Initial New Zealand, 2023

Our first week or so here has been rather low-key: outfitting our (rental) camper, moving in, making repairs/improvements, recovering from the long-haul, laying low through almost continual foul weather, adapting to the fact that it's apparently still spring here, not summer, as we expected. After picking up our camper in Auckland, we spent a few days at the nearby Pine Harbour Marina, then a few more at a campground in Tapapakanga Regional Park, on the Firth of Thames, and presently at a beachfront campground in Orewa, northeast of Auckland. Only today has the weather been partly sunny and without rain. This is our fourth long-stay in New Zealand--prior stints were in 2008-2009, 2014, and 2018--and we have been relatively nonchalant about planning, so far. We'll do the North Island first, ending in Wellington, then cross to the South Island and do it, turning the camper back in in Queenstown. Our only firm reservation so far is for dinner at Hobbiton in late January. Pictured below are the week's incidents and curiosities...which are much of what we like about this place.

But first, we are en route, enduring a 3 hour delay in Raleigh, but
enthralled by a "virtual" food hall

Apparently you don't have to wear a realty headset to eat here;
the only thing virtual about it, I guess, is that you can order 
from your phone...but isn't true of just about any place these days?

Next stop, the so-so Capital One lounge at DFW;
actually less than so-so, since the bar closed at 9

A mere 17 hours later, after the non-stop flight, immigration
customs, bio-security, and the huge duty-free mall, we are
at Jucy's Auckland center, picking up our camper; I will
spare you the dozens of photos taken to document prior
wear and damage and other things

Normally, one might balk at renting a vehicle with 328k kilometers
on it; but this is New Zealand, they never throw anything away, and
we've done it before

A ferry runs from Pine Harbour to Auckland,
and we had thought it might cool to take it
into town for the famous New Years' light
and fireworks show; but it doesn't run on the
holidays; go figure

Those first few days, we re-acquainted ourselves with several of

the grocery and other stores we like here...Countdown, New World,

Mitre 10, Warehouse; here are the greenies (mussels) at Countdown

We also explored several charity shops...here, called "op shops"
as in "opportunity"; beautiful "Cafe Paris" china set...

Corned mutton, anyone

Inexplicably, Jucy's do not come equipped with
kettles, and we searched high and low for one
that would meet our modest needs; electric kettles
are common as carrots, but this hob-top at Mitre 10
is the only hob-top we found; that's 75U$D! At
last we found a reasonable substite for 4$NZ at 
another op shop

We're here in this place and this time to see the great Pohutukawa
trees--New Zealand Christmas trees--in bloom

The place is covered with them, especially along the coasts north
Auckland, but they are just beginning to bloom...still late spring
here, evidently

After a few days, we moved on to Tapapakanga Regional Park;
we were able to dodge the squalls nearly every day, but didn't
do much more

Fishing the big waters

Huge float that washed up one day...floatsam?
jetsam? lagan? derelict? 

Fellow camper hauling off a dead...stout? possum? weasel?

Moving right along...there is currently an egg shortage

in New Zealand; cage eggs are no longer permitted and

the transition to colony eggs has been uneven...

A Rotel hotel...still in business apparently

Transportation costs, no doubt (8.13U$D)

We're wondering too

You have been warned

Outside the really nice New World supermercado in Orewa

View from our lunch table today

Afternoon at Orewa Beach