On the road to Tauranga

Well we said goodbye to Auckland today after picking up the campervan. First stop was at the Countdown super market to stock up on food for the trip. Melissa at first said the roads around Auckland did not really represent the roads in New Zealand and that I would soon see what she meant. Boy was she right and I will explain later about the roads.

Britz Campervan Explorer. Very nice little motorhome but the sterring wheel is on the wrong side.







We traveled from Auckland down the #1 Highway and crossed over to the #2 heading east to Thames. Once we got close to Thames we turned North heading up the Coromandel penisula but cut across to Whitianga and then down to Tauranga where we have settled in for the night at the Papamoa Beach Camp Ground.

Now the story about the road around the Coromandel Penisula. Melissa decided to have a nap while we were heading up the Penisula so she put her mother up front as the navigator. Well let me tell you old white knuckle Dianna had quite a day. The roads are a chip seal so they are loud with the tires and the roads have two lanes with absouletly no shoulders to the road. For some reason when you drive on the wrong side of the road and the passenger is sitting to the opposite side than normal they get really nervous when they are looking at that white line that is suppose to mark the shoulder of the road which I was accused of being to close to on more than one occasion. Then try crossing a very narrow bridge at 70 kpm, you could actually see Di try and bury her head as she was certain we were going to hit the bridge and all die a quick death. Such confidence in her husbands abilities does not go un-noticed.
The roads up and down the mountain were constant hairpin turns and it was not hard to pick out the locals who were flying around the turns like they were in a formula race. You would be driving along at 70-80 and all of a sudden a sign wouild show a hairpin turn and reduce to 25 and guess what you really need to slow to 25 kph.

They have some of the most fantasic scenery we have ever seen though. It reminds you in away of the cabot trail. We finally made our destination at Papamoa Beach only to be delighted to find we had come to the most beautiful beach area ever. We are thinking about staying here an extra day just to get a chance to look around a little better.

Papamoa Beach , Pacific Ocean