East Cape Tour
Trip Start
May 18, 2003
1
84
272
Trip End
Ongoing
Maclaren Falls Park, East Cape, North Island,
New Zealand
Saturday, February 21, 2004
The tour started predictably late, as we left Auckland at around 5pm. Our first stop was going to be somewhere near Tauranga next to Mount Manganui. As we began the long drive south east heading for the cape, I was reminded of the many weekend miles we have already covered in New Zealand. Something told me that this road trip was going to be just as eventful as the previous adventures.
We drove through Tauranga and decided to head for a campsite in the Maclaren Falls Park. It was already dark and we were not entirely sure of where we were going. Finally we arrived at the gate to the park, which was firmly shut. So we left Pam at the gate and walked up the path by torch light looking for some sign of life in the park.
Having found the hostel (which was empty and locked up) we noticed highlights on the road from the gate, so we followed them to what turned out to be the park rangers house. He was happy to sign us in for the campsite (basically we could pitch our tent anywhere around the hostel) and gave us a dongle with which to open the electronic gate.
Soon we had pitched the tent (by torchlight) and started to light a fire in the purpose built outdoor oven. The strong winds made this last task particularly tricky though. It didn't take long before we were all pretty tired and ready to get some sleep.
