Whangarei – Whakapapa – Wellington

Boatyard Bonkersness

So far, we have shared where we have been and what we have seen in New Zealand, but not what we have been doing on the boat. And we have been doing a lot of stuff:

• New cockpit windows
• New cockpit upholstery
• Cockpit cover repairs
• Sail repairs and new UV strips on the sails to match the colour of the cockpit cover
• Installation of a galvanic isolator to prevent the boat from disintegrating when connected to iffy shore power
• Additional solar panels and solar panel controllers
• New lights for the galley
• New watermaker flow gauge
• Re-galvanised the anchor
• New shower curtains
• Serviced the liferaft
• Repaired the dinghy
• Changed the navigation lights for LED ones

All the above was before we were hauled out of the water. In the boatyard, we had to:

• Polish the hull
• Antifoul the boat
• Paint the propeller with Propspeed
• Remove the generator
• Install a new generator
• Install new engine mounts
• Paint the back bumper
• Service the C-Drive
• Install new silicone bow thruster seals
• Install new boom fittings

Because of all the work that remained undone, I was thinking about forgetting about any more travel just so that we could finish all the jobs. Fortunately, Maria convinced me otherwise. And with help from some lovely people, after one more night at what has come to be known as the Covid Lounge, we managed to recover the time to drive off on another adventure.

Campervanning

Through a comparison site, I managed to grab a mini bargain – a converted Toyota Highace van with electricity, microwave, heater and a chemical toilet (which gives the van self-contained status) – for just $100 NZD per day. We picked up our little campervan on 16th March from the campervan’s agent near Auckland airport, and after thoroughly photographing it for dents, scratches and broken bits, we set off on our journey towards the South Island.

We had a lot of driving ahead of us to get to Wellington in time to see something of the city before getting the ferry to the South Island.

We spotted this creative use of roofing material when driving through Tirau. They’ve used it for everything. On the same street, there’s a heart, a bird, and an unfortunate clown – all made of corrugated iron. It’s funky and fun (not so much the clown).

Our first stop was Lake Taupo, a four-hour drive from Auckland. We arrived just in time to watch the sun fall over the lake. Because it was just out of school holidays, we had a wide choice of where to park the van. Just as well because we had no idea what we were doing.

Whakapapa

After a quick look at the lake, we continued south to Whakapapa – a ski village not too far from Lake Taupo. After checking in at the Whakapapa camping ground, we walked to the ski village where – and I want to say it was because it’s the only way they could give us discount – we were given seniors tickets to the Sky Gondola.

Of course, we weren’t doing any skiing, but we could do apres ski. Fortunately, the Skotel was open and serving drinks out on their terrace to help appreciate the view even more.

Te Awahou

Back on the road the next day, we stopped for lunch at Te Awahou, which has an undeniably Dutch feel – not just because of the windmill. There’s also the Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom, the Oranjehof Dutch Connection Centre, and the Foxton Flax Stripper Museum.

We ate at the Cafe De Molen (dutch pancakes) and then headed off again towards Wellington – our next stop.