The campervan made it back safely, after a very relaxing trip up through the North Island. We took the ferry over from Picton, and it was a lot clearer out that it had been on our trip south. So, the view was really something. We arrived in Wellington in the late afternoon, just in time for rush hour traffic. About 100km northwest of Wellington we stopped to stay at the Waikawa Scenic Reserve, an informal (read: free) campsite.

The next morning we headed out early to start our trip through the central part of the island to Taupo. The drive was pretty painless, and the scenery nothing but beautiful. The view of Mt. Ruapehu from the east side of Tongariro National Park was exceptional, which we saw after a brief stop at the Army Museum Waiouru.

Once in Taupo, we attempted to hook-up our computer and update our blog, which, even though there were multiple internet cafes, proved itself to be pretty difficult (very frustrating too). We gave up and went to our caravan park for the night where we could plug in and have power in the van. What a way to travel! Before dinner we went for a quick swim in the lake since the sun had finally broken through the clouds. Sure enough, later that night and into the morning it poured. The lake had a few large pieces of pumice floating where we swam, reminding us of the volcanoes nearby.

The following day we went back into town for try two at getting online, again to no avail. It was really crowded in town, very touristy, so we high-tailed it out of there. Pureora Forest Park was where we had decided to camp that night, and it wasn’t too far away. We made it there in a couple hours, found the Ngaherenga Campground, paid the fees, and still had an afternoon to kill. We did a short walk through part of the forest that was amazing. It was a really beautiful area - lots of farmland, green hills, and cows! The area where we stayed in the park was right on the edge, and across the way was a large cow pasture. In the evening we laughed as the herd of about 200 cows all started to moo.

Finally, our 5-day excursion with the campervan was close to its end. On Saturday we had to return it to the dealer in Auckland by 3pm. Plenty of time, right? We were only 120km away, so we stopped for lunch in Hamilton, where we also successfully got connected at an internet cafe. We would have made it to the dealer right at 3pm had we not forgotten the directions in a phone booth about 35 minutes away, meaning we had to go back and get them after realizing it 15 minutes away. Whoops! Fortunately, it wasn’t a problem, and we cleaned out the van and got a taxi to our hostel for the night.

The Aloe Tree Lodge was chosen because we read that we could camp there for $10 each. Sure enough, it turned out to be $15 each and the “campsite” was in the middle of the bush in the backyard, and on a hill. Fortunately, we still had use of the kitchen, showers, and free internet. And, Parnell - the area it was in - was also cute and had a lot of shops, cafes, etc. We ate and set up camp, then went for a beer at the Rise Bar.

Meanwhile, we had gotten in touch with a few ultimate players from Auckland. The next day, we had an invite to stay with Hayden at his place in Ponsonby. We gladly packed up our stuff and caught a taxi to his house, threw down our bags, and walked to the park for ultimate. Hayden is a Kiwi who plays on a team with our friend McT, and graciously opened up his spare room for us.

It’s been awesome staying here - we were especially grateful when on the first night, we lay in bed listening to the torrential downpour. We took the bus to the City Centre and spent part of the afternoon in a couple of bookstores. We had a drink with our host on his back porch under a summer sky, ate dinner at the house, took a walk around the neighborhood, and had dessert at the Belgian Beer Cafe. The Warm Chocolate Mud Cake was incredible!  We’ll be in Auckland for a few more days, and plan to get out and see more of the sights before we go.

LOVE,

Claire & Whit

PS - Now that we have an internet connection, the rest of the photos from our trip to the South Island have been uploaded.