Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Millennium Bongo


On Thursday, after more shopping and the inevitable returns, we packed, checked out of the hotel, and picked up our “camper.” It is really an eight-passenger Mazda van, an older model diesel, with a roof that raises and houses a bed, like the old VW campers. (We owned two). The theory is we will store all our gear below and sleep in the “loft” above, cooking, etc., outside. It might work, except for stealth camping.

This model of Mazda is know as the Mazda Friendee Bongo (sic). Among our previous camping vehicles was a Falcon van, a really nice fully-equipped Class B that we owned when we lived in Dallas. I dubbed it the “Millennium Falcon,” after Han Solo's starship. We will have the Mazda for 6 weeks here or more, worthy of a name, so I have dubbed it the “Millennium Bongo,” or “Bongo,” if you're into the whole brevity thing.

Following slight delays with the rental agency (replacing the Bongo's dead battery), we boldly set forth from Parnell (central Auckland) to a shopping center in the southern suburbs, Silva Park, where, we were told, a store called “The Warehouse” could provide us with various things needed for van camping (table, chairs, ice chest, etc). The Warehouse proved a great disappointment—a Walmart would have been perfect (for once)--but we managed there and at a supermarket where we provisioned up. Then we boldly set forth back across Auckland to the north shore, where, at length, we stayed at a Top 10 Holiday Park, in a very spartan motel room, since the camper was not yet habitable.

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