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Lau speaking...
Our first destination in New Zealand was Auckland, the capital. (Or apparently not as we were soon to find out!) What a great city! We stayed in a buzzing hostel, with the bonus of free/cheap drinks in the bar next door. We had a great night out, visted the museum of history, the harbour and the various 'domains' or gardens, around the city. In Auckland we picked up our Jucy Rental Camper (aka, JASPER!) and set off on our 6 week road trip!!
Now, the van was basically a Toyota people carrier converted into a camper, with long sofa seats in the back that would be made into a double bed and a fridge (cooler box), cooker (sliding gas stove) and a sink (tap from tank and hole) in the boot-all we needed to make a home from home! Although we worried about it all being a bit claustrophobic after 6 weeks, I think we would both agreed that we loved it!! It was lovely having our own space (however small!) and great to be able to just pack up and move on whenever and wherever we fancied.
So, first stop in the van was Russell, North of the North Island. It took us a while to find (we wanted to avoid the ferry fee so drove on the 7km narrow gravel track, great way to settle into driving an automatic!) but it was so worth it! It was a beautiful seaside town with boat trips to the Bay of Islands. We took a high speed boat to see some dolphins, visited the Hole in the Rock and Otehai Bay. It was an amazing trip, which we almost got away without paying for, as they forgot to ask for our money until we had returned to our campsite and they realised we had gotten away! Of course, they rang the campsite and we were very honest and paid our way!
Next stop was even further North, in fact the Northern-most point of New Zealand, Cape Reinga. Here we glimpsed the 90 mile beach and stayed in our first free DOC site on another beach. We then drove a good 5 hours down to Rotorua, officially the smelliest town in New Zealand! Home to geothermal 'earth forces', there are hot springs poking out of the ground all over the place which means sulphur poo smell, rising steam and lots of spas to visit! So of course we made the most of this and went to a Polynesian Spa (the bonus was that we could have a shower here!). We also went to 'Hell's Gate' geothermal reserve. (So called because it's bloody scary!) We then stopped at a campsite where access to the hot pools next door was free so pampered ourselves for the evening!
Next stop was Craters of the Moon, a thermal area in Wairakei and we then drove onto Lake Taupo. We had a DVD player in our van and so decided to buy a film to watch. (We chose The Legend of Bagger Vance as it stared Matt Damon and Will Smith so we thought it would be good, and it was...the first time.) Anyway, we set up camp in a secluded picnic spot next to the Lake. As soon as we settled into bed there was a knock on the window and a security man told us we were not allowed to camp there but could go just up the hill, outside the Police station! So we did and had probably the safest nights sleep ever.
Next up was Tongariro National Park. We planned to do the Alpine Crossing but the weather was cold and wet and we were advised not to go for a few days, so instead we went to Waitomo Caves to see the Glow worms. We then went back to Tongariro and headed off on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. The weather was perfect-cool, cloudy and dry. The trek up was incredible. We had a class of school kids in front of us so they kept the pace nice and steady, the views kept getting better and better and we even passed Mount Doom from the Lord of the Ring films. The journey down hill was a little more challenging as some parts were really steep and at one point we were pretty much just sliding down a gravel hill. But it was all so worth it! After 7 and a half hours and 18.5km, we reached the end and celebrated with a loooong sleep! (Oh and watching The Legend of Bagger Vance-If i never saw that film again it would be too soon, ha!)
The penultimate stop in the North Island was Palmerston North, which was really just a halfway stop before Wellington. However it was here that we met Pam, the Greatest Toilet Attendant in the World (I think i just created a new award!) We went to use the showers in her very well cared for public toilets. I chatted to her for a while and she gave us both a free towel and whilst i was showering she took Lou into her office for coffee! Then when i had finished and Lou took to the shower, she gave me the same treatment. We got to know everything about this woman and felt like we had made a friend for life. Thanks Pam, you made our day!
The final stop was the ACTUAL New Zealand capital (who knew!), Wellington. We managed to find a free car park just outside of the city that allowed campers overnight. There was quite a crowd here which made it really good fun. The highlights of Wellington was the Museum, the Cable car, Mt Victoria viewoint, oh and the fact that we bought a new DVD, Notting Hill! The city itself was brilliant, quite small but lots of great coffee shops, vintage stores and bars etc. We treated ouselves to an anniversary meal (the day we left home) of lamb and mussels-we know how to live! We also made use of the facilities...of hostels where we weren't actually staying. One day we used the YHA's laundrette then came back in the evening to make our dinner in the kitchen, then decided to stay and watch the TV. But we paid for this cheek when some guy made us watch a series of programmes called 'Guarding the Queen'. It was as dull as it sounds. We were then caught out when the man on reception came around 'checking names and room numbers'. We were quick on our feet and claimed that we had checked out today but were told we could stick around until our ferry to the South Island. He laughed and said, "Sorry girls, you can't stay here". I started to complain like, "Well what are we supposed to do at 11pm? You told us we could stay here!" but then realised I was pushing my luck a bit so we got out of there!
And then came the end of the North Island. At about 2am, after spending a few hours reading in the car with the indoor lights and radio on (remember this fact for later) we loaded onto the ferry and slept for the 3 hour journey to the South Island...
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