Friday 15th June 2007

We've already decided that we're going to have 2 weeks in the North Island and 3 weeks in the South Island of New Zealand (as well as the week we spent with Susi and Dale) and so far we've only seen the North West of the North Island. So, today we decided we were gonna go on a mission - and drive across to the very West coast of Northland and then back down to Auckland (or thereabouts).

We woke up at about 8am and then just lay in bed for about an hour drinking a cup of tea and chatting. Then we went and had showers on the site and, whilst I was packing up the bed in the van, Nikki made us bacon sarnies... what a wife!

What happened next, was nothing short of wonderful! We were driving back towards the main road that would take us West when Nikki spotted... a CHOCOLATE FACTORY & SHOP, so I swerved the van across the road and in we went. It was just like a normal shop down one side but down the other was a huge kitchen with a man making all sorts of chocolatey treats. We were the only people in the shop (well, it was only just after 10.30am) and the cook kept giving us bits that were left over. After about 20 minutes Nikki brought me some Macadamia Brittle and dragged me from the shop.

After driving for a while (and with a tiny bit of gas left in our tank) we came to the Waipoua Forest, which is home to some of the biggest trees in the whole of New Zealand. So we stopped here and went for a wander into the woodland. We found the Tane Mahuta (God of the Forest) no prob's - this tree was over 51 meters high and had a girth of over 13 meters. When we got back to the car we saw a sign that said it was 18km through the forest and we had no idea when we'd find another petrol station but we went for it anyway.

Our scenic drive took us through Puketona, Kawakawa (where we stopped to take some photos of some public toilets. What? The book said they were famous, ok?), Kaikohe, Katui, Dargaville, Brynderwyn and finally to Waiwera where, at 6.30pm, we decided to set up camp.

Our camp seems pretty cool although its too dark to see for sure (it's winter here). One thing is for sure, we're parked right next to the sea because as I sit writing this I can hear waves crashing against the van - Nikki is definitely gonna wake up needing a wee tomorrow.

We made some sausages, mash and beans for tea and sat chillin' in the van. I thought that the last 2 days were cool, but today was ACE!

WE LOVE OUR CAMPERVAN!