New Zealand. North Island.

The ferry landed in Wellington at 10 on Sunday night. The sat navs in all our devices failed us. Our hippy van's petrol gauge was on red. We had no map. How were we going to find our Travelodge? I hailed a taxi and followed it to our hotel via a service station. A bargain ten dollar ride.

In the morning we headed north. On route we stopped at a second hand bookshop. We got back in the van and the battery was flat. What to do? Luckily there was an old bicycle lying by the roadside and so using that, wire, yoghurt pots and sticky backed plastic I was able to fashion together a small generator to recharge the battery. Also we phoned an emergency number we found on the windscreen and were soon back on the road.

Lots of people had told us that the scenery in the South Island was so much better than the North. Maybe so. But the North Island was also very beautiful. Rolling hills, volcanic mud pools and geysers, lakes and snow-topped mountains.
More family. More memories. We were made very welcome in New Zealand. Lots of lovely people. Thank you all.