stay to make up for the room. At this point it was closer to 9 pm, we hadn’t eaten and were pretty tired from the “slingcident”. Found a good donair place not far away and went to get some take out. It was surprisingly busy so late and by the time we got the food and headed back it was already after 10pm. It was quite windy and chilly in downtown Auckland, so we were glad we had kept our fleeces and down jackets handy.
After eating, we made a list of what was in Paul’s sling, sent an email to an address we were given for the airport lost and found and slept. The next morning, my cold had come back, but we tried to stay positive. We had breakies and made some calls about Paul’s sling and decided if we didn’t hear anything by that afternoon we would start canceling cards. We didn’t want to waste the day, the weather had cleared and was sunny, so we decided to head out and explore a little. Just as we were about to leave, we got an email that they found the sling! We got in touch with lost and found right away, they confirmed everything was in the sling and said they could keep it to the next 24 hours as long as we collected it before noon. What a relief!! We headed out and went for lunch and a walk through downtown Auckland. Interesting city… especially in the downtown area. Another walk for dinner and back to the room to do some planning. We took a look at the map and decided we wanted to head to the northernmost point of the North Island to Cape Reinga.
The next morning, after breakfast, we headed back to the airport. Grabbed Paul’s sling from lost and found, got the duffle out of storage and headed to our meet up spot to get the van. We had called Wendekreisen and were told it would be about 15 minutes. 2 phone calls and over 1.5 hours later, they finally showed up. This van we called Skippy Part Three… pronounced with a heavy Cockney accent so it sounds more like free.
We booked a night at Whangateau Holiday Park, a smaller centre nearby so we could stop on the way for groceries, then unpack and set up the van. It was harder to set up SPT(Skippy Part Three) because the inside wasn’t as user friendly and had less storage. Somehow, we had also forgotten that it was a manual transmission. We were a bit uncertain to start but we figured it out, everything worked and nothing leaked so that was a win. Paul figured out how to download organic maps so we could use the navigation system since it was too old for Android auto. We used the camp kitchen and went for a walk, deciding what to do the next day. SPT might not have been our favourite van but it did what we needed it to with no problems and the cushions were still good for sleeping! The driver’s seat was not so good for sitting though, we had to put towels on the seat for Paul’s skinny butt to be comfortable… don’t get me started on the “camp chairs” though. We stopped counting how many times we hit our heads on the upper cupboards after day 3.
We decided to head to Russell next and booked two nights at the Russell Top 10. To be honest, we hadn’t looked too closely at the directions and got quite the surprise when we ended up at a small ferry. Waited about 20 minutes for the ferry, then made it over to the campground. It was lovely grounds and we didn’t have anyone beside us on one side, so that was good. The town itself was quite pretty and there were lots of flowers everywhere. We decided to walk into town for a late lunch and we sat down by the pier for some oysters and fries… they had malt vinegar and everything was delicious! We walked along the waterfront for a bit, sat on one of the benches awhile before heading back. We started coming up with a plan for the North Island and looking at available ferries to the South Island. The amenities were really nice and we were able to sit out on the porch which was good for a lovely sunset.
New Zealand was busy last time but this time seemed different, people lining up in camp kitchens to cook, no spots available at campgrounds and larger groups of tourists. A lot of locals were also on holiday so it was very busy. Not wanting to get stuck anywhere we decided to invest the time in figuring out some things we wanted to do and see, book upcoming sites and the ferry to the South Island. We had to keep in mind that driving in New Zealand, while it is beautiful with stunning scenery, the roads are twisty, narrow and always under construction so getting between places would take longer. Add to that all the tourists, like us, in vans and larger campers you have to be cautious on the roads. There was a lovely porch on the kitchen building so we were able to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather while planning. It took most of the day so to celebrate we headed out for dinner at a local place that was highly rated. We weren’t able to get in as it was packed but we managed to find another spot nearby. The meal didn’t live up to expectations, but Paul found a great beer and the live music was excellent. Eating out and stocking up on groceries was a real eye opener. We quickly realized that overall, New Zealand was going to be more expensive then expected. Think $14/kg for yams… not even a special yam, just a normal old yam!!! Needless to say, we didn’t have yams.
Our next goal was Cape Reinga/Te Rerenga Wairua, the northern most tip of New Zealand. We couldn’t get a place to stay close to Cape Reinga so decided with two longer driving days we could make it work. We stopped at Whatuwhiwhi Top 10 where we found a nice private beach that we could connect to the main beach by going over a rocky point at low tide. We ended up taking an unexpected long walk through the town, not really sure if we took a wrong turn, but it seemed to take much longer to make it back to the campground. The next day we drove to Cape Reinga which was spectacular. We walked the trail to the lighthouse, which was really neat because fog was drifting in and out. We could see the meeting of the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean. It was an interesting spot and signs explained the location’s significance to the Maori people. We stopped at Ahipara Holiday Park for the night and went for a bit of a walk along 90 Mile Beach.
From there we did a long drive to Whangarei to situate for Waihi and Waitomo. We ended up getting a membership at Whangarei Top 10, we saved 10% per booking and the majority of places we ended up choosing were in the chain so it was a benefit. We could also use it at any Big 4 in Australia. We probably should have gotten the card earlier but we didn’t realize how much the parks had changed. We did a grocery stop here and Paul found some pretty awesome wraps, even gluten free ones that didn’t need to be microwaved, which is good since we didn’t have one! We had loads of people wandering through our site all evening, so decided to head out for a walk to avoid any incidents of Helen flinging open doors to confront said trespassers.
Waihi was a neat little stop. The campground was okay, not many people and we were able to get under the trees for shade. The owner, Rose, was nice and the amenities were fine. When we looked for the the link to add we found out it’s no longer operating which is too bad, it was a nice little stop. We found a good coffee roaster, drove over to the main area for a beach walk, spent some time with the horses while checking out the old Martha Mine site, had a nice meal out and visited with our neighbors at the campground. They were a couple in their 60’s who were traveling around in their caravan full-time. They told us we had to have Bluff Oysters and blue cod when we go to the South Island.
For Christmas we had booked a caving experience at Waitomo… just a regular cave tour since the adventure ones were all booked up… so headed out. Unfortunately I managed to pick up another cold so wasn’t able to do the tour, but luckily Paul didn’t get it so he was still able to go. We had a nice elevated spot at Waitomo Top 10 and they were really wide so it felt quite private, even though the campground was really busy. I said Paul worked his charm since he was the one who had gone into the office this time. The kitchens and amenities were packed all the time but we were fine and we were able to have a good time. It was a bit drizzly and cool, but we had a nice Christmas day… called family and managed to get access so we could BBQ a nice steak.
From here we headed to New Plymouth and the Belt Road Seaside Holiday Park where we had a great spot looking over the port and Ocean. We walked into town to stretch our legs and Paul was able to get his favourite IPA. Then the next day we did the coastal walk which was nice, the weather had changed and was quite warm but manageable with shade. We had a stop in Lakelands outside of Whanganui to break up the drive to Tongariro… it wasn’t great, an old bible camp, loud music and a huge group set up right beside us but it was one night.
The next day we headed up to Whakapapa to do The Tongariro Crossing again. Unfortunately it rained heavily from the day we arrived until we left so we didn’t get to hike. It was okay though, we had a nice spot at Whakapapa Holiday Park and the amenities were fine. We had a quiet New Years Eve and watched some movies. On New Year’s day we headed south for the ferry. We stopped at the National Army Museum at Waiouru for an hour or so. It was well done and we got to see a lot. We spent the night in Levin, where we walked over to a local store and managed to get a sunshade for the front windscreen. We only had half curtain in the front so we had been trying to use towels and wraps to give us some shade and privacy, so we were glad we found a real sunshade. In the kitchen we met a lady that was hiking the Te Araroa and were speaking to her about the trail and the challenges of it. While chatting an older fellow joined in the conversation, he was also doing the trail but in shorter segments. Really neat to talk about their experiences.
Then we stopped in Wellington for 2 nights. That gave Paul a break from driving, we got some groceries, finished some chores and did some planning for the South Island before catching the ferry.
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