Paying for the vans bedding proved to be worth it during the first night already. We did not have any heater on as we were running low on the battery for the living area and were not hooked up to an external power source, so during the night we woke up a couple of times because it was freezing in the van.
We made it through the night and woke up at 6:45 am and had slept 9.5 hours. We used the facilities at the camping site and fixed ourselves a sandwich each before driving off. We only drove for a short while before stopping for full-on breakfast. Coffee, yogurt, and sandwiches were our breakfast made up of. We ate it at a rest stop at the table located there. We shared the table with a French woman about our age from Lyon who had been living in New Zealand since October last year. She was making breakfast for herself and her boyfriend, who was still sleeping in their truck.
We talked to her while we ate our breakfast but had finished eating before her boyfriend woke up. After breakfast, we drove off continuing our way north. Our first stop was at Maruia Springs where we bought a cappuccino and a scone and walked down to the stream to admire the nature. We risked the dryness of our shoes and walked out on some rocks to a section in the middle of the stream. It paid off; we got some nice pictures, and only the soles became somewhat wet (on Gustav’s shoes).
Our next stop was at Maruia Falls. The view there was really beautiful as well, but the currents in the water seemed quite treacherous. In the stream below the fall, there was a whirlpool where a great number of trees were going round and round. So that would not have been a good place to bathe. But the park bench was a good place for lunch. Soup in a cup and a sandwich, which kind of feels like a camping classic. Our lunch was unfortunately disturbed by a few biting flies that seemed to think that we looked tasty.
In Murchison, we bought more supplies at a Four Corners store before driving the last bit to get to our next camping site, The Barn Backpackers in Marahau. As the day progressed, the roads seemed to get narrower and curvier. In New Zealand, they often put up recommended top speeds in sharp curves. The lowest speed we had encountered during the first portion of our driving was 35 kph, so as the first 25 kph sign appeared we both exclaimed “25?!” So, yes, the roads were really curvy.
At The Barn, we registered and paid at the reception and were glad to hear that hot showers were free. We parked our campervan in power site 11 and hooked up the power, after which we started charging our phones and extra batteries. When the electronics were connected, we put on our running clothes and went for a jog along the coast in Abel Tasman National Park to Porters Beach.
The forest was really thick, but when we got out to the beach we were met by a wide expanse of sand. As it seemed to be low tide, the water was really far out, and there were seashells everywhere. Linnea picked a few shells, still unsure if we’re allowed to bring them back even to Australia. There were seashells the size of your hand there, unlike anything you would be able to find in Sweden!
After our jog, we made dinner consisting of noodles and tomato sauce. It was good! Then we took a hot shower and watched a movie. Hopefully, this night will be warmer, now that we’re able to have the heating fan running.
/ Gustav & Linnea
