Until Next Time New Zealand

After exploring Coromandel, we only had two more nights before our scheduled flight out of Auckland. Wanting to spend one of those nights with a coastal view, we settled on freedom camping in Kaiaua. This little town permits camping in a small area next to their boating clubhouse. We arrived just before sunset to dozens of other campers with the same idea. Luckily, we found a nice parking spot with a view although it was near some puddles from the constant rain. The rain let up for sunset and we watched the dramatic sky while enjoying a drink after our wet day. (Read about the wet day in the Coromandel post). That night, we took a break from cooking and walked across the street to a fish n’ chips shop – the fresh fish and large servings left us completely satisfied!

The next morning, we drove to Auckland and first stopped at a library to use their free wifi. There are not many options for camping in the city and we found the cheapest to be a city park called Ambury Farm. Our app (Campermate), said that you needed to prebook a spot and the only way is by calling the city. Before leaving for the trip, Will set up an account through Google Hangouts so we can make outgoing phone calls over the Internet. Calls to US phone numbers are free. Our call to Auckland city council cost only $0.02 a minute. Overall, the calls work great but a slow internet connection will create a large lag which made our call to Auckland a little awkward.

Enjoying a beer at Brothers

We spent the rest of the day exploring downtown Auckland with some shopping and craft beer tasting at Brothers Beer. On our way to the campsite, we searched for a laundry mat with large capacity. The large capacity was required for our bed bug eradication plan. We did one load and set out for the farm. By time we arrived, it was already dark so we just enjoyed their shower facilities and got to bed early.

Sunrise over Ambury Farm

We woke before sunrise the following morning. We were excited to be finally returning our Spaceship campervan and ready to begin a new adventure. But first, we had a hard morning ahead to do one final extermination ensuring we would not have any hitchhikers following us. As a stark contrast, sunrise on the farm was the most peaceful setting we could have had for the grim task ahead.

Our research indicated that the best way to exterminate bedbugs is through heat so our main option was laundry. We started by taking all of our possessions out of the van and putting them into 4 piles: laundry, dryer, inspection and trash. Everything that could be laundered was, even if it was “clean” – all clothing, hats, bags, rope, etc. Items too awkward to wash but that could fit into a dryer were set in the dryer pile – shoes and our packs. Anything else worth keeping would be inspected – electronics, toiletries, first aid, and cutlery. Other items were determined to be too hard to inspect and not worth keeping or donating to other campers – a book Will traded for but had not yet started, our solar shower and an unused paper towel role. After making the piles, we showered one last time and took everything to the laundry mat.

First thing we did at the mat was change our clothes. The items we had laundered the night before had been quarantined and sealed until the last possible moment. Then we started the loads in washers and a dryer. Will said goodbye to me and headed off to the post office to send a box home (after inspecting the items), vacuum the van (due to the requirements in our rental agreement), and return the van to Spaceship. I stayed at the laundry mat watching the progress of the washers and inspecting our items. It was a rough few hours! I’m sure I looked very interesting sitting amongst so many belongings and using a flashlight to look at every corner. By time Will returned in a taxi, laundry was completed and almost all of the inspections were done.

Will took over inspecting some electronics as I began to pack my bag. That’s when I noticed my pack seemed smaller. At closer inspection, we could see that the frame of my pack had distorted a little bit in the heat of the dryer making the pack shorter overall. I later discovered that my shoes shrunk as well. Nothing I could do about it now! (Will did not have any issues with his belongings)

Just as we were completing the inspections, Will found a possible hitchhiker. We have two portable battery packs that were stored in a plastic (toiletry type bag) and there was a live bug inside the bag. Will killed the bug and we decided to throw the bag away.

We completed packing right when we needed to get a cab for the airport. As Will called for one, a nice woman offered to give us a ride. She was our age and we learned on the drive that she is a flight attendant for Qantas. We had a nice chat with her about the industry before she dropped us off and pointed us in the right direction. At the Qantas counter, we learned that my Australian visa was not in the system. They checked Will in while trying to track down the problem. I ended up having to pay over twice as much to have Qantas process my visa which was immediately approved and I was permitted to check-in for the flight.

Feeling a sense of relief from finally being out of the infested campervan, we celebrated with a beer from Garage Project called Death from Above (which seemed fitting). Although the campervan did not work out as expected, it did take us to some amazing parts of the North Island. We loved our month exploring and have a strong desire to return to do it all again on the South Island (just without the bedbugs).