Auckland 28th – 30th May

Driving into Auckland was quite a shock after spending time in the rest of NZ. It's a large cosmopolitan city and seems so busy, especially after seeing Wellington and Christchurch. That's not meant in a negative sense, more one of pleasant surprise. We did a recky of the city first, driving through the centre and then along by the port which all looked very beautiful at night. We had a walk along the sea, a quick beer in a really cool bar which was like an old warehouse and then into the van to find a sleeping spot as it was pretty late. We ended up camping on the edge of a large rugby pitch which worked well, although one of the bollards on the way into the car park is a little flatter now than it used to be…oops. We went to a late film in the evening to celebrate being in a city again!

We decided to be culture vultures and visited the Auckland National Museum, which is full of interesting exhibitions and gives a great insight into the history of NZ. The section on the wars is particularly good as was the impressive Maori room with the 50ft plus preserved wooden long boat, which was used in various gruesome battles.

After a long walk into the city, we pottered around talking in the ambience. At around 5pm we took a ferry to Devonport which is a lovely little place sat on top of one of the many volcanoes in Auckland. We climbed to the top of Mt. Victoria and marveled at the fantastic view of Auckland's twinkling lights by dusk. You could also see the many small islands that make up the city, as well as some very impressively sized cargo ships and Navy boats. We boarded the ferry after sampling some of the town's yummy hot chocolate and headed back to Auckland city. It was a long walk back to the van and we were happy to finally get there. We drove to a random track near the airport ready to hand the van back the next day.

In summary, NZ is a country with such outstanding natural beauty. Where most countries will have beautiful areas, such as the Lake District or Yosemite, it seems that everywhere in the South Island is just stunning & the novelty did not ever wear off. For outdoor enthusiasts I would wholeheartedly recommend NZ. I am definitely going back one day to do more hiking, particularly the Tongariro mountains and The Remarkables. It also made a huge difference having a camper van – the joy of the outdoors is getting away from it all, and that is truly possible in a van. While the 'Kiwi Experience' buses seem like a great fun thing to do when you are under 21, giving you company, somebody organizing you and parties, it would not have been for me. I liked waking up at the bottom of Mt. Cook in the eerie quiet and being the first to crack the ice on the puddles. JG