- Chapter 03

Chapter 3

A lot has happened with us.

First of all, we had to move hostels. Even though the distance we had to cover was only 600 meters, it felt more like a day hike under all the luggage. It took us about half an hour.

The next day, we decided to climb Mount Eden. However, reaching our destination proved to be a bit difficult. First, we had to take a bus from downtown Auckland. We arrived at the recommended bus stop, but it turned out that we were still quite far from our goal. We could see the mountain in the distance and doubted that we would arrive soon. Nevertheless, we set off on foot.
After a walk of about three-quarters of an hour, we made it. And it was worth it. Once at the top, you are rewarded with a view over all of Auckland.

The following day, Friday, we were finally able to pick up our car. We packed everything up and went to the dealer, where we first took care of the paperwork. While waiting for our car, we were allowed to choose some camping equipment.

A German-speaking employee showed us everything important about our car and pointed out that their own version of our model had not been converted, which was easy to see. Because some things seemed unstable and makeshift. After a short conversation with the boss, however, everything was changed according to our wishes, within 2 hours. Here's a shout-out to the staff of "Backpackers World 33"!

Then we started. The first drive with our car. In left-hand traffic. The first destination: the gas station. After checking off this construction site, we continued to the Warehouse to get everyday items. Then came the inevitable question: Where will we spend the night?

We decided on a small boat club with parking spaces in Kaiaua, right by the sea. Once we arrived, we sorted our belongings as well as possible and spent the first night in our home on four wheels.

The next morning, we took it easy. After everything was safely packed for the trip, we headed back to a shopping center to get the rest. From there, our route led along the coast and then through the Coromandel Forest Park. This refers to a very narrow, steep, unpaved, winding gravel road. It was especially fun to avoid oncoming traffic that suddenly appeared without sliding into the deep abyss.

The whole point of this was to reach the Hahei Holiday Resort campsite. After checking in, we set out to rinse everything we bought and inaugurate our gas cooker. It turned out that cooking in the dark is not that easy. The many mosquitoes didn't help either.

The campsite is located right on a beautiful stretch of beach, which practically invites you to swim and looks almost picturesque, although the water is extremely cold.

Let's see what's next to report.