Young World Travellers: Day Forty-Four, Forty-Five, Forty-Six and Forty-Seven

We had another long drive in bad weather to our freedom camp next to a river just off the road and the location was popular with fellow campervans filling the place very quickly. We had a short walk to the nearby Maruia Falls which you could hear in the distance from where we had parked and settled down for another night in the countryside.

Emily drove for most of the next day and we made a stop at nearby Lake Rotoiti which was gorgeous and peaceful. Large black eels gathered around a wooden platform by the shore along with many ducks and other birdlife. It was a lovely spot to have a little wander around before getting back in the camper for a long drive through miles and miles of vineyards that litter the northern part of the South Island. We arrived in a lovely campsite in Havelock, on what was a warm and sunny evening, our pitch opposite the local bowls club who were having a great time enjoying the sunshine. We caught up with things online using the wifi and also did some laundry and emptied/filled the camper. Our final job of the day was to book our tickets for the ferry for Monday afternoon.

On Sunday we had a very relaxed day and didn't have too far to drive. Picton was our destination and we made a few stops on the way, firstly at Cullen Point lookout which revealed a panoramic view of the Sounds as well as the town of Havelock we had just left behind. Just down the road at Governors Bay, we found a little track that was very muddy and steep that finally led us down to our very own secluded beach. We were the only ones there and it was a lovely little stop right by the shore. We did notice a lot of sandflies around, however and we came back with one or two bites that we didn't have the day before.

There was a very twisty mountain road that brought us out to a spot looking upon the coastal town of Picton, where we would be catching our ferry the next day. We had a little drive around the town before finding our freedom camp just down the road, another popular spot that was quickly at full capacity. It was a quiet and perfectly still evening with warm sunshine beaming down and it was a nice way to end our Sunday.

The weather took a turn overnight meaning conditions at sea were pretty rough yesterday. Apart from the big swell, it was a very smooth trip with no problems and we arrived in the harbour of Wellington at around 5pm. We travelled straight to our freedom camping spot which was quite exposed to the elements and the notorious 'Wellington Wind.' It was only us and two other campers there and at around 1am we were woken by a group of people knocking at our campervan and we could hear them talking outside. After a few minutes a nearby campervan sped off down the road with the horn beeping furiously. We looked outside and could still see one or two people mooching around so we decided to move somewhere else for the evening. Just down the road we realised a loaf of bread was sandwiched between the door and the door mirror, suggesting it was probably just a group of drunken idiots but we didn't feel safe and were happy to go elsewhere. We found a larger campsite with several vehicles near the harbour and settled down for the night. It was difficult to get to sleep as the weather was now pretty disgusting and several times through the night the wind was so strong that we were sure we were going to blow over.

Thankfully we didn't and this morning we have driven north to Greytown to make use of the public library. A winding mountain road on the way had partially collapsed on one side which left a sheer drop over a cliffside and a massive landslide had also blocked one side of the road further along - we haven't had the warmest welcome to the North Island; not to mention we haven't seen the sun up here yet at all. Tonight we are staying in Masterton before heading further north over the coming days with Auckland our final destination where we'll hand back our campervan next Monday.

Highlights - Maruia Falls, Lake Rotoiti and Governors Bay