08.16.08: We finally arrived to Auckland, although 4 hours later than expected. Air New Zealand gave us some food vouchers at the Sydney airport plus dinner on the plane, so we were well fed. We found a shuttle and went to our hotel to crash for the night. I found The Centra hotel on the internet. Not that it was anything spectacular, but for a refreshing change, our recently remodeled room was just like what the pictures looked like.
In the morning, it was cold and rainy. I took advantage of using the internet from a real desk, and did some bill-paying and other business that I was badly behind on. I figured it won’t be as easy once we get into our campervan. We also called Jucy, our campervan rental company, to change our pick-up time and ask for a ride to their office. For some reason, they scheduled us to pick-up at 5pm, but we had to check-out of our hotel at noon. They were happy to move it to earlier as their offices close at 5:30pm. They also didn’t have a problem with picking us up. So we sat in the hotel lobby for at least 45 minutes while Kai bounced off the walls. When I called to see where they were, they said they couldn’t pick us up because we were near the airport and our campervan was at the Auckland city office. She offered to call a pre-paid cab to take us there, but that wouldn’t work either because we didn’t have a car seat for Kai. I sure wished we had that nice car seat we donated in London. But then again, there was no use lugging it for 3 months throughout Asia, where they would insist she sit on our laps in cramped shuttle buses anyway. She was understanding when she saw that we had requested a baby seat with our rental. So in the end, someone at their airport office picked us up with a car seat and took us to their airport office. Then, we jumped into a cab with the car seat, and went to the Auckland city office.
It seemed like, by the time we finally got the campervan, it was just about 5pm. But, at least we got there. Seeing the campervan was a bit of a disappointment. The older white Toyota Hi Ace high top looked a bit chintzy compared to our European Ford Nugget (Dodge Sprinter body with Mercedes diesel engine) with Westfalia camper kit. It was either that it wasn’t laid out as well, it was older and a bit more beat up, didn’t have as much storage space or because it was tagged all over the outside with their logo and “cutesy” tag line. But, somehow we were able to fit all our stuff in it and didn’t see all the bangs and scratches when it was full. And, when we got on the road, we saw that all the other campervan companies that we considered also had logos. We only had to live in it for a month. And the best part, this one had a shower, toilet and hot water. That has definitely been a bonus when you have a toilet-training two year old. And, she’s finally starting to do better with the toilet-training, now that we have our own toilet.
Our first few days with the camper was nothing all too exciting. I guess we needed a couple days just to get set-up and rest. Some time around this point, Kailani also got a mild case of the sniffles, followed by me. So, that was also a reason to take it easy. From Jucy, we took the camper to our first stop, The Warehouse, a discount housewares store. Considering the weather, I knew that we needed more than the one thin comforter that Jucy supplied. They also only gave us two of every eating item (plates, cups, spoons, etc.) and there were three of us. So, we walked out of the store with some extra kitchen supplies, a coffee press for Sean and a nice New Zealand wool-filled duvet on sale. I took the duvet out of the box and it totally smelled like farm. But it did keep us warm. After a week or so, the smell dissipated. After a late lunch at a nearby pub, our next stop was a campground that was recommended by Joel at Jucy, in Orewa, a beachside suburb about 20 minutes away from Auckland. We got a nice, beach view spot. But, it was already dark. So, we checked-in and went to New World, one of New Zealand’s chain grocery stores. I was happy that I was able to find some Venerdi 7 Seed Sourdough Spelt Bread and organic yogurt. But, the rest was pretty standard stuff.
The next day, we still had a couple things we needed to get: a SIM card for our cell phone (Vodaphone was closed both at the airport upon arrival and near the Warehouse), an iPod charger (My adapter fell apart in Thailand. At least, the camper’s stereo had an aux line, but my iPod’s so old, it doesn’t keep charge anymore.), and I was hoping for some more socks for Kai and I. We found the nearest Westfield shopping mall. (Yes, the same company that owns shopping malls in California also owns some both in Australia and New Zealand.) I was wondering how difficult it was going to be to find the stuff we needed. But right off the bat, there was an Apple store right at the entrance. iPod charger? Check! The rest wasn’t too hard either. I was stoked that I was even able to find Smartwool socks, which I prefer because they fit me well AND at a decent price. I was shocked at how expensive wool socks were in Australia (about $40-45 USD/AUD), hence me still needing some. There was just one thing I couldn’t get, a SIM card. For some reason, both Vodaphone stores in the mall were sold out. Maybe fifth time’s a charm?!?
After shopping, we decided to eat a late lunch before heading back to the campground. We ended up at this restaurant at the mall called The Reservoir. And THIS, of all places, is where we started to really experience the great food and wine of New Zealand. I suppose it could have been a fluke, but the New Zealand Green Lip Mussels in Thai Red Curry sauce accompanied by a Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc was absolutely phenomenal! And, that’s only the beginning!
The next morning, we packed up and checked out of the campground. After finally hitting a Vodaphone store that was both open and stocked, I finally got a SIM card…for $35. Ouch! They were only $3-5 USD in Asia. But compared to Australia, everything else seemed to be back to a “normal” price, besides that.
From Orewa, we headed about an hour away to Muriwai, stopping at a surfboard outlet on the way. I forgot. There was ONE more thing that was on our shopping list, a surfboard! Sean saw a nice, new board that he liked. But the price seemed a bit too high for. So, he decided to wait and see what else there was. As we drove from the west coast to the east coast, the landscape went from suburban neighborhoods to gentle rolling hills to a the beachside community of Muriwai, where there was only one or two small markets and a handful of mid-size houses probably built around the 70’s-80’s against the hill going towards the beach. It reminded me of the area of Aptos, CA that’s west of Highway 1 and east of La Selva, without any of the recent-built large houses. By the time we got to the Muriwai campground, it was late afternoon. We tried to take a walk on the beach, but the weather was still a bit cold and gray, and then started to rain on us. So, we ended up having an early dinner, “movie night” and lots of needed rest. Hopefully, things start to liven up a bit!
In the morning, it was cold and rainy. I took advantage of using the internet from a real desk, and did some bill-paying and other business that I was badly behind on. I figured it won’t be as easy once we get into our campervan. We also called Jucy, our campervan rental company, to change our pick-up time and ask for a ride to their office. For some reason, they scheduled us to pick-up at 5pm, but we had to check-out of our hotel at noon. They were happy to move it to earlier as their offices close at 5:30pm. They also didn’t have a problem with picking us up. So we sat in the hotel lobby for at least 45 minutes while Kai bounced off the walls. When I called to see where they were, they said they couldn’t pick us up because we were near the airport and our campervan was at the Auckland city office. She offered to call a pre-paid cab to take us there, but that wouldn’t work either because we didn’t have a car seat for Kai. I sure wished we had that nice car seat we donated in London. But then again, there was no use lugging it for 3 months throughout Asia, where they would insist she sit on our laps in cramped shuttle buses anyway. She was understanding when she saw that we had requested a baby seat with our rental. So in the end, someone at their airport office picked us up with a car seat and took us to their airport office. Then, we jumped into a cab with the car seat, and went to the Auckland city office.
It seemed like, by the time we finally got the campervan, it was just about 5pm. But, at least we got there. Seeing the campervan was a bit of a disappointment. The older white Toyota Hi Ace high top looked a bit chintzy compared to our European Ford Nugget (Dodge Sprinter body with Mercedes diesel engine) with Westfalia camper kit. It was either that it wasn’t laid out as well, it was older and a bit more beat up, didn’t have as much storage space or because it was tagged all over the outside with their logo and “cutesy” tag line. But, somehow we were able to fit all our stuff in it and didn’t see all the bangs and scratches when it was full. And, when we got on the road, we saw that all the other campervan companies that we considered also had logos. We only had to live in it for a month. And the best part, this one had a shower, toilet and hot water. That has definitely been a bonus when you have a toilet-training two year old. And, she’s finally starting to do better with the toilet-training, now that we have our own toilet.
Our first few days with the camper was nothing all too exciting. I guess we needed a couple days just to get set-up and rest. Some time around this point, Kailani also got a mild case of the sniffles, followed by me. So, that was also a reason to take it easy. From Jucy, we took the camper to our first stop, The Warehouse, a discount housewares store. Considering the weather, I knew that we needed more than the one thin comforter that Jucy supplied. They also only gave us two of every eating item (plates, cups, spoons, etc.) and there were three of us. So, we walked out of the store with some extra kitchen supplies, a coffee press for Sean and a nice New Zealand wool-filled duvet on sale. I took the duvet out of the box and it totally smelled like farm. But it did keep us warm. After a week or so, the smell dissipated. After a late lunch at a nearby pub, our next stop was a campground that was recommended by Joel at Jucy, in Orewa, a beachside suburb about 20 minutes away from Auckland. We got a nice, beach view spot. But, it was already dark. So, we checked-in and went to New World, one of New Zealand’s chain grocery stores. I was happy that I was able to find some Venerdi 7 Seed Sourdough Spelt Bread and organic yogurt. But, the rest was pretty standard stuff.
The next day, we still had a couple things we needed to get: a SIM card for our cell phone (Vodaphone was closed both at the airport upon arrival and near the Warehouse), an iPod charger (My adapter fell apart in Thailand. At least, the camper’s stereo had an aux line, but my iPod’s so old, it doesn’t keep charge anymore.), and I was hoping for some more socks for Kai and I. We found the nearest Westfield shopping mall. (Yes, the same company that owns shopping malls in California also owns some both in Australia and New Zealand.) I was wondering how difficult it was going to be to find the stuff we needed. But right off the bat, there was an Apple store right at the entrance. iPod charger? Check! The rest wasn’t too hard either. I was stoked that I was even able to find Smartwool socks, which I prefer because they fit me well AND at a decent price. I was shocked at how expensive wool socks were in Australia (about $40-45 USD/AUD), hence me still needing some. There was just one thing I couldn’t get, a SIM card. For some reason, both Vodaphone stores in the mall were sold out. Maybe fifth time’s a charm?!?
After shopping, we decided to eat a late lunch before heading back to the campground. We ended up at this restaurant at the mall called The Reservoir. And THIS, of all places, is where we started to really experience the great food and wine of New Zealand. I suppose it could have been a fluke, but the New Zealand Green Lip Mussels in Thai Red Curry sauce accompanied by a Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc was absolutely phenomenal! And, that’s only the beginning!
The next morning, we packed up and checked out of the campground. After finally hitting a Vodaphone store that was both open and stocked, I finally got a SIM card…for $35. Ouch! They were only $3-5 USD in Asia. But compared to Australia, everything else seemed to be back to a “normal” price, besides that.
From Orewa, we headed about an hour away to Muriwai, stopping at a surfboard outlet on the way. I forgot. There was ONE more thing that was on our shopping list, a surfboard! Sean saw a nice, new board that he liked. But the price seemed a bit too high for. So, he decided to wait and see what else there was. As we drove from the west coast to the east coast, the landscape went from suburban neighborhoods to gentle rolling hills to a the beachside community of Muriwai, where there was only one or two small markets and a handful of mid-size houses probably built around the 70’s-80’s against the hill going towards the beach. It reminded me of the area of Aptos, CA that’s west of Highway 1 and east of La Selva, without any of the recent-built large houses. By the time we got to the Muriwai campground, it was late afternoon. We tried to take a walk on the beach, but the weather was still a bit cold and gray, and then started to rain on us. So, we ended up having an early dinner, “movie night” and lots of needed rest. Hopefully, things start to liven up a bit!
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