Van Life - Week One

Hey! I feel like time in some ways has gone very quickly, but in some ways it has passed quite slowly. Anyway, it doesn't feel like a long time since I last blogged but it has been 2 weeks. We've been pretty busy since then. Here's what's went down in our second week in Auckland and how our first week of van life has gone. I've not always got signal so my blogs might now be longer and less frequent. Sorry! Auckland In our second week in Auckland we visited the Botanical Gardens (we searched all of the free things to do) and had fun getting lost in the forest. It was very wet that day so we had the tree tops giving us cover. In our search of free things to do, I found that there was an outdoor travelling cinema at Mairangi Bay on the 19th and La La Land was playing. It was amazing. Our first experience of an outdoor cinema. There was a blow up screen and there was a good turn out of people setting up their camp chairs, air sofas and picnics. The film started at sunset and we relaxed under the stars, enjoying the film. The drive back over harbour bridge gave us a good look over the lit up CBD at night. Another free event that came up was the House of Vans. We spent the whole of the Saturday watching lots of skateboarders riding about having a go at jumps and tricks. There was a competition for some of the more professional skateboarders with money for tricks. One guy won $120! That night, we went to see Scott's mate for a very yummy dinner - he'd made marinated tofu which was delicious. On the Sunday we headed to a Vegan Food Fair in Newmarket with the couple we were staying with in the air bnb. It wasn't really a food fair so much, but there were 5 food stalls next to the 'Wise Cicada' organic food store. The store had amazing vegan, veggie and GF options but they were pricey. We all went for the Chimichangas and they were very tasty. It was a carrot wrap filled with beans, vegan cheese, caramelised onions, tempeh, guacamole and pico de galo. Even Scott liked the full on vegan-ness! That day we did get a parking ticket though ha. We didn't realise you're meant to always park in the direction of traffic. Woops. So we had a $40 fine ha - won't be doing that again! I tried to refute it with a nice email saying we didn't know, even though we read about driving in NZ, and that we wouldn't do it again, but no luck. Ah well, we won't be doing that again! On the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, we started to sort our things, tidy out van and pack up. Hitting the road On the 23rd we set off in our van. Our plan is to head up the east coast towards the most northernly point and then travel west down to the South Island. We stopped off to buy a couple of things and headed over the harbour bridge. Our first stop was a beautiful beach called Long Bay. We ended up staying there overnight. We did have to pay $8 each but it was worth it because there were toilets, showers and being able to run along the beach barefoot in the morning was worth $8. Also, swimming at sunset and sunrise was memorable. The first night, cooking/setting up our bed room a while but we're getting into the swing of it. As much as you read or go online about living in a van, you learn as you go and you find the best way to do things and how you want them. I had in my mind that most camp sites would be free and that you could stop almost anywhere, but camping is way more relaxed in the south island. We've done our best so far to find the free camp sites but it'll be easier down south. Some spots are only for Self Contained Campers (SCC) so we thought it'd be worth going for this type of camper. The next day we walked up to a lookout in Wenderholm Regional Park, checked out a quirky Bohemian museum in Puhoi where the 91 year old volunteer told us many jokes and intriguing stories, and then set up camp at a quiet spot in Scandrett Park. Again it was $8 each but it was worth it again. There was a lovely beach and the SCC parking spot looked over the bay. We met a lovely couple that night who showed us lots of places to go in the south and they confirmed where I can spot penguins. Yay! We enjoyed some veggie tacos with a view that night. The next morning we tried out our solar shower. It was so handy and our neighbours enjoyed using it too! We bought some tupperware to sort out our chilly bin situation. The ice keeps melting but we've smashed up salt ice flakes into the tupperware and so far it's working. It's keeping our chilled goods cold for quite a few days at a time. That day I experienced snorkelling for the first time. We were at Goat Island and the main reason for going there is snorkelling. I love trying new things but I was a little nervous at first. I kept diving in too deep and breathing through my noise but eventually I got the hang of it and saw lots of fish swimming around. I will definitely be trying it again. We then headed to Mangawhai Heads to do the coastal walk. However, you could feel the sun anihalitaing your skin even with SPF 50+ on. It was a 45 minute walk to the start of the wall and then a 3 hour round so we'll try go another day. Instead we chilled and watched some of the surfers.We found a free campsite that night at Waipu Caves. Here you can see glowworms but you'd really need proper caving equipment so instead we went for a lovely 2 hour walk with a girl from Glasgow we'd just met. The views from the top of the deep valleys were amazing. We played cards with Rachel that night. We've met so many people already from all over the world - Scotland, England, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Brazil. Everyone is in the same situation and everyone stops to chat/help each other out. We're even passing on some of our knowledge already. The next day we met Rachel again in Whangerai (capital of the north). We tried our luck at seeing glowworms at Abbey Caves. We scrambled into 2 of the 3 caves, carefully dodged the eels and managed to spot lots of glowworms (our first time seeing them). Once you turned the head torch off, it was like looking at a night sky. Amazing! We did treat ourselves to lunch in Whangerai and it was so worth it. We both had amazing iced coffees and I had a pumpkin, quinoa, feta and chickpea burger. I don't know if it's just because we've been living off mainly rice or pasta but the burger was sooooooo good. We then headed to Whangerai Falls. The falls were beautiful and I managed to scramble round to stand behind the watetfall (first time standing behind one). Many firsts already and we've only been in our van a couple days! We went for a dip at the top of the falls and stayed there that night. There wasn't a shower but the camp was free and who needs a shower when you've got a waterfall, ocean or lake! On Saturday, after another dip, we headed to a treetop walk where we spotted lots of fantails. That night we camped at a quiet beach where we both have had our favourite swims so far. The water was so clear and I'm sure that there were jumping fish. We're getting used to an evening and morning swim now! Then yesterday, we choose to have a chilled beach day near Matapouri. However, it's rained non stop really! We met a lovely Finnish couple though so we've been speaking to them a lot. It started to rain while they were cooking so we invited them in and we chatted the whole night.

Today, after a beach run and a jump around the waves, we've headed towards the Bay of Islands. The main picture is where we're staying tonight. The camps around the Bay of Islands are more like Holiday Parks but this one is quiet and we are right on the beach. It'll be where we have our first indoor shower, with privacy, in a week! So yeah, we've been pretty busy so far. Cooking and washing does take longer than usual but it's all good. We're working things out as we go and trying to make the most of every moment. We've managed to eat well so far. We've got pasta, rice, tacos, wraps and plenty fresh veg for dinner. We've got tins of mixed beans, sweetcorn, baked beans and pineapple chunks. We've also got the essentials ha - garlic pasta, Italian herbs, smoked paprika, ground cinnamon, Mexican spices, sweet chilli sauce and pepper. Lunch is mainly rice cakes with cheese and fresh tomato or peanut butter and jam. Breakfast has been muesli, porridge or scrambled eggs so far! It's fun mixing it up and experimenting with our 2 gas hobs. As I said, we've not had signal everywhere which has been kind of nice. It's been hot, but we've not burnt, and we we have been attacked by mosquitoes a bit (mainly me) but so far, touch wood, it's all gone well. Speak soon x gf v x 

P.s. here's some photos below. Sorry I can't caption them on my phone. They are in order from today back to Long Bay.