Flying across the Tasman Sea from Australia on a perfectly clear afternoon, I was excited to arrive in New Zealand during the middle of a South Pacific summer. The Air New Zealand safety video on my flight over gave me a pretty good indication that I was embarking on a month to remember, a bit of a fairytale at the close of my travels.
I was excited to have the opportunity to travel with Dee for a month. It had been about 4 months since we had met in South Africa and during this time we had become pretty close. After meeting up in Auckland and spending a day seeing the ‘City of Sails,’ we set off in our borrowed campervan to see a few of the highlights of the North Island. Over this first week, we experienced a little bit of Maori culture, relaxed on the beach and along a beautiful river and generally adapted to being travel partners in our 5′ x 15′ steel and fiberglass box on wheels. The use of the campervan was a great gift from one of Dee’s friends from South Africa who recently obtained his citizenship in New Zealand.
As we began our drive along the beautiful back roads of New Zealand, it quickly became apparent that the campevan was the preferred method for touring New Zealand. Nearly every other vehicle was a campervan! Besides sheep, they are the local fauna. All sizes, shapes and colors of campervan are available for rent. There are campervans for all budgets from backpackers to retirees. It was fun to look at the different options to see how the spaces were configured and what options were provided. I enjoy tiny spaces that are efficiently designed and the various campervan designs certainly fit that mold with lots of innovative features for storing gear. After a few days, we began to unlock the secrets of using our campervan efficiently, including mastering the toaster oven and the art of keeping things cold in the mini-fridge. It was a good adventure for Dee and I.
Having more than managed to have a good first week together in a campervan, we drove onto the ferry in Wellington and departed for the spectacular South Island.
We spent about one week on the North Island, arriving in Auckland and departing, by ferry, from Wellington on February 8th
Enjoying a Saturday afternoon in Auckland’s eclectic Wynyard Quarter, a historic area with wharfs and warehouses
Affectionately known as the 6-Pack, these concrete silos have been successfully integrated into the waterfront masterplan as gallery spaces. Outside, we walked through the weekend art market and its colorful shade sails
We were amazed at the apparent cleanliness of the water in the harbour. Several teenagers were jumping from the wharf into its inviting depths
An ambitious redevelopment plan exists for Auckland’s waterfront. This pop-up exhibit space features an overview of current offerings along the waterfront. The Sky Tower, in the background, is the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere
We eat it! The humongous seafood platter we enjoyed with a bottle of white wine overlooking the harbour in downtown Auckland on Dee’s first day in New Zealand
A pleasant pedestrian area near the wharfs in Central Auckland
Auckland is known as the “City of Sails”
Ponsonby is the stylish area of Auckland where we spent our first few days in New Zealand. It is a short walk up the hill from the CBD
Beautiful Waihi Beach, on the East Coast of the North Island. We stayed our first night in the campervan near here
The coastal evergreens are so perfectly shaped
Although our month was nearly completely dry, there were still moments where drops of rain hung suspended from the flowers
We visited the Whakarewarewa Thermal Village, a historic village where guided tours of the famous geysers began in the 19th Century
Looking through the steam to see the crystal-clear pools of boiling-hot mineral water at Whakarewarewa Thermal Village in Rotorua, North Island
Expressive detail at the Whakarewarewa Thermal Village
A view of the region’s largest geyser from the Whakarewarewa Thermal Village. Entry into the Te Puia Cultural Center provided better access to the geyser, but it was much more expensive and the people at the entry were not very hospitable
In Taupo, Reids Farm is a free campground located beside the Waikato River. The many moods of the river could be experienced at nearby Huka Falls and the City park with the natural hot springs. We really enjoyed this campground especially the changing light
Natural hot springs in Taupo felt like a quintessentially New Zealand experience
Dee’s maiden voyage into a hot spring! These were a great introduction, with hot water flowing through rocky pools into the Waikato River in Taupo
Gorgeous Huka Falls, on the Waikato River, New Zealand’s longest, near Lake Taupo
The holiday town of Taupo on the northern edge of Lake Taupo, in the center of the North Island
A spectacular Thursday evening in Wellington. Many of the community crew teams were out for an evening row
Hobbit creatures in the lobby of the Te Papa Museum in Wellington. The museum focuses on indigenous history. We found many of the exhibits slightly onerous to navigate and digest
The colors of Marlborough Sound as the ferry navigated the Cook Strait
A gorgeous day for a ferry ride through the Cook Strait from Wellington, on the North Island, to Picton, on the South Island
rovingadobe 
No Responses Yet to “Land of the Campervan”