Our airport travels were uneventful (including no more stamps upon exit from the country... booooooo :( ). On our flight Jon began planning our travels around New Zealand...and quickly discovered a flaw in our plans. We are renting our van from Auckland today, to be returned to Auckland on March 17. We had planned to drive straight down from Auckland to the south island and explore the area. However, it's FAR. Like about the same distance drive as New York to Florida, plus there is a 3 hour ferry between the North and South Islands (and no other way to get there besides flying.) After talking to so many people on our travels, everyone had told us that the South Island is the more beautiful and magical place...which is why we were trying so hard to get down there. However, it would basically mean we'd have to BOOK IT around both islands, meaning a lot of driving, gas, and stress for the two of us, AND not necessarily getting to all the places we wanted to go. So on the plane we made a game time decision. Two weeks - only the North Island. While we are a bit upset that we won't be able to explore the whole country, we decided that, depending on how much we like New Zealand (which everyone says we'll fall in love with) we'll make it a priority for us to do another 2 week trip to NZ in the near future to explore just the South Island :).
So. Two weeks! The North Island!
We arrived at the Auckland airport around 3:30 and went through customs. And AGAIN - NO STAMPS in our passports!!!!! I can't even tell you how upsetting this is for me!!! We saw the place to get them stamped, but by the time we got on the line it was already after 4, and we needed to pick up our van by 5 pm, otherwise the van place would close for the night and we'd be stuck for the night! So unfortunately, no more stamps :(. Hoping we can get at least one more in Fiji!!
We got out of the airport, called the van company, and 20 minutes later we were on our way to the Jucy (camper van) office!
We pulled up to the Jucy office...and there she was...our camper van!
It's so funny. We'd talked about renting a camper van in NZ for MONTHS. And yet the thought process behind that didn't really hit me until the van was in front of us. We need to fill up our water pump and gas for cooking. We need to empty the waste and grey water (waste water from the shower and sink). We need to DRIVE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD ON CRAZY NEW ZEALAND ROADS!!!
WHAT DID WE GET OURSELVES INTO???
We signed a lot of paperwork and then, because we have no experience driving on the left and/or in this area of the world, we had to watch a video on driving in New Zealand. Which was actually super helpful, talking about what to do at one-lane bridges, roundabouts, what different road signs mean, etc. After watching the video, we were handed the keys, several maps, a GPS, and we were off!!
Not gonna lie, the first few seconds in the van were more than a little intimidating...
Jon trying to figure out where everything is!
We got in the van and Jon found that everything was reversed - turning signals and gear shift were on the opposites sides to what we are used to. WEIRD. Not to mention, actually DRIVING on the other side of the road! Just crazy!
Our first stop after getting the van was the grocery store to stock up on food! Jucy has supplied us with a pretty stocked kitchen in terms of supplies including:
- 4 forks, knives, spoons
- 4 cups, 4 wine glasses
- 4 big plates, 4 small plates
- 4 bowls
- 1 pot and lid
- 1 pan
- 2 cutting boards
- 1 strainer
- 1 large glass bowl
- 1 small glass bowl
- 1 super sharp chef's knife
- 1 paring knife
- 1 spatula
- 1 serving spoon
- 1 peeler
- 1 can/bottle opener
- 1 toaster (can't quite figure out this one...who the heck needs a TOASTER - that just takes up precious space!!!)
- 1 tea kettle (same as toaster - who can't figure out how to boil water in a pot instead of a kettle???)
- 1 dish towel, 1 sponge
...and probably other things I'm forgetting. Point is, they do a pretty great job of supplying you with a stocked kitchen in a tiny space!!
We got to the grocery store and words can't even describe how excited we were to be able to buy our own food to cook. It's funny the things you get excited about when your entire life has been upended over the course of 3 months. But stocking a fridge, eating the foods we've been missing, and just feeling like we're eating healthily again (while also saving money) felt SO GOOD. So we picked up groceries and headed back out to the truck, found a place for everything (so it wouldn't roll away while driving!) and we were off! We decided to stay in Hamilton for the night, about a 1-2 hour drive from Auckland, just to rest our heads before heading to Rotorua in the morning.
The woman who helped us at Jucy had told us about an app called "CamperMate" which is sponsored by the New Zealand government, and which lists all the camp sites, water taps, public bathrooms, gas stations, dump stations, etc. etc. etc. AND can be used offline. Since camping and driving cross country is so common in New Zealand the app is CONSTANTLY updated, and it's crowd-sourced, so if you go somewhere and discover a new amenity, you can go ahead and add it to the app yourself. In just 4 seconds of looking at the app we could tell just how valuable it was going to be!
We found our campsite for the night and drove there, arriving around 7 pm to...a parking lot. Which is basically all it was. Since our camper van is "self-contained" (meaning we are 100% self-reliant with a kitchen, shower, and bathroom), we can park at what are called "freedom camping sites", such as places like our lovely spot for the evening...this parking lot :).
We went to go fill our pot to cook pasta for dinner anddddd...there was no water. How did the van not come fully stocked with water?!? Uncool, Jucy. So instead we ate hummus and carrots for dinner. Looking forward to real food tomorrow!
It's about 8 pm and we have no electricity, water for cooking, orrrrrrrr pretty much anything else. Looks like it's cards and early to bed. Interested to see what's in store for tomorrow...
Jess' highlight of the day: arriving in New Zealand and not crashing in our first day on the road!
Jon's highlight of the day: being able to go food shopping again
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