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New Zealand day 2 - Auckland to Whitianga


Hi lovelies,

I really try to always be positive, but I will have to admit that today has not been all sunshine and roses.

After a wonderful full nights sleep, we awoke to a lovely lady who brought us the most scrumptious of breakfasts.  It looked so good Robbie took photos. It was a perfectly planned Father’s Day breakfast don’t you think. 😊.


We were then picked up by the shuttle bus and delivered to the Britz depot to collect our camper van. They were pretty busy this morning, and I was very thankful for the large breakfast.  After waiting for  nearly 3 hours we asked about when our car would be ready.  We had been missed in the queue for some reason. 😞.

They quickly got us organised, so quickly that they did not have time to give us a run down on how the van works, which has led to some frustrating moments today.  However we were on our way.

The weather has also not been sunshine today, and the rain made the roads a little slick, but the roads were very pretty good.

We did notice that traffic returning to Auckland after the weekend was as good as returning to Brisbane from any of the coasts.  I was pleased we were going the other way.

Much of the drive was up and over a mountain range.  Gorgeous creeks, lush green fields, and about every 5km there was a drop off area for slow vehicles (me) to pull over and let people past.  It seems to be the custom for drivers to give two short beeps on the horn as a way of saying thanks.



It was nearly dark by the time we arrived in Waitianga.  We stopped at the local grocery store to stock up in essentials, and then made our way to the Mercury Bay Holiday Park.  There we were greeted by the lovely and kind Sam, who got us all organised.   She was so lovely.

On Sam’s recommendation we went to Snapper Jacks for dinner.  A feast of local tarakihi and chips. Tarakihi which is a little like a bream and was simply delicious.

Back to the park to get showered and set the bed up for the night.  This is where we realised how important it was to have the briefing that we did not get.  Getting the bed put together was nearly as much fun as trying to find all the bits for it.

We have settled for it is good enough tonight and we will work on it tomorrow in the light.

Things we learned today
There seemed to be more cows than people.
In New Zealand shopping trolleys are called trundles.


Woolworths is called Countdown.
In Woolworths single use shopping bags are free, however you have to pay for council garbage bags.
If you use the black enviro bags and they wear out you can return them and they will replace the for free.
You can also buy alcohol and lotto tickets there.  You have to show a NZ divers license or your passport to get it.
We are pretty thankful that our van is diesel and not petrol.


People put their rubbish on the curb to be collected.  Hence the council garbage bags.


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