Day 12 - From the Bay of Islands to Raglan to Hamilton

26.12.2014

Since I have nothing for breakfast, I make myself an instant coffee. They have it at every motel here and you always get a quarter liter of milk from reception. It has been raining outside and the sun is trying to come out, creating a beautiful light.

Unfortunately, I can't say goodbye to the nice people at the hotel because they are not around. So I drive around the corner to the main street and, surprisingly, the shops are mostly open. There is also a café where I can at least get a flat white and a croissant. It costs me 12 dollars in total.

Well, I don't treat myself to much, except for expensive motels.

I drive up to Flagstaff Hill for a quick photo shoot in the sun of the Bay of Islands, then I roll the 8 kilometers back to the ferry on a winding road. To my horror, I see that Auckland airport is 257km away and my navigation system estimates a 3.5-hour drive. So I drive quickly through the curves once I'm on the mainland because even the Highway 1 that I'll be taking to Auckland is mostly a country road for most of the way. Now, after the family barbecues are over and a long weekend follows, the whole of New Zealand is on the move, especially on bikes. I constantly encounter long car queues heading north to the beautiful beaches. Oh God, I wonder what it's like in Ahapira now? The beach is probably like a freeway, where even a normal pedestrian needs a traffic light to get to the sea.

The journey drags on and on. At Waipu, you pass a fantastic coastal view, but I don't have time because I need to go to Europcar to find out what to do next. The documents state that the evaluation of damage may take up to 4 hours and I won't arrive until 2 p.m. - because it will take me 4 hours to get there! About 60km before Auckland, Highway 1 becomes a toll road and you can either drive through and pay $2.20 NZD for a car within 5 days online, or you can get a ticket from a machine. You have to enter the license plate and the machine will display the make and model of the car and ask if it's correct - then you get a receipt. However, this method of payment costs an additional $0.40. For some reason. After a few kilometers, each license plate is scanned from a sign bridge, and that's when they make sure you've paid before. The road is emptier now and eventually, the high-rise buildings and the Skytower of Auckland come into view. Just across the bridge and another 20km to the airport on the outskirts. I fill up the car with gas again, so at least that's taken care of if I have to return it.

Surprisingly, there are a lot of cars in the Europcar parking lot - considering the New Zealanders' travel frenzy and the reports on the radio about queues at Wellington Airport that went around the whole next block just to check in the luggage, I am next surprised that there is no one waiting at the Europcar counter and three employees are available. One of them asks me, 'is the car driveable', and when I say, 'yes', he tells me to keep driving and sort out all the paperwork at the Wellington office, which wouldn't be much either. I have an excess of up to $3,500 and they would assess the damage, email me, deduct it from the credit card, and that's it. I have to sort it out at home with Sunny Cars because they cover the damage. It will work out. I just hope the car holds up because I have no idea what kind of impact that stunt yesterday had on the axle or rear tires. Hairline cracks can cause parts to break days later. However, so far - and that's now 260km - everything is fine.

So I continue on Highway 20 to Highway 1 south. Hamilton is about 100km away now and on the drive, I think about where to orient myself for tonight's accommodation. I decide to make a stopover in Raglan, a town on the west coast that is world-famous for its waves. It's not the big breakers that surfers usually appreciate here, but the Tasman Sea rolls into the bay with a very long swell, leading to extremely long waves that attract surfers from all over the world because in the best case, they can ride the waves for several minutes here. However, Raglan is 45km away from the highway and the road leads through very hilly terrain. So it's curves, curves, curves, and speed restrictions of up to 35km. The journey takes about an hour and I only reach Raglan at 5:30 p.m. Neither the campground nor the motel have any vacancies. They refer me to the tourist information, but it's already closed because it's already 5:30 p.m. So for now, I drive to Manu Bay - another 10km further to see those waves. But it's low tide and there are only a few surfers and even fewer waves. Somehow, it was a bad decision to come here.

As I drive back to Raglan, a huge traffic jam has formed around the car that had an accident earlier. The helicopter arrives, there are many flashing lights on the road, and I stand still for almost an hour. I only have a short conversation with an American woman I picked up as a hitchhiker. She quickly decides to continue on foot and is much faster than any car.

Finally, when the traffic starts moving again, I have an ambulance in front of me, driving in a zigzag pattern, and I wonder if it's good for the injured person because there are still curves on the road. After maybe 10 km, the ambulance turns on its siren and drives to the left side of the road. Shortly after, another ambulance and the police come from the opposite direction - who knows what happened there. It's really unfortunate to have an accident in such a remote area.

It's about 60km to the nearest hospital in Hamilton and it's on winding roads.

I arrive in Hamilton at 7:30 p.m. After searching and asking at a gas station, I find Ulster Street where there are plenty of motels. I check in at Chloes Motel for 110$, because after almost 10 hours of driving, I don't feel like doing anything else. I drive next door to Pack 'n Save, get a Greek salad from the deli, a cheese roll, orange juice, and things for breakfast. Shortly after, I sit outside my motel room and back up my pictures. I write in my diary until 12:30 a.m. and then off to bed - tomorrow will definitely be more relaxed, and I never want to drive such long distances on this trip again.

Daily distance: 474km