Day 25 - 28: Detour to the sea and pond

05.03.18 - 08.03.18: Whangarei - Herekino - Kaitaia - Maitai Bay - Hihi - KeriKeri - Hikurangi

Since we rushed up and down SH1 last time, this time we took a smaller road to the northwest. Lots of agriculture, nothing else. So we first looked for a free camping spot, as they are rare in the north, especially for NSC (Non-Self-Contained) campervans. It's off the SH-1. Soon enough, we were back on the SH-1. But not for long. Without warning, there was a sign in the middle of the road: ROAD CLOSED, with a 'Detour' sign pointing west. After 15 minutes of driving, I wasn't sure if we were still on the detour. The GPS was overwhelmed, and if this continues, it will be a long trip. I checked the fuel tank: luckily, it was still halfway full. But what about our free camping spot? I don't trust the Kiwis to let us turn back. So our campground was right in the middle of the closed Highway 1 in the north. It's like if they closed the A1 for about 20-30 kilometers and instead of going from Bern to Biel, you can only go to Olten via Basel :o). That's how long the detour felt. So we looked for another campground in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, there were no free sites there. But we found a small one with a hot shower for 10$ pp. That works.

The campground was somewhere off the road, in the greenery. No one was there, so we just parked and someone would come eventually. Soon enough, a man in uniform arrived. It turned out he's a school bus driver and was driving the kids home when we arrived. Have we mentioned that the school buses sometimes drive on really crazy roads? From highways to gravel single lanes, anything is possible here.

The place is really cool. Soon enough, another car arrived with a young German guy (Tierk) who is doing work-holiday here. We spontaneously invited him for dinner.

The next day, we went to Kaitaia to send Mr. Küng greetings from Claude. The store owners did everything they could to find the address and even wanted to send us to the library, but we left a greeting on paper instead :). Funny enough, we met Tierk again there.

The next stop would be Cape Reinga, but not for us (no fish burger, can't do that :o). So we continued east and then spontaneously went north to Maitai Bay. It was hot and there was a beautiful bay. We decided to try swimming in the sea, and it was great. Sandra was almost 200 meters away from the beach in the sea, and we were throwing ourselves into the waves like children. So in addition to her fear of the sun and tunnels, Sandra has now also lost her respect for the sea here in New Zealand.

After a sunburn that is yet to come, we continued to Mangonui, where there is a free parking lot. We wanted to dive into nightlife there in the evening, but unfortunately, we caught some mites from the sea. So we quickly looked for a campground, and in Hihi, we could wash and shower. Did I mention that we met Tierk there again? He started to feel like he's being followed :o). Haven't seen any mites since, luckily.

Oh yeah, the Sim card from Spark crashed in Kaitaia. Murphy's law at its best. Well then, that's why we headed to Kerikeri, as it has a shop there. Found it with the remaining balance from Vodafone, mobile redundancy to the rescue :o). We waited a long time in the Spark shop and after 10 minutes decided to go to a café first. Beforehand, I took out the Vodafone Sim card (dual SIM) to avoid any objections at the Spark shop. The status still showed no reception, but the SIM card was recognized. I went through the Motorola setup wizard and suddenly, it started working oO. I don't need to mention that I had already switched the cards, etc. etc. Well then, we had a delicious meal and dessert at a Turkish café and saved ourselves the discussions at the Spark shop.

We continued to a free campground, and we found one at a lake that was supposed to be beautiful. The swim in the pond is refreshing, and the sanitary facilities are very clean and even have a hand dryer. Since it has been raining more or less today, we stayed here right away.

@Nadine: Pukekos are shit. They look ugly and make damn annoying noise all day and night long. But they are funny when they waddle, especially with toast in their beaks :o)