On the Road

Our first day on the road was not much of an adventure. We did some shopping near Auckland to get the supplies for our trip and then headed north. Our first stop was the Uretiti campground. When we got to the campground we spent some time cursing the fact that we had not gotten a van that would have more space before figuring out how to cram ourselves into the back of our station wagon for the night. We got it figured out just in time because it began to pour. We could hear the rain pounding on the roof for most of the night, but thankfully there were no leaks (thanks Gary!).

The following day we drove to Whangarei and went out to Whangarei Heads for a short hike. There were some stunning views and the water was such a wonderful color of blue that it made us want to jump in. We spent the night at a quiet hostel near Whangarei called Little Earth Lodge.

We started early the next morning by taking a short hike to the caves around Little Earth Lodge. The caves are full of glowworms that make it seem like you are outside on a starry night when you are looking up at the cave roof. After the caves we left Little Earth Lodge and took another short hike to Whangarei Falls. They are supposed to be the most photogenic falls in New Zealand, but our photography skills must be a little lacking because our photos do not do it justice. Our next stop was downtown Whangarei. We wandered around until it was time to go to the Tonga vs. Canada rugby match that was part of the Rugby World Cup. Canada ended up pulling the biggest upset of the tournament so far, 25-20. We think it is because they had sasquatch on their team. After the game we took a late night drive to a hostel in Paihia called the Pickled Parrot.