Towards the North

20.9-22.9.2016

Our destination for the night was the Shakespear Campground, about 50 km north of Auckland. It was the first time we drove with the new car. For Claudi, it was the first time driving with an automatic transmission, and that too in rush hour. Unfortunately, we reached our destination after 1.5 hours in the twilight and suddenly stood in front of a closed gate with a passcode. We should have made a reservation beforehand... But we were fortunate enough to be able to make the booking over the phone. It was a rainy and stormy night, and there was no shelter, so we had to skip dinner. The next morning, we could inspect where we had stayed: in a bird sanctuary right on the coast :D

Originally, we wanted to go to Tiritiri Matangi Island, for which we had already booked everything, but we received an early call that due to the storm, the ferry will not operate and we will get our money back. This changed our plans, and we drove back to Auckland and paid off our car completely.

Then we headed north again, this time about 60 km. Our sleeping place for today (Pinewood Holiday Park) was much more comfortable. Sanitary facilities with free! hot showers, kitchen, laundry room, and common room.

After we completed our car insurance the next morning after a 30-minute conversation, we continued to Kerikeri. There, we arranged to meet with a hostel for the next day, which provides job placements.