I woke up throughout the night from the rain beating at the tent. I knew it was going to be a wet and soggy morning. And it was. I got up at 5:20, quickly packed my sleeping bag, pad, stuffed my backpack and changed. It was still quite dark out and still raining pretty hard. I hesitantly rolled up the soaked tent but I didn't have much of a choice. I sped walked and at times ran, all the way back to the general store to where the bus was to pick me up at 6:15. And I did not want to be late.
Side note: Now, I've mentioned a few unfortunate circumstances, the hostel bunk issue, the lost iPad, and this morning. But I certainly haven't mentioned every other blip in the road in only seven days of being here. Not to mention the return ticket problem that happened before I even got to New Zealand. This world traveling thing isn't a cake walk. It's much more than the pretty pictures that are posted on social media. It's more than the smiling selfies, neat treasures, and memorable moments. It's the trying times in between all those good times, that actually really take up the most.
Anyways, the ride to Hamilton was about three hours long before I switched to a bigger bus, then to a metro bus. I arranged for a rental car and the companies are able to pick people up from the airport so that's where I hopped off the bus. They picked me up in my rental, which turned out to be bigger and newer than I expected. I also got a good deal on it, $18 a day for three weeks, that's $411 after fees but only $295 American dollars. Score. It's a Toyota Raum, a minivan complete with Asian writing on the controls, and a single cigarette lighter that doesn't work so that was a no-go on keeping devices charged. With much caution, I turned onto the street....in the opposite lane! Very strange. It took a lot of getting used to. Especially with the turn signals being on the other side too. Let's just say, my window wipers were on a lot today and it wasn't ever raining....
I stopped by Countdown, one of NZ's grocery chains. It felt so good to finally buy food to make meals instead of always going to a restaurant or cafe. I also went to a hardware store and got a small cooler. Then I headed out of Auckland! It took awhile though because traffic was insane. Bumper to bumper in the big city, in a new car, and on the wrong side of the road -quite an experience. As I got further and further out of Auckland, traffic lessened and was more pleasant. I stopped a few times on my way to Whangarei but mostly just enjoyed driving winding roads, my music, and going past new areas and still, more cows. As some know, my happy place is driving alone on a sunny day with the music slightly louder than it should be. This rental gave me that, so choosing to get my own wheels has changed this trip in more ways than one for me.
After 170km on highway 1, I pulled into Whangarei. I drove around looking for a car park but gave up and just headed for a campground that I knew was still opened. I had no idea how far away it was but I soon found out. It was up and down and around the most narrow, hilly, and curvy backroad through the mountains, ever. And it was getting dark. I kept going and just thought well you came his far, just make it all the way. I was a few miles away from the camp when I noticed the sky. It was almost entirely pink. The quick views I got of this sunset beaming down on the town below demanded I stop for a picture. This kind of road was hard to stop on but I just had to. I had driven so far back and up from the town that I now had an incredible view of this scene.
I finally pulled up to my destination. All the campground was was an older guy's property with spaces to park a car or camper and a bathroom/shower shack and a kitchen/hang out building. It had a very "local" feeling. Only about ten campers were there. I made a meat and veggie wrap in the kitchen and talked to some of the campers who, you guessed it, were German. This building had your typical hostel, community room atmosphere. I finished up and went back to my car, folded the seats down and made a little bed.
