18.12.19 The adventure begins at 626,197km!

I have been sitting at Ibis Budget Auckland Airport for breakfast for 8 hours - which I was able to book for 1 dollar when I booked the hotel months ago. The room costs 105 dollars. Around 9:00 am, I decide to take a taxi to Wendekreisen instead of calling them at 9:30 am to pick me up. I want to leave as soon as possible. Said and done - and at 9:15 am, I am still standing in front of a locked door. The weather is terrible - it is stormy and raining, and I hide under the door frame. But soon, someone nice arrives and explains the campervan to me. I am relieved that it is actually a Toyota and not like the horrible Mazda from last year that could barely climb the hills at 40km/h in 2nd gear. 'Grandpa' is a 2004 model with 626,197 km on the clock, but it drives well.

A Toyota, a little central locking (you can only lock all doors from the driver's door, only unlock all doors from the driver's door, the sliding door at the back can only be unlocked separately, but not locked), air conditioning, and a completely new interior. This is much better than the stupid Mazda last year. Now to do some shopping and then head east.

In the New Zealand group on Facebook, Holger reports that he left his power cable in Miranda at the campsite and asks if anyone happens to pass by. Of course - it's on my way, so I pick up the cable and continue.

A quick stop in Thames. Nice houses from the 19th century when gold was found here. But today, it's extremely stormy.

So I continue directly over the Coromandel Range to the east.

After about 765 curves, I have left the Coromandel Range behind me. Stunning nature up to 900m high.

Huge ferns, palm trees, rocks, and meadow-like hills. Simply fantastic. In the end, I reached my campground at Flaxmill Bay at 5:30 pm.

Then the annoying unpacking and storing of all the clothes and groceries from this morning begins. The cashier asks me, 'How many people are in your party?' 🤔 'Ah, well - just me myself and I' She replies, 'oh' 🥴 (a very economical 'oh') 🤣🤣 Anyway, my wonderful campground is by the Pacific 🌏 and I am now celebrating the first real day of vacation with the two people from Bremen, whom I brought the power cable to and who have moved their campsite from Hahei to Flaxmill Bay. A wonderfully beautiful start to almost a month in New Zealand!