The Adventure Begins

Breakfast was a slightly hurried affair, grabbed from Muffin Break on Auckland's harbour, at which neither K nor I, ironically, ate one of the much-vaunted muffins. Instead, we went with a cheese scone, and a spinach and pine nut quiche.

All good days start with quiche

We shopped first for a mobile SIM, as we will largely be on the road and out of contact with regular WiFi spots. Then we picked up some additional clothing. Coming from tropical and subtropical climates, we have had little need for anything beyond a light shirt and sandals. However, New Zealand is entering autumn at this time of year and will be transitioning into winter when we come to leave in six weeks' time, at which point we will be flying to South America, which promises cold nights in the desert. Therefore, it seemed sound to lay in a few thermal items. I procured a particular fetching set of black merino wool underthings, with which I could effect a passing Max Wall impression.

You will find it very, very attractive

At Escape camper van rental we took (temporary) ownership of an artistically decorated Toyota camper van, whose insides will be our kitchen, bedroom and dining room for the next six weeks. The man to whom we signed over a vast sum, indemnifying his employer of any responsibility in the event of a prang, was nonchalant - presumably because he sees people return with unbent vehicles all the time. Indeed, as we checked over the vehicle, we witnessed several such returns, including a French couple who professed to have spent a wonderful three weeks behind the wheel and offered us the remainder of their supplies, among which we found (naturally) a few bottles of Stella Artois.

Apparently, by far the greatest number of accidents arise from drivers unused to travelling on the opposite side of the road. So, as a left-lane driver, I am already at a significant advantage. I took this information to heart as we set out onto the relatively busy streets of Auckland. Nevertheless, the windscreen reflects a sign on the dashboard imploring me to "Keep Left".

The Van! Stationary, where it can do no harm

The van's gears are automatic, which is probably a blessing, as it means one fewer thing to think about, but for now my left leg lolls around uselessly in the footwell, occasionally twitching as the transmission shifts, eager for some clutch action. There are, however, the tantalisingly vague-sounding 'L' and '2' gears, which I have yet to use. Reversing makes a pleasing 'beep beep' sound, which makes me feel as though I'm in charge of something several sizes larger than the dinky combi.

Thankfully, for the biggest urban area in NZ, it is relatively quick to leave Auckland behind, and we were soon passing north of the harbour bridge, the view over our shoulders of the crowded harbour a testimony to its nickname of the "City of Sails". Heading up state highway 1 (SH1), we decided to keep our first day of driving light, and aimed for a nearby campsite, before heading farther up into Northland tomorrow. We stopped briefly at Silverdale's Pak 'n' Save to lay in supplies - a supermarket chain we have been assured is cheap, but which seemed remarkably expensive - before weighing anchor at Pinewood motor park on Red Beach. We had anticipated that NZ would be expensive, but the prices in the 'discount' supermarket still surprised us. Many staples were several times the cost of the UK equivalent, and items that we had been used to picking up in SE Asia for pennies (rupiah, or whatever) were laughably, unaffordably priced.

Get yer supah food 'ere!

I have never been a fan of camping. I tend to avoid any appreciable time spent under canvas, not being keen on cold damp walks to the toilet block. The idea of touring NZ under our own steam, from the vantage of the van, appealed to me, but an uncertainty of where to stay each night, coupled with the privations of being in a mobile home, were significant detractors. Camping seems to involve taking all the modern conveniences that we are used to and purposely leaving them behind: no fresh water supply, no heating, no lighting (without an electrical hook-up), not forgetting of course, no ability to relieve oneself (without a so-called "self-contained vehicle", the fines for heeding nature's call in NZ are severe). It's an adventure, for sure.

Despite being a beautiful, warm morning in Auckland, the weather obliged with some typical camping drizzle and grey skies as soon as we arrived at Pinewoods Motor Park on Red Beach. However, we were unperturbed and celebrated our arrival with a Moa Imperial Stout, brewed in Marlborough - a region more famed for its wines, and one which we will be visiting when we get to the South island.

Start as you mean to go on

Being a slightly fancier than expected overnight stop, the campsite provided a kitchen, so we didn't get the chance to prepare dinner from the back of our van on a single gas burner. Instead, we revelled in the ability to simultaneously boil pasta and cook vegetables.

Ooh, fusilli! Fancy

Dinner was a simple combination of squash, tofu, kamo kamo (which seemed to be a large courgette-type squash), in a rather-too-sweet tomato sauce from a can, with pasta and a salad. We eschewed the campsite dining room in favour of eating in the confines of the van, before disassembling the table and converting it into a bed for the night. Zzzz.