N O R T H L A N D
R O A D T R I P J U L Y 2 0 2 0
How lucky we are to be living in New Zealand. When the rest of the world is dealing with the ups and downs of COVID19, we are back to what feels mostly like “normal life”. Zack has been back to work for some time now, cafes and business are back up and running, and domestic travel is back in full swing, allowing us to make this trip a reality.
We flew from Christchurch to Auckland for 10 days in Northland, the most northern tip of the country. With the warmer temperatures (averaging 10-15 degrees celcius (this is winter!), we were happy to rent a campervan, leaving us the freedom to leave the itinerary fairly open. We spent our time driving the coast, making pit stops at stunning beaches, small towns, giant sand dunes, all while navigating “van life” with a 9 month old. It definitely had it’s challenges, but River was a joy. We found the van to not allow him much space to explore, so we made a point to find areas where he could inch-worm himself around, enjoying grassy fields or sandy beaches. He felt sand for the first time in his life, digging his chubby little fingers in and marveling at the granules of sand between his dimples, hehe. He gave many smiles to other campers, often a gateway to conversation for us adults. He also loves going on hikes with us, staring wide eyed at the trees up above, or dozing off in the pack whenever he wants. What a life eh?!
Overall, it was a great trip. We experienced some heavy rain (to be expected in winter time), and ended up booking an aribnb for the final night (the leak in the van on my head kind of sealed the deal on that one, haha), but that ended up being the perfect way to end the trip.
Northland is beautiful, wild, and historically rich. Thank you Aotearoa (New Zealand) for having us.
