Northward-ho!

Whew! It's hot in Northland! Just a couple of days up here, and we're both pretty well burnt - despite the spf 70 we've been slathering on. I don't know how the locals do it. Today we reached Whangarei, the largest "city" of Northland at about 50,000. It's a cute city, but we're really just stopping in for internet access and to charge up our electronics. Then it's back to the beaches!

So far we've been to Tawharanui Regional Park and Oretiti Beach. Tawharanui was our first van camping experience, and 5 km of narrow, windy, downhill gravel road to reach the campsite made it a bit of a tense ride (this was within our first few hours of driving on the wrong side of the road, too). Delays at the auto shop where our van was being fixed up put us on the road much later than intended, and when we finally reached the park we were greeted by a sign stating the campsite was fully booked. !!! I think we both laughed that semi-hysterical "you've got the be kidding me" laugh.. Luckily a couple of Kiwis rolled up in their station wagon, chatted with the park ranger on the phone, and got him to agree to us sharing the campsite of these Kiwi's friends', who were already in the park. It must've been about 8:30 or 9 at this point, and after a long day of shopping for gear, outfitting the van, and driving, we passed out.

Next morning we woke up early and went for a walk on the beach, which was warm and beautiful and overcast. But Tawharanui wasn't our real destination, and fearing another fully-booked campsite at the end of a long drive we decided to get on the road early. A couple hours later we rolled into the Uretiti Beach campsite, found a great spot to set up our tent, and wandered down onto the sand. This beach was different from the first, and more typical of Northland beaches, with its white sands and aqua waters. The morning was temperate with clouds and sun alternating, but the water seems warm once you get into it. The Maori name for NZ is Aotearoa, which means land-of-the-long-white-cloud, and it seems particularly apt now that we've seen the huge fluffy white clouds which are always present in some part of the sky. We spent the day relaxing in the sand, swimming, cooking on our camp stove, and sitting in whatever shade we could find. It was hot and blindingly sunny in the afternoon, and we both have the sunburns to prove it. But night cooled down and we got to enjoy our new tent for the first time.

It's interesting to see the camping culture which seems to be the norm among the Kiwis. Whole families pick up for a month or two in the summer and settle at these beachside campsites, equipped with vans, campers, multiple tents and tables, gas ranges and coolers. Apparently camping is the national pastime. It's nice, but I think we're both looking forward to reaching the South Island and camping and exploring in wilder, more isolated areas. There's also lots of farms and livestock up here. Some sheep, but mostly cows. Seriously the most beautiful cows I've ever seen. As Kelly was driving yesterday I think I pointed out groups of particularly fine, glossy, healthy looking cows about every 2km. She wasn't quite so excited about it as I was.. :) And the land as we drove north out of Auckland was really beautiful. It's like a combination of Northern California's rolling, rippling, late-summer golden hills, and NY's lush, dense, dark green late summer foliage. Except the woods here have a kind of jungley feel, with fern trees sticking up between pines and deciduous.

Our van's doing well, and I enjoy driving it, but he's turning out to be a real gas-sucker. We'll have to see how long we can support his habit.. Today we're going to head up to Otamure Beach, supposed to be one of the most beautiful in the country and great for diving or snorkeling. Hope our skins get a little tougher.

Pictures will be up soon!
Let us know what you all are doing up in your corner of the world!!