Roadtrip to Cape Reinga - failed?

So I actually looked at a car a couple of weeks ago and the plan was to buy the car in Auckland and then head to Cape Reinga, the northernmost part of New Zealand .I wasn't going to do that by myself, though. A friend who I had met in Auckland, who was part of the agency as well, was going to join me before she flew back home to Germany. So I arrived in Auckland and picked up the car. I bought it from two German girls who traveled the country with it for three months. It's a seven-seater, but they had taken the middle row out in order to fit in a mattress. The car came with said bed, and camping gear, which is great. Afterwards I went to the campground and waited until it was time to pick up Sevo from the airport.

Day 1

On the first day of our roadtrip, we got some things done, got the car registered under my name, got insurance for it, and bought groceries. Our first stop was Whangaparoa. That is a peninsula just north of Auckland. It was nice, but we weren't blown away, so we moved on quickly after breakfast. The next stop was Tawharanui national park. That was amazing. The beach was beautiful. I just looked at nature all around me and I couldn't believe, that that is actually my life. After we took in the view we made some dinner while the sun set with the view over the ocean. Doesn't get much more pretty than that. We continued our way and spent the night at a campground in a nearby town.

Day 2

We drove to Whangarei, where we would also spend the night. We had breakfast on a pier which was beautiful. We really wanted to go for a swim, so we headed to the beach. We swam and chilled at the beach. After a good swim, we couldn't wait to shower. When we arrived at the campground, we didn't have a good gut feeling. We looked at the showers, but couldn't bear showering there. I'll spare you the details. We wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. We headed back to the pier and cooked dinner there. When we were done with dinner we went into the city, looked at the Hundertwasser House, and relaxed at the harbor.

Day 3

We didn't want to stay at the campground longer than we needed to, so we headed out in the morning. We went to a Kiwi sanctuary, where we actually got to see a live Kiwi! That is pretty amazing as they are very shy animals and you would hardly ever see them out in the wild. We had to stop for gas, which we did. When we tried to start the car again it would turn on. I was scared. I had only just bought the car and it did have all the certificates. What's wrong with it? We called several numbers and then gave it another try. For some reason, it worked. We went straight to a mechanic. They just had a few minutes left till closing, but agreed to take a look. He said that it is probably the starter motor. He gave us a metal rod to hit it with in case it wouldn't turn on again, so that's what we did. Next, we headed to a waterfall. The waterfalls were amazing. 26m high! We enjoyed the view before we continued driving. We arrived in Paihia and had some dinner.

Day 4

That day we were quite tired, so Sevo and I had some alone time each. We met back up in the city for some ice cream and afterward had some dinner.

Day 5

We left Paihia and headed to the Kerikeri Peninsula. After we had arrived at our campsite we went to the beach. And let me tell you, that was the most beautiful beach I had ever seen! It was an almost perfectly round bay, with an opening on one side. The other sides were hills and forest. The water was crystal clear and a beautiful blue. On the opposite side was a sailing boat. It was out of a picture book! No pictures do it justice. So we stayed there, enjoying the sun and the beautiful nature around us.

Day 6

Today we wanted to go to the same beach again before we drive all the way up to Cape Reinga in order to be able to explore everything the next day. After another beautiful day at the beach, we stopped at a parking lot to plan our next steps. We had decided and were ready to hit the road. Unfortunately, the car would not turn on again. We used the metal rod. Didn't work. Did it again. Didn't work. We waited a bit, then tried again. Didn't work. We had to accept the fact, that we were stuck. Now, Kerikeri, as beautiful as it is, is extremely remote. We made some calls, but eventually, it was clear, that we would have to spend the night there. We made the best of it. The good thing was, that we parked in the busiest area of town, with a dairy and liquor store right there, and public restrooms just a few minutes away. It could have been worse.

Day 7

We called the mechanic first thing in the morning, but he wasn't able to pick us up. I called AA (roadside assistance) and they sent a tow truck. Luckily that was covered by insurance. We pulled up to the mechanic, and he said that he would look at it and it'd be ready the next day. We hoped we could still make it up to Cape Reinga if it could be fixed quickly. The mechanic allowed us to sleep in the car for the night.

We headed out for the day and sat under some trees. We had breakfast, talked, and played cards. After a few hours, it started to rain, so we headed back to the mechanic. We just wanted to ask if hanging out in the car would be okay. We started talking to his wife, and some workers and played with their dog. After a while his wife, Lisa, asked if we wanted a hot shower and explained that they had a container home we could stay in. Sevo and I looked at each other, and since none of us had a bad feeling, we agreed. That was amazing! They had remodeled a shipping container and turned it into a home, with a queen size bed, kitchen, lounging area, toilet, and shower. That was the most luxury we had in a long time. We talked to Lisa and Ron, the mechanic. We were even invited for dinner.

Day 8

The starter motor had stopped working, because we hit it so many times. With older cars, you could hit them for a while, and nothing would ever happen, but because mine wasn't that old, we broke it. Ron had ordered a new starter motor, which was supposed to arrive this morning. So we went with Lisa to the neighboring town to pick it up. Unfortunately, it wasn't there yet.

So instead, we switched into their beach jeep and drove along the beach, played with the dog, and went to CocaCola Lake. It's called that, because of its color. The roots of the Kauri trees turned it black. We hoped the package would arrive in the afternoon, which it didn't. We found out that the mailman simply decided not to work that day. We stayed with Lisa and Ron for another night. We talked for ages and had another amazing meal. They even took us to the beach with them when they hung out with their friends. It was amazing to get to know their lifestyle. They sold their house to move into the middle of nowhere. There, they built their home from scratch. They live completely off the grid, with power coming from solar and wind power, water from the rain, and Wi-Fi from Skylink. Although their life isn't glamorous, they love it, and I can see why. It is very relaxing. They go to the beach almost every day, you can even hear the waves from the porch, they have their friends and pets, and can do whatever they want. It's amazing. And their home is so beautiful! I couldn't live like that forever. It would be too calm for me, but it was awesome to get to experience it with them.

Day 9

Luckily, the car was indeed ready today. But since Sevo's flight is tomorrow, we cannot drive up to Cape Reinga. We decided to head straight back to Auckland, which is a 5-hour drive. We said goodbye to Lisa, Ron, and Shelby (the dog). We appreciated their hospitality so much, and in the end, really enjoyed our time with them. Both, Sevo and I, were so happy and almost happy we ended up not going up to Cape Reinga because our time with Lisa and Ron was just that great.

We arrived in Auckland and went to get some Philly Cheese Steak, and dumplings. As Sevo is leaving the next day, we had to make her last day as beautiful as possible.

Day 10

Sevo got everything sorted out. In the end, it took longer than both of us had expected, so we didn't get to do anything special anymore. I dropped her off at the airport, and we said goodbye. But since we're both from Germany and literally live just 20min away from each other, we knew that it wasn't a goodbye for forever.