Happy Trails to You….

The South Island was magical, but we already said that once or twice.  We have now returned the camper van  spent a few days in Christchurch, took a relaxing train ride to Picton, and today we actually  head back to the North Island.   Our list for things to do next time we come to the South Island is long, and we will also spend more time at each place we go.  This has been our Taste of New Zealand.

Photo from rental company's website

Photo from Campervan Association

In fact, part way through the South Island we decided it was so much fun “playing tourist,” that we decided to rent a car when we got back to Auckland for traveling to the Northland and to Coromandel.  Those two trips will be our last 2 weeks in NZ.  We will try to stay in cabins at caravan parks and hostels/backpackers, both with the communal kitchens we have come to enjoy using so much.  

The cabins are not unlike hostels/backpackers in that all typically have several beds, a few chairs, and a table.  The cabins also usually have a very small refrigerator and sometimes a toaster and/or electric teapot.  Folks, we are not talking your USA-style B&B cabin here, more likely a 10x10 or slightly larger garage-like space with a double bed and some bunks lined up along the walls, and with a curtained sliding glass door.  

So it’s off on the ferry (with WIFI aboard.)  It’s a clear day and the water is calm, so it’s smooth sailing ahead.  We will take an 11-hour bus ride back to Auckland tomorrow, followed by a day of R&R and laundry in Auckland before we head north.  

We are staying four times with Jeanette and Gerry while in NZ.  They are storing our bike cases, suitcases, and assorted stuff while we travel.  Staying a month at their home (Airbnb, a great source of places to stay folks) would be a vacation in its own right.  They are really, really nice.   Their waterfront home is in a northwest suburb on Te Atatu Peninsula.  Well, it isn’t exactly on the water as to build on the bay requires about 100m of nature reserve between private properties and the shoreline, and that was over 20 years ago when they built.  Many of the property owners have landscaped their property in native plantings to visually flow into the reserve.  Most of the homes in their area are also nearly all glass facing the water, with simple decks for lounging.  Right now, the resident birds will be preparing to migrate for the winter.  They are practicing flying in formation….hundreds of them.