On Wednesday we started to head to the Bay of Islands peninsula. In hindsight we probably underestimated the driving. It was quite far and we only had four days to drive and fit everything in. So overall we didn't see as much as we had hoped to, but it was nice all the same. We started by driving through Auckland. Jen and I wanted to go to a library for some free wifi so we could book some accommodation for our first night in Fiji. Whilst the boys went to Jucy to sort out their hob, we went in search of a library. We ended up giving up on the library as it was too expensive to park in the city and after hitting rush hour we thought we'd just head out and get to the holiday park. We passed the Sky Tower and the harbour with loads of sailing boats, but it felt like any other city, with so much traffic and 5 lanes on the motorway. It reminded us of England, especially with the grey clouds looming and we wanted to get out ASAP! We met the boys at the Red Beach Holiday Park and they told us they were going to be getting a new Jucy on Monday in Auckland, as their one was falling apart- good news! Jen and I made an amazing chilli that evening and saved some for the next day. Unfortunately, we forgot about it and left it there in the fridge. It was a sad moment when we realised what we'd done the following day! :(
We drove northwards and swapped campervans again. Jen and Adam in one and the remaining three in the other. When Jen doesn't have me in the campervan with her, she whizzes off on roads and then decides it wasn't a good idea and makes a U-turn. She did just this, made and U-turn after turning into someone's driveway when we were attempting to find a good lunch stop and backed into a post. We all burst out laughing as we could see it happening in slow motion. It was so funny. :) But it's okay- no damage to the juce box.
We drove to the Karikari peninsula, where there was a lovely DoC campsite on the beach at Maitai Bay. It was early evening and we decided to go for a cheeky dip in the sea. Mike and Adam made for a speedy dip, claiming it was too cold. Jen and I followed and stayed in a bit longer- it was quite chilly, but nothing we couldn't handle! We all lay on the deserted beach for a while and Mike and I walked along the beach and explored around the rocks. Instead of eating our chilli that we left at the holiday park, we cooked an odd mix of veg and chorizo and tomatoes, which turned out to be really nice!
The sun was shining again the next morning and Jen and Mike bravely went for a morning swim in the sea- which was again more like a quick dip as they said it was quite cold! We then drove to Ninety Mile Beach on the west coast of the Bay of Islands. We arrived at the southern end in Ahipara. We wanted to go right to the top, but we didn't have enough time. The weather wasn't the best, but we had lunch overlooking the beach, drove up a gravel road, walked along an unmarked path to the end, and had an amazing view of the long stretch of coastline. After admiring the view we headed to Paihia. The Bay of Islands holiday park was opposite Countdown, the big supermarket they have in NZ, which was convenient, because we nipped across for some muesli the next day. The boys said our BBQ in Tongariro wasn't very good, so we told them to do it this time (secretly a great excuse for not having to bother buying, cooking or preparing any of it), so we left them in charge. Mike cooked all the meat on the outside BBQ and it turned out to be really good. Although we planned a night out, we drank in the campervan and never made it out. I think we might have had too much fun chatting and playing cards.
The free wifi in the campsite (a rarity) made up for the $2 showers and after lazing around in the morning, I skyped my family. I didn't realise it was Friday night at gone midnight, so I was pleasantly suprised when my parents and their friends greeted me on Skype. Everyone at my end made an appearance on Skype too, including Mick the 'hunky one', which he thoroughly enjoyed. Mum, stop flirting with my friends! Hahaha :)
On our final full day with the boys, we just drove down the road to the centre on Paihia. It was a Saturday and there was a wine festival on, so town was quite lively. Jen and I bought postcards and we nipped to the library to book a hostel for Fiji. We arrived ten minutes before it closed, so we worked together as quickly as possible to research and book the best place. You should have seen us- we make a great efficient team when we want to be! Back to the beach, we soaked up the sun and wrote our postcards in the afternoon. Mike and I went in our campervan for the drive down to Auckland. I was following Adam when all of a sudden he made a U-turn in the middle of the state highway- it has a speed limit of 100km/hr! I ignored him and continued driving. I thought he must have turned in desperate need for petrol or something, so Mike and I continued driving. They eventually caught us up when we stopped for a break. We went back to the same Red Beach holiday park, only to find our chilli was still there! Mike ate it the next day, and told us it was really nice. I don't think I'd have eaten it after that many days! We had a cheeky Pizza Hut meal for our last night and watched Superbad.
After saying a final farwell to our lovely Jucy campervan the next day, we parted with our home for the past month, said goodbye to the boys and made our way to check in for our Fiji flight. Ready for Fiji time!
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