First stop, a familiar name

Our actual first stop was Auckland to visit friends and drop off a surfboard with them.

But when it came to hitting the road to the Coromandel, a vague plan had to be formed.

Armed with the NZMCA Travel Directory, we looked up an good place for a first venture onto the peninsular.

It looked like Thames would work for us. A perusal of local sites led us to a simple but cheap place right in the heart of the town.

An old WW1 memorial, set high up on a hill gives a great vantage point to look out over the Firth of Thames and across to the Auckland coastline across the way. As well as the town itself. What there is of it!

And we're off

So it's that time of year again when New Zealand breaks up and goes on holiday. And we're no different. With a week and a half off, it's the ideal time for us to make the most of the van.

This time we're off to the Coromandel, a popular holiday destination near Auckland.

Maddy assumes her usual position in the van while we're driving. We think she enjoys coming with us but it's hard to know for sure! We'd like to think she'd rather come with us than be left behind or at kennels!