Category: New Zealand

This post is a continuation from the pervious post

No Rest For the Wicked

Upon arrival around noon, I learned that our travels were to commence immediately. Despite having landed on a 13 hour flight from San Francisco to Auckland, immediately boarding an half hour long bus and then a hour long ferry, followed by a hitch hiking adventure across a never before seen island to a remote hippie beach refuge, I was now helping my fellow travelers pack up and prepare the vehicle for the next leg of our journey.

The Backwoods Kiwi Shack

With the van packed, we left the beach for a back woods jungle shack to drop off some of her things and pick up her six year old daughter. The shack was built upon itself as if each new morning the builder awoke with a new direction to take the building. There was a collage of strange things hanging from tree branches and adorning the ground; children’s toys, plastic bags, pots for plants and rusty tools.

After an exchange of things and meek goodbyes, we drove away taking the six year old girl from her father. She cried as we drove through the winding green hills and picturesque wineries. We drove through Oneroa and Surfdale to the car ferry at Kennedy point.

By the time we drove onto the car ferry, the daughter had stopped crying and become distracted with the excitement of boarding the boat. Before we knew it, we were driving into Auckland with no-where to stay.

An Introduction to Camper Van Lifestyle

We drove back into Auckland and stopped for the New Zealand national dish, fish and chips. We took the newspaper wrapped brick of deep fried potatoes and fish to a park near the AucklandZoo. We watched the sun set there while the daughter played at the playground and we ate. We could hear the roar of the gorillas and the lions beyond the fence, but it was too high to sneak a peak. As night was falling, we would need to find a place to rest.

This was to be my first experience with sleeping in a camper van as a means of accommodation. Tough I didn’t know it then, this experience would be repeated many times in the year to come.

Sleeping in a camper-van in a big city like Auckland is at first very intimidating. We felt a premonition that we would awake to the sound of a tapping police flashlight on the window of the van. Because of this nervousness, we drove around for about an hour looking for a place that was sufficiently off the beaten track.

At some point, we parked between an old aviation museum and a jungled area. We put the seats down and laid the double bed out. After brushing my teeth, I fell asleep to the sounds of the roaring New Zealand jungle.

Monday Did Not Exist

After landing in Auckland international, I sat down. It was supposed to be Monday, but it was Tuesday. Flying west over the international date line deletes a solid calendar day off your life. Do you lose the day? Are you just saving it for later? What happens if you continue around the world? Do you get a little younger than the stationary people?

Take the Bus to Auckland City

I took the bus system into the city to avoid what I would expect to be a large taxi bill. If you’re on a budget, this is the way to go. The bus will actually take you right down to the Quay (pronounced “Key”) which just happens to be a short walk to where the ferries can take you to all the islands in the Auckland Harbor. Ferries are part of what makes New Zealand so awesome. Even if you’re staying in Auckland, I reccomend taking a ferry somewhere. I was set to visit Waiheke Island to meet with a stranger I had met on the internet while researching a very strange lifestyle festival called the Rainbow Gathering.

Love Affair Travel Strikes Early

This was it! From the airport and onto a boat cruising through the harbor as the sun was rising. I love boats and seeing the lay of the harbor from a tremendous high speed boat plowing through the bay while introducing me to New Zealand.

It’s difficult to describe how elated I feel at these times. There is something about being wrapped in wonderment for how beautiful the world is while you race across a strange water-way to a place and group of people that you’ve never been to or people you’ve never met. The Love Affair with travel stems from moments of enthralling wonderment like these.

Auckland and Waiheke in Summer

When Christmas times strikes New Zealand, it’s the middle of summer. They have a tree called the Pohutakawa which blooms these amazing red flowers for the holiday season. The red is striking across the deep green of every surface. New Zealand is, “green as.”

Sweet As

Thats a New Zealand (and Australian) thing. They say things are, “mean as,” “fast as,” or “sweet as.” Essentially, it’s a simile that doesn’t require completion. This might make you upset when you land there, but two weeks into your trip, you’re going to be saying it naturally and loving each moment of it.

How to Hustle Free Rides While Traveling

While on the ferry, I struck up conversation with a good looking middle aged couple. We discussed our plans for the trip. They had to go prepare for their wedding, I explained that all I had for a destination was a beach on the island.

“You don’t have an address?” The soon to be bride asked.

No, I explained. All I had was the beach that the person I was to meet lived at. Oh, and I’ve never met them before. I had a phone number, but no phone and the beach didn’t have a pay phone because, well it’s out in the middle of nowhere in New Zealand.

They agreed to take me and my small bags in their rental car. It was one of the most beautiful drives of my life.

Find the Place, Take Your Time

They dropped me off on the beach. I ended up stashing my big bag and kept my precious small bag on a hike around what I would describe as a small seaside village. I met strangers who explained they didn’t know the girl I was looking for. Everyone was suprisingly welcoming. One couple at a yoga retreat building offered to put me up for the night If I didn’t find them.

The exotic smells, the crashing of the waves and the invigorating climb up hills to knock on doors of people I’ve never met before was fantastic. I loved every moment of it.

Finding My People

After much deliberation, I found the place, and my new travel mates. She was a lovely woman with a beautiful young daughter. I spent the afternoon with them, preparing the van for a long trip. The next day we were to drive from Wiheke Island (take a car ferry back to Auckland) to Wellington and take a ferry across the Cook Straight and be at a strange music festival the next morning.

What a bizarre situation…

Best of all, it’s only the beginning. This was the dying days of 2009. This marks the beginning of a long journey across the southern hemisphere. Perhaps the best and most challenging of my life.

If You Find Yourself on Waiheke Island…

…and you’ve got coin; for the best meal, location and wine of your life, go to Te Whau. It’s a work of art.

Thank you very much for reading. If you have something to say or a question about anything above, please leave a comment below or contact me.

The story continues here…