Shakespear Regional Park

We picked up the campervan today. Learning to drive it was quite an adventure for Jon! I was in charge of making sure we were on the right side of the road (actually, the left side of the road!) while Jon tried to get used to the size of the van and left-handed shifting. The first roundabout was a real test. The darn things are all over the place, and definitely take two minds and four eyes to navigate.




We (Jon) had to drive through downtown Auckland to get up to the relaxing beaches of our dreams. We of course got lost, did some bickering, white knuckling, and then started to get the hang of it. We went just a short distance north of Auckland, actually to the spit just to the north of Auckland, for our first night.





The Shakespear regional park is at the end of the spit, and we thought it a fine place for some freedom camping. We parked next to the boat ramp and watched fishermen come in and out. The native bush is beautiful. It's really great seeing the New Zealand Flax out in its native habitat. It's quite heavily used in gardens here, as well.


Our first dinner in the campervan



Lovely sunset



The park has some wonderful 'tramping traks' or hiking trails. I just love the word tramping! It's so descriptive!