Around 4pm we decide to head out. We fill Coco up with petrol in preparation for another LONG drive

Meet Madeleine  Klay (pictured left) who are the latest lucky people who got to take Coco, our Social Cabana away for a free adventure around the North Island apartment rentals san diego of New Zealand.  Sounds like they had a fantastic  roadtrip!  If you're keen to check out more photos from their trip you can do so here .  Jealous?  Then apply to take Coco away on an adventure yourself.  She is FREE!  Check out www.jucy4free.co.nz to apply!
We are finally on our way to New Zealand! After a quick 4 day stopover in Fiji, we're finally heading towards Auckland to pick up Coco for our road trip. We're so excited! The whole reason for our trip to New Zealand this time is to activate my new resident visa. Klay has dual citizenship in Canada and NZ and one day we might decide to come live in NZ for a little while so we thought it'd be nice for me to have a resident visa. Ideally we'd spend April-September in Canada and October-March apartment rentals san diego in NZ. It'd be like the never ending summer! Sounds pretty good eh? We're not quite ready to move to NZ from Canada JUST yet but this trip will be a good opportunity to scope out the different areas and keep our eyes open for job opportunities.
After getting off the plane in Auckland we make our way to customs. I am expecting a lot of difficult questions since I am now coming into the country as a new resident instead of a tourist and my resident visa is due to expire in 2 days, but I am totally wrong. Within 30 seconds apartment rentals san diego of arriving at the customs booth, we are on our way to collect our luggage. Our backpacks happen to be the first ones coming through the doors of the conveyor belt. Fastest exit from an airport EVER. Within 20 minutes of getting off the plane we are outside, waiting for the airport bus to take us to Coco. Everything is going well, this is promising apartment rentals san diego for the rest of our trip!
Upon arrival at the Jucy office we are greeted by a lovely lady (who's name I've forgotten) apartment rentals san diego who immediately realizes we are coming to get Coco. We wonder what it is that gives it away. The Canadian flag on my back pack? The excited look on our faces? After all the paperwork is done, she provides us with some advice on where to go and what to see and we are on our way! After a quick stop at the grocery store we head North …
We woke Lucy up to the promise of rain in the great Shakespear Regional apartment rentals san diego Park on the Hibiscus Coast. I had the third coldest apartment rentals san diego shower of my life compliments of the Department of Conservation, prepared a gourmet toast breakfast, apartment rentals san diego then hit the road with the wipers on high. Next stop, Piha then Karekare. The weather apartment rentals san diego cleared apartment rentals san diego so we frolicked on the beach. The surf was ridiculous and we didn't want to pull an Eddie Vedder so Coco was on the road again.
Where to next? Hurunui park. Only a 2 hour cruise around the Scenic drive, bypass most of Auckland and on down the coast. Nearly at the park then we see the sign. "Park closed to public due to logging". That doesn't sound right. Oh well, what happens now? I guess tomorrow becomes today, off to the Coromandel. Beautiful coast and wicked apartment rentals san diego winding roads have me longing for a motorbike but Coco is alright once you turn up the music to drown out the symphony of rattling dishes out back.
So this is Thames. We decide to give a regional park another try. 10 km's down a dirt road surrounded by native bush has us questioning our decision, another apartment rentals san diego 5 km's start feeling a little "Blair Witch" so we backtrack and decide on a motor camp at the beach. To be continued …
So it seems as though New Zealand gets a bit of wind. We woke in the eye of another storm. This one was threatening the Tapu Camp 20 km north of Thames, a fantastic place to stay if you're in the area. We peaked out Coco's window and saw a group of fellas preparing apartment rentals san diego a boat. The crazy bastards apartment rentals san diego wanted to go fishing but their wives had other ideas. We didn't stick around to find out who won the debate.
Next stop, Coromandel town and a smoked mussel lunch. First, one of the greatest pieces of coastal road I have ever driven, made even more spectacular by the surf trying to claim the blacktop and everything on it.
Once again we are off, the windows are down because the missus doesn't appreciate seafood like I do. This time to see the rugged beauty of Cathedral Cove. It's a bit of a hike and worth every second, pity we couldn't get a photo without several random people in the background. Next stop just down the road at Hot Water Beach where we are confronted by one of the most curious spectacles I've seen in a while. A hundred people in various stages of undress digging holes in the sand with borrowed shovels. Perhaps this is what it would be like if the Germans won the war. We cruised the perimeter of the madness and finally found a discarded hole to nest. I would do this every day if given the opportunity….
Happy days, a blue sky. This is what everyone tells you New Zealand is about. Wake up at a pristine beach, the sun overhead, toast in one hand and coffee in the other. Excellent. Pity we have to move on. Hahei would be a great place to relax for a while, oh well, bring on Whangamata. It seems as though there is very little thought behind the posted speed limits around here. On a straight four lane highway, I can go 100 km/h. On a narrow winding secondary road inches from the open ocean with frequent one lane bridge crossings, I can also do 100 km/h. It kinda reminds me of Italy but without the hand gestures.
We eventually found Whangamata. apartment rentals san diego Very nice, had a steak and cheese apartment rentals san diego pie, found a market and chased it with home-made stroopwaffles… Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Off to the beach. Water is still too chilly so we lay out and let the kids bury us in the sand. At the end of the afternoon, we pack up our sunburns, dig our heels into Coco and move South. Welcome to Rotorua. Hello hot pools!
We wake up to yet another rain storm. We're starting to get used to this. By now we're just happy we're not in a tent, like all the other fellas at this campground. apartment rentals san diego We decide there's no point sticking around much longer so we un-make the bed, get dressed and head out. We're still trying to figure out whether or not to head towards Taupo and attempt the Tongariro Crossing tomorrow. I really want to do the hike but the weather forecast doesn't look all that promising: snow, risk of avalanches and wicked windstorms. I'm starting to think that Tongariro will have to wait until our next trip. I don't think hiking the trail in my sneakers is a very good idea in this type of weather and I don't really apartment rentals san diego feel like spending a few hundred bucks on buying a bunch of winter gear either. Not gonna lie, I'm slightly disappointed.
Now that our plans have changed, we decide to head to Gisborne instead to visit Klay's relatives. After a long drive through the Gorge, we arrive in Gisborne around 5pm. We take Coco to the beach and make dinner while the sun sets behind the mountains. What a gorgeous place this is.
Now off to visit Klay's cousins. We've only been to their house once and we don't remember their address OR their phone number so after a visit to the gas station to browse the White Pages and with some help from the Navman, we finally find the right house at about 7pm. We end up spending the night in their driveway because there was no spare bedroom available. But obviously we don't mind because we love Coco! So handy to have a bed on wheels! For the first time on this trip it's actually warm enough to sleep with the windows cracked open. It seems like the East Coast is the place to be!
We wake up to the smell of sausages, potatoes, eggs and coffee. This is a good start of the day. Klay's cousins have prepared apartment rentals san diego us the most luxurious breakfast of our trip so far and we dig right in. After breakfast we get Coco back on the road and we head to Wainui apartment rentals san diego Beach to visit Klay's uncle, where we have lunch and enjoy the ocean views from the big bay windows in the living room. The sun's out and the skies are blue but the wind's apartment rentals san diego howling. apartment rentals san diego It's all very deceiving.
Around 4pm we decide to head out. We fill Coco up with petrol in preparation for another LONG drive through the Gorge, on our way to Tauranga, where Klay's sister lives with her family. We stop halfway for some action jumping photos with Coco and we make some more coffee and tea. It's great to be able to enjoy hot drinks when there's not a single coffee shop within 100 km. We're not used to this!
We don't get to Tauranga until 9:30pm. Klay's sister and her husband are happy to see us and we park Coco in their garage. Once again there's no spare bedroom so we get to spend yet another night with Coco and Lucy. And this time we get to sleep with the DOORS open! It keeps getting better and better!
We wake up to the excited voices of our 4 year old niece and 2 year old nephew, storming through the door of the garage. They are so excited we're finally here and they climb up in the van to check out our wheels. They love Coco as much as we do and they think it's cool we're sleeping in a CAR! Not much later we see them climbing into their parents' SUV to see if their car also has a fold-out bed with DVD player and curtains. They're quite disappointed when they find out it doesn't. We are lucky to have Coco.
We spend the day around the house, catching up. We do some laundry and decide to leave our big backpacks apartment rentals san diego there until we return to their house a bit later this week so we've got some reorganizing to do.
We head back to Auckland to return Coco around 4pm with a daypack. All of a sudden Coco is even more spacious! We intend apartment rentals san diego on camping at Ambury Regional Park but find out the warm showers apartment rentals san diego that the Lonely Planet had promised us do not exist. In fact, there's not even any showers at all so we move on to the next campground, a bit closer to the city. Here we find hot showers and there's even a take-away place just around the corner apartment rentals san diego for some deep fried greasy goodness. After dinner we make the bed and watch a cheesy romcom. Klay's favourite.
Today is our last day with Coco. We pack up the few things we've got left, prepare one last co