Mad Campers: New Zealand Road Trip - Part 1

Friday 1^st March 2024 saw us in Auckland to pick up our home for the next six weeks – A Mad Camper’s campervan! VERY small, but perfectly formed. We loaded in our bags and we were off on our road trip.

Then, it was a short drive to west Auckland to meet Janet and Basker, our hosts for the first three nights in New Zealand.  Janet and Basker have a beautiful character property and they welcome guests visiting Auckland to stay in their small garden studio. Recently, they have also started to rent out their drive for campervans. It was an ideal spot for us; within walking distance from the train station into town. A perfect base to explore Auckland.

Auckland is home to 1.7 million people. This may seem small compared to other cities around the world, but it is the largest city in New Zealand.

The Auckland area has 53 volcanic centres. The volcanoes here generally only erupt once and the city is dotted with grassed over craters. On our first afternoon, we walked up to the top of one, Mount Eden, and we were rewarded with superb views over the city and harbour.

Situated on a narrow isthmus between Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean, Auckland is only 2 km wide at its narrowest point. Its location gives it excellent access to the sea and earns it the name ‘the city of sails’. This being so, it seemed only proper that we should spend some time in the Maritime Museum. Boats, boats and more boats. Big and small, old and new.

After spending a couple of hours in the museum, we headed to Royal New Zealand Squadron Yacht Club. This is the official home to Americas Cup and has a superb restaurant overlooking the harbour.

One of the great things about our travels, is the amazing people that we meet and how our paths regularly cross. We were fortunate to share our time in Auckland with our rally friends, Tony and Katy (Tam Lin of Gloucester).

The following day, we all headed onto the water ourselves, catching the ferry to Waiheke Island. The day was a little grey, but the damp weather did not spoil our day wine tasting.

From Auckland, Katy and Tony flew back to Australia and  Martin and I started north, first stop Whangerai. Here we had our first experience of ‘freedom’ camping at AH Reed Memorial Park. It felt a little strange spending the night in a carpark with no facilities other than a public toilet, but it was to become the first of many such sites we stayed at on our travels.

This park was also a great place to set off on a morning walk, along the river to the Whangerai Falls. At an impressive 26m high, it made a memorable first of many falls we would see whilst in New Zealand.

A few miles up the road and we were at the quaint town of Russell; the first European settlement in New Zealand. The small town’s streets have retained their original layout, but the historic buildings now house cafés, restaurants and art galleries. It was a pleasant place to wander for a few hours.

From Russell, we made the short drive to Okiato and took the small car ferry across to Opua.  Then we drove along the coast to Paihia Top 10 Holiday Park. Whilst the name conjured up images of chalets and karaoke, it was actually one of the best sites we stayed at with a superb BBQ area. Like many sites in New Zealand, it was next to the water and we shared our site with a flock of friendly ducks.

The next day, we spent the morning at Kerikeri which is home to the oldest standing European building in New Zealand. Built in 1821, Kemp House was originally the Mission station. Its neighbour, the Stone Store, is the oldest stone building. This was built in 1832 and was the base of the Church Missionary Society’s trading post. Both of these buildings are very important remnants of the early contact between Maori and Pakeha (white inhabitants).

Across the river from these two historic buildings is Te Ahurea Village. Set in native bush, it is a reconstruction of a Maori Pa Site (a defensive hill fort) with examples of, not only early Maori buildings, but also walks through woodlands of native plants. It was fascinating to learn about the variety of uses for these plants; from food sources to medical treatments to materials for making everyday objects – nothing was ever wasted.

Leaving Kerikeri, we made a stop at Rainbow Falls. Here we had a short walk and a swim for Mad Camper Challenge 1: Swim at a waterfall. Very chilly!

After our (well Martin’s) swim, we headed across to the west coast, stopping on route for a few, more unusual, sites. First stop was at Opononi for a photo opportunity with Opo.

Opo was a young female bottle nose dolphin who, between June 1955 and March 1956 was a common sight in the harbour. She would regularly approach the beach to play with the locals, often juggling beach balls on her snout. Sadly, she was found dead, caught on some rocks. No one ever knew how this happened, but the locals buried her beside the beach and messages of sympathy poured in from around the country. Her memory lives on in the form of a roadside sculpture.

Our second unusual stop was to see the Koutu Boulders; very strange spherical rocks littered along the coast. Investigating this strange phenomena, I discovered that they are ‘concretions’ which form in the earth when minerals build up around a nucleus. Just like a giant cement snowball.

The night on the west coast spent in the Waipoua Forest. This area preserves some of the best examples of kauri forest remaining in New Zealand and is home to two of the oldest living kauri trees – Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest) and Te Matua Ngahere (Father of the Forest). They are both thought to be at least 2000 years old.

The forest has many walking trails and we were hoping to be able to do some, walking amongst the huge kauri trees. Unfortunately, the trees have been seriously affected by a disease called kauri die back. The disease is soil born, so access to the area has been severely restricted. We were able to see the magnificent Tane Mahuta but, even this short walk, had strict cleaning procedures to help prevent the spread.

On our travels, one of our guilty pleasures is a daily coffee stop, usually at a roadside cafe. Stopping for a treat at the tiny Maungatapere, we found ourselves next door to the Packard Motor Museum.

This was treat of a different kind. Five sheds crammed full of vehicles of every shape and size, all collected by one person (Graeme Craw)over a period of 50 years.

The museum is most well known for its collection of 55 Packards. Dates of productions of these cars range from 1919 to 1958 and many are in immaculate condition.

The museum also houses hundreds of other vehicles: motor cycles, military vehicles, earth movers, steam and traction engines. It even has a Series 1 Land Rover used by Queen Elizabeth I when she visited New Zealand in 1953.

A fascinating place.

Returning to the east coast, we were booked on two dives with Dive Tutukaka at the Poor Knights. Lying just of 20km off shore, 11 million year islands are a marine reserve and pending World Heritage Site.

The sea here is warmed by the currents sweeping south from the Coral Sea, attracting a huge variety of marine life. The wall, caves, arches and tunnels offer some of the best diving in New Zealand.

The sun shone brightly and we had a super day exploring the underwater world here.

The journey back to Auckland was grey and wet, but that didn’t  stop us making a detour to Muriwai Beach for Mad Camper Challenge 3: Run on a black sand beach.