Run in to Auckland

Sunday 12th December

After a leisurely start it was time to say our farewells and head south, admiring the famous Hundertwasser toilet buildings at Kawakawa. These were Hundertwasser’s final creation and include ceramic columns, inset bottles and garden roofing.

We spent much of our time visiting bays and dipping our feet in the water including calling in at Whananaki North and South, Sandy Bay (it was!), Matapouri Bay before heading back inland to Whangarei where we spent some time at the Falls.

After this we picked up the Waipu Cove road again enjoying the bays and beaches.
We meandered down to Mangawhai where we found a river side campsite which was one of the best we visited during our trip. Our evening included paddling amongst the local fish and helping two young girls collect crabs from the sand for their (temporary) collection!

On Monday we continued our leisurely journey to Auckland visiting Wellsford and stopping off at the top of the Dome Forest for coffee where we met Wohja Whabbit (below) and Julia the very friendly cat.

It was then onwards via Warkworth and Orewa before diverting off on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula for lunch at Red Beach (not red at all!). It was then time to pick up the main highway into Auckland before finding our apartment and unloading the luggage. That done it was time to take the campervan to the drop-off point near the airport where they kindly arranged a shuttle back to the hotel.

We were very sorry to part company with the campervan. After 6756km, 43 days and 42 nights it had become part of our life, battle scars included! It had started faultlessly every time, had frustrated us with its quirky automatic gearbox, not complained too loudly when we tried to use it to adjust the entrance to the car park at Bluff, taken us over dusty gravel mountain passes without a hitch and dealt with city traffic with ease.

Our apartment is a good size (especially after the camper!) and is just a few moments walk from the quay side. Being on the 8th floor we have excellent views over the harbour. We now have 3 full days and 4 nights in Auckland to enjoy the city before heading to a somewhat cooler climate in Canada.