28.12.19 A Day with Obstacles

When I woke up at 7am, it was raining. The night was so stormy that I actually considered whether a camper could be blown away and whether you can get seasick in a standing camper. But the view of the bay is still great.

Having breakfast with a panoramic view of the Pacific is not something you experience every day. After showering and breakfast, doing the dishes and packing up, it suddenly turns out to be 9:15am when I finally get going. My destination for today is actually the mountain with the longest name (something with over 90 letters) and a campground in Waipupurau.

Only 154km and a 'ridiculous' 2.5 hours' drive according to my app 'here'. I choose the middle duration and think that it won't be the worst route. According to the sign, I should turn right onto a country road in the village of Tinui.

So far so good. The village is cute with a mini police station and at best 5 houses. The route takes me through typical New Zealand hills, the sky is overcast.

Then, about 10km past Tinui - I have been driving a good gravel road for 3km now - I should turn left onto a narrow track.

A sign says: 'Logging trucks!', so apparently these huge trucks that transport tree trunks are here... The track is extremely rough and narrow - I don't want to have to avoid any trucks here. The gravel is so compressed on inclines that I feel like I'm driving on a washboard. The sign said 33km to Alfredton. I don't feel comfortable here, the road, if you can call it that, doesn't seem suitable for normal cars, let alone campers. Now please don't get a flat tire... A look at my phone shows that there is no network here either. 3km further, this adventure comes to an end: a huge tree is blocking the road and I can't continue at all. So I have to turn around.

Another stroke of luck is that I only drove 3km on this terrifying track and not 30. So I don't have to drive backwards on this winding track full of inclines, nor do I have to go too far until I reach the better gravel road. When I'm back in Tinui I've had enough and rush on to Masterton. Let that unpronounceable mountain stay wherever it wants to. After refueling, I follow the SH2 again in pouring rain, passing by the wildlife park with the white kiwi, and reach Dannevirke at noon. Now the sun is out - that's already an improvement...

A place with Danish history, which I'm not interested in in my slightly annoyed state. 5 years ago I had delicious waffles here - also a nice memory. At the Warehouse I find two drinking glasses that I'm missing in the camper and I rush on to Waipukurua.

The campground I turn into is terrible. Right on the highway and therefore extremely noisy. While a couple is already eagerly waiting for me in the office, I look for the next campground.

Waipawa is a village just 6km away. The campground is wonderfully quiet, with large pitches and includes electricity and free WiFi for only 15 dollars.

But since I still want to go to the mountain with the 92-letter name, I consult Google Maps and find two routes that would be suitable. And once again, it turns out to be a mess.

The route is indeed beautiful, but when I'm 3km away from Te Angiangi Marine Reserve and near Blackhead, I realize that I'm in the wrong place, practically at the sea, and this road also turns into a gravel road. I'm so fed up. I don't see the mountain. Let it stay wherever it wants to with its 92 letters. In June, I'll be in Wales and I'll see a train station with a name that's about as long. The weather and the views of beautiful New Zealand make up for this second route confusion.

I drive back to Waipukurau, buy all sorts of groceries here, and drive hungry to my campground. I meet a German who also stood two spots away from me in Castlepoint last night. We share a bottle of wine, exchange our travel experiences, and I take a walk through the pretty village of Waipawa after all the driving. There are also some beautiful houses here.

Today I wasted so much time driving around aimlessly, it's really annoying. Just the first stretch with the tree cost me over 1.5 hours. The second detour also. Well, the scenery was beautiful at least. I saw two rabbits and wild turkeys. I no longer count the sheep and cows.