The first flat tire! And a dreamy sunset...

The way after breakfast at the remote campsite where we met Marcelo initially leads back over the 14 km long gravel track. Since we are doing this route in daylight this time, it is fortunately slightly faster than on the way there! After 30 minutes we reach a normal paved road again. A dream! Suddenly we appreciate proper roads much more than before this trip...

But as great as the joy is about a good road surface and the higher travel speed associated with it, there seems to be something wrong with the car....we stop at a small parking bay and check the car. It doesn't take long for us to find the trouble: a flat tire. Yay! Just days before, we had pitied the two girls with their flat tire and now it happened to us as well.

Since the next workshop is quite a distance away and there is still some air in the tire, we decide to head for Ninety Mile Beach with the typical New Zealand laid-back attitude, which is also on the way anyway! The Ninety Mile Beach is actually not 90 miles long, but 'only' 90 kilometers long. 90 kilometers of beach!!! And that's not the only special feature of this beach. In addition, cars are allowed to be driven on Ninety Mile Beach. It must be an incredible feeling to drive almost completely without traffic and road markings and simply straight ahead next to the waves! Unfortunately, we didn't dare because all-wheel drive is explicitly recommended and we don't have it. But with a flat tire, it probably wouldn't have been the best idea anyway...but of course, we still take a photo that clearly shows the tire tracks on the sand!

Still in the parking lot at Ninety Mile Beach, locals come up to us and talk about our flat tire, immediately giving us advice on where the nearest workshop is, etc. We are even offered a ride there, but since there is still some air in the tire, we politely decline and instead make our own way there...

We quickly find a workshop. As soon as you approach a town here, there are car workshops everywhere, usually specializing in tires. Apparently, the New Zealanders know the problem with gravel tracks...we are served immediately after a 5-minute wait. The repair of the tire costs us 20$, luckily it can be patched and doesn't need to be replaced. That's good!

And since we are already busy getting our car roadworthy again and it's raining anyway, we head directly to the next workshop to get the overdue oil change done. We are already 700 km over the recommended mileage...Here too, we are immediately taken care of, although the mechanic says he is busy. It is really nice that he prioritizes us! However, this pleasure is a bit more costly: the oil change costs us around 110$. Although it hurts a bit, on the other hand, it is money well invested if it can significantly reduce the risk of engine damage. Plus, we are now good for another 10,000 kilometers with it!

And because we are in the mood for spending money, after fulfilling our duty, we treat ourselves to a really nice campsite! The campsite where we met Marcelo was beautifully located, but there were only cold showers, pit toilets, and no facilities for waste disposal or laundry. That's why we head to Hihi Beach, a beautiful beach in Doubtless Bay, and are amazed when we see the facilities at the campsite there. For $18 per person per night, there are hot showers, clean toilets, a common room with ping pong and TV, a fully equipped, huge kitchen (that some restaurants can only dream of), and not to forget: a distance of a whole 10 meters from the campsite to the beach!

The beach is beautiful, but it can't compete with the sunset that we are allowed to admire this evening. Words can hardly describe it, so here are a few impressions...