New Zealand - Here We Are!

So, we left Fiji and took quite a short flight (less than 3 hours) to New Zealand, normally I would have been scared, but I seem to have cracked this flying lark!! When we arrived at the airport, we had to have our tent and walking boots de-smegged, they're very strict on what comes into the country, saved us a job though!! We arrived in Auckland late evening, it was cold and raining :-( But nevermind.

Our first couple of days were spent in Auckland, mainly washing and doing internet type stuff. The first hostel we stayed in was a YHA and we had a double room, it was $64 (about 40 quid) quite expensive. So, after looking at all the options and doing some sums, we decided the best way to go would be to buy ourselves a campervan, we could get about at our own pace then and we could either sleep by the roadside or at camp / caravan sights, which would undoubtedly be cheaper than hostels....and more fun!!

After some research and looking around and talking to people in the know, we found a campervan van that ticked all the right boxes at the right price, and bought it. The place selling it was like a go-between for travellers buying and selling vehicles, they give advise on the legal matters and can also sort those out for you and have a mechanic on hand to advise on state of vehicle for your use....they also have a branch in Christchurch where we'll be leaving from so we should be able to sell it there, and probably for more as the season hasn't quite started yet but when we leave will be in the height of season and people will be wanting vans! Now, I say campervan, it probably started life as a minibus, but the seats had been ripped out and a timber base put in with a matress on top! It was enough for us though. We soon got settled into it...and headed to the Coromandel Peninsula.

Arriving in a place called Thames, the biggest town on the peninsula we go shopping in a shop called Warehouse - 'where everyone gets a bargain' It's kind of like a poundstretcher shop, sells lots of stuff cheaply....so, now we didn't have to lug all our stuff around and had some storage space we made full use of Warehouse and bought deckchairs and pillows and all manner of other camping like stuff. When we returned to the van however, we discovered the battery was flat...Rich had left the lights on....donut!! So, after about half an hour of us trying to bump start it some locals came to our aid and helped....panic over!! We headed for the national forest and as we found the campsite and parked up, found ourselves driving in thick mud, well not actually driving but wheel spinning! Yes, we were stuck!! It'd been raining all day and the grass was really boggy. So, day one of having a van and already had 2 disasters!!

Next day after about an hour of me pushing and Rich revving we finally got it out of the mud! Later on that day we were wandering aimlessly round town trying to kill a couple of hours (Rich had had a bad tummy since eating some dodgy chicken on the ferry back from Taveuni last week), we were waiting for the doctors surgery to open when this guy comes running across the road and hugs us both!! It was Randy! (Canadian guy we met on bus in Fiji - his girlfriend Amanda was the girl who worked in same office as Rich) Bloody coincidence again!!! We knew they were in New Zealand as we were planning on catching up with them at some point, but had no idea where!! Tis such a small world! Rich saw the doctor (and charged us $58 for it!) and sent him to the hospital for tests as she suspected Appendicitis....but fortunately that was not the case....they didn't know what it was but did test him thoroughly (including fingers up his bottom!!!). They didn't charge us though, which was good. They probably felt sorry for us as we'd not showered in about 3 days and I was head to toe in mud splashes from pushing the van out of the mud that morning.....we looked and smelled poor!!!

So, anyway, we spent a few days in the Coromandel Peninsula, did some hiking and spent an afternoon chilling on Hot Water Beach. This is where there is a volcano just off the shore which goes under the sea and the beach, if you dig a hole in the sand by the shore, it'll fill up with hot water heated by the volcano...so we did and it was really nice, like lying in a bath on the beach!