North Island Christmas Tour

After seeing all the write ups that had been done for other parts of the country in the last newsletter (by the way, well done!), I thought I had better get into gear and let everyone know what has been going on down in the deep south!

I looked at a few options for travelling around the North Island at Christmas. Originally the cost of getting the car across the ferry seemed far too much - about $500 return - but in comparison to any other way of travelling (hiring a vehicle, trains etc.) the Supercharger was by far the best, the cheapest and the most fun!

Anyway, I’m from Dunedin, and that’s where the trip started on Christmas day. Trying to fit myself, Carolien (my fiancé), a tent and all of our gear into the MR2 was definitely a challenge, but then you can’t expect everything to be easy! The car was full - boot, bonnet, behind the seats... Unfortunately the sub had to stay home! I’ll make it brief from here...

We stopped a few days in CHCH - visiting family etc, and then it was off to the Malborough Sounds for a few days water-skiing with some friends - it’s a hard life, I know!

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Packed into the ferry!!

We crossed over the Cook Strait on the 1st January on the Lynx. They pack you in close there! When I park I usually look for a nice wide space and make sure there are no car seats in the car next door! Let’s just say I was pretty nervous leaving my car jammed in like a sardine. After a night in Wellington it was off to Te Kuiti for a night.

Next stop was Auckland - what a prick of a place to find your way around!! Far too big! I think I ended up driving round in circles for about half an hour, trying to find the camping ground where our tent was! The next morning we managed to catch up with some club members up the top of Mount Eden (when we finally worked out how to get up there!) Ade, Steve, Brad and Malcolm were all there and we went for a quick drive over to the North Shore before we left them, continuing on our trip north.

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Danny and Carolien at Cape Reinga, the top of New Zealand

And North we went - after a couple of nights with some friends at Matai Bay we decided we might as well carry right on up to Cape Reinga. As it was we were only an hour or so away! After a few photos up there we were getting fairly tired from the day’s driving, so we stopped at what looked a pleasant camping ground - Waitiki Landing. Later in the afternoon we were in the tent and heard what sounded like machinery in the distance. However, this seemed to go away as we went away from the tent. The noise seemed to be coming from the tent! After investigating under the fly, thousands of mosquitoes were discovered!! Unbelievable! Hoping they would die overnight we sheltered in our mosquito proof tent!! Packing up the next morning definitely was not very fun - the mozzies were very much alive!!

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From the top to the bottom - Danny at the Bluff

Back down through the Bay of Islands and Russell, a night in Whangarei, and then back to Auckland for a couple more nights - thanks to Ade and Steve’s hospitality! You’re right Steve, no mater how long you look at it, the ‘Sky Tower’ still just looks like a gigantic spark-plug!! After Auckland we had a couple of days at Rotorua - putting the tent up on a thermal patch at one of the camping grounds!!, one night at Taupo and then another in Wellington before crossing the ferry and making our way back to Christchurch and Dunedin.

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Mt Ruapehu puffing away in the background

In total the trip was just over 4,200 kms, and the MR2 didn’t miss a beat!! In fact the next weekend, to round off the trip, we cruised right down to Bluff, it’s only about 2.5 hours from Dunedin. So, now I’ve travelled the entire length of NZ in my ’87 SC MR2!! Has anyone else in the club done this before - I’d be interested to know.

Danny and Carolien.