So it begins....

Rough flight. Experienced lots of turbuance. At one point, the plane dropped and we were suspended in the air. Pretty scary! We arrived 40 minutes ahead of schedule. Patrick (my nephew) and Daphne (his beautiful wife) met me at the airport. We picked up my home away from home (for the next 30 days).

I have spent the first 2 days of my adventure seeing the beautiful sights of Auckland. We had lunch in downtown Auckland, walked around Albert Park (a park in the middle of the city) with enormous, old trees. Then headed up Mt. Eden with killer views from one of Auckland's many volcanic cone.

The next day we headed off to the West Coast of Auckland (the spectacular Waitekere region). First we visited Piha, a beuatiful black sand beach. We hiked up to the top and sat and watched the waves smash into the shore line.

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We had a picnic lunch at Muirwai, another black sand beach that hosts a Gannett colony (a yellow beak bird). Devenport is a quaint little area, we climbed another volcanic cone.

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On Wednesday, it came time for me to venture out on my own. As I sat in the quiet of Patrick's house, I had a panic attack, tears streaming down my face wondering what the heck was I thinking when I booked this! After talking to a few good friends and my son, Brad, I gathered up all my pieces and put me back together and headed out. The morning didn't go so well, I got lost (that was the first of many). It took me a long time to get out of Auckland.

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That day, I drove 6 hours, over 600 km... saw an amazing sunset at Cape Reigna. then got lost, very, very lost. I didn't think I was ever going to find my camp ground. It was very late when I got settled. I had to set up the bed (for the first time), put the duvet in the cover, dig out the things I needed for the night. This was all done in the confines of the van. I vowed then that this was the first and last time I was going to come into camp late!

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This morning, I was up early. Headed to take a shower but didn't have any change and the office wasn't open. Finally got the correct change, headed off to the shower. Almost ready to hop in, put the coin in... it was stuck in the machine. So I had to get dressed and head back down to the office. What a morning! Once I got on the road, things got better. The wind in my hair, the sun in my eyes, tunes blasting, me singing, eating blueberries and driving anywhere I want to go. It felt great... free!

I drove down the Twin Coast Discovery highway, stopping at all the little beach towns along the way. Ended up setting up at Tutukaka. Here is a picture of my neighbours for the next 2 nights, along with my roommates.

For the record, the motorways here are windy with many sharp turns. I feel like Mario Andretti most of the time. I've only driven on the wrong side of the road 3 times. I realize I'm on the wrong side when I see a car coming towards me and the driver is smiling.
That's it for now... stay tuned.