Top 10 camping

Our cosy van

Since leaving Auckland we have been spending the night in Top 10 holiday camps in our funky van. So far the sites have ranged from good to great and we have not had any problems with dirty bathrooms or noisy neighbours. The camp sites have been so good that we have been using the communal kitchens to cook most of our meals.

September 10th we spent our last day in the far north exploring the beaches around Doubtless Bay, even with the occasional gust of wind we had a great time peering into the rock pools and looking at the amazing shells. We also treated ourselves to a meal out at a Thai restaurant that served one of the best Thai salads I have ever eaten (the brilliantly name Pattaya.

Can you spot the duelling hermit crabs

Tropical but chilly

I guess I used all of my good luck on the Thai salad as that night we were treated to something of stormy night, the flat metal roof of our van acts as a beautiful natural amplifier for each rain drop giving us a free steel band concert (although we were warm and dry). The wet weather came and went over then next day and we were able to glimpse some of the beauty of the rugged, west coast. The weather held out just long enough for us to visit some of the largest Kauri trees in New Zealand nestled in some very dramatic fern jungle. As we passed through the small towns we both thought that it would make a nice place to spend a few more days but we had an appointment further south.

Some of the Kauri trees are huge and can be thousands of years old

Mossy stuff