On the road again

We arrived in New Zealand on March 18. Exhausted from our last minute Malaysia exodus, we gratefully collapsed into the safety and sanctuary of an apartment in Auckland.

We stayed in that apartment for 61 days.

For 61 days we checked the news – “New Zealand COVID 19” is now a permanent selection in my phone’s search bar. We watched the country shut down, and stay in lockdown for five weeks.

We watched the country take baby steps toward easing the lockdown, which were encouraging but not a sure sign that things would ever really be normal here. We were gambling. Our tourist visa had been extended until September 25, and we were gambling that if we stuck it out in Auckland through the lockdown, we’d be able to travel in New Zealand once the restrictions were lifted. It was a big gamble, could New Zealand really beat the virus? If they did, would they let people move freely around the country, or insist that everyone stay in their home regions just in case? We waited and each day we were anxious and hopeful and praying that we weren’t burning through our travel budget for no reason.

Then it happened. We moved into level 2, and the government announced that travel throughout the country would be allowed.

On May 18, exactly two months since we staggered into our Queen Street apartment, we dragged all our possessions to the curb and called a ride share to take us to Epic Campervans. There we met Wallace, the little white van that we’ve called home for the last ten days as we’ve finally, finally been able to explore this amazing country.

We rented Wallace for 62 days, during which time we plan to meander all around New Zealand, soaking in the sights of mountains and sea, of rolling green hills dotted with sheep (SHEEP!). There is always a chance that COVID cases spike again here, always the chance that the freedom to travel is rescinded if the threat of the virus increases, but so far that hasn’t happened. At the time of this writing, New Zealand has seen it’s fifth day in a row with no new COVID cases. Since we arrived in March, there have been 15 days of no new cases. But there are still many weeks to go before we can really know if the virus has been contained here.

In the meantime, every day we get to travel and explore feels like a gift. We’ve spent the first week or so exploring the far north of New Zealand, camping beside beaches and bays, and beneath trees and rainbows.

Wallace is a very well equipped van. He has a pull-out kitchen in the back, his own fresh water supply, and a grey water tank that fills up when we use our sink. There is a tiny toilet (basically a fancy bucket with a lid) that we will never, ever use, but that needs to be included so that Wallace is officially a “self-contained” vehicle. Being self-contained means that we can “Freedom Camp”, aka park up in designated areas (that have public toilets) and just sleep in the van. On nights where we don’t have a freedom camping option – or our need for a shower is desperate – we can stay in one of NZ’s many holiday parks, which generally have showers, communal kitchens, and coin-operated washing machines. One particularly nice holiday park in Ahipara even had a huge fireplace in their lounge. I could have stayed there curled up in front of the fire with my book for weeks.

After we completed our tour of Northland, we swung through Auckland to take care of a few last errands before heading east to the Coromandel. We’ll be here for a few days before stopping in Hobbiton and then continuing south. Assuming all goes well, we’ll finish our NZ tour in Christchurch in mid-July. After that, who knows. My ability to plan for the future has been shattered so many times I’m wary to make plans past next week or so, but whatever happens it will be quite an adventure.