Like ‘Alice Through the Looking-Glass’ we walked out the back door of yoga this morning and discovered Founders Heritage Park.
Week 2: The South end of the North and the North end of the South
Like all things in life, once you spend a lot of time with something you start to take it for granted. Don’t worry, we’re not talking about each other, but rather our campervan. With the frequent camper park stops, plugins for power, shared facilities, communal dish washing stations, and managing multiple hoses for fresh and waste water (don’t mix them up) - it is understandable that sometimes you don’t know how good you’ve got it until you realize the alternative. So we mixed it up for a hotel date night on the outskirts of Auckland. The experience was lovely but with all that space and the “his and her” sinks, it just made us appreciate what we had in the camper - close quarters and plenty of time bumping into one another. It’s good to be back!
Driving south we made our way through beautiful agricultural lands, sheep, cows and fresh fruit stands aplenty. We were headed for Lake Taupo with ambitions of doing the Tongariro crossing in a few days time. Unfortunately bad weather had us pass through faster than planned, but our days were brightened by exciting news from friends back home.
We arrived in Wellington having made a quick stop at an Icebreaker Outlet in Otaki - you can never have too many pairs of merino wool underwear. With warm layers and our All Blacks tickets (vs. Ireland in Christchurch June 16th) in hand we made the Interislander crossing.
Our nightfall trip through the Queen Charlotte drive felt like an F1 course complete with hairpins and straightaways, and we managed it pretty well (for a camper). After a few stalls and close calls with logging trucks we arrived in Nelson. Now on the South Island we’ve decided to set some short-term roots and spend a week or more in one place - a beautiful, small town set between lush green mountains and the ocean. It has been a perfect spot for us to explore and be active. Mountain biking and wine region cycling, National Parks and tramping trails, plus two weekly farmers markets and great yoga classes, and (an incredible number of watts per square meter of) sunshine. Did we mention the sunshine? This place really has it all.
