We are moving to a smaller cabin today – the park want to charge us the full price for the two-room unit even though it still hasn’t been cleaned, so we opted for a single room with kitchen. But by midday the smaller cabin still isn’t ready for us to move into so we pack all our stuff into the car and head into Auckland. We are armed with the addresses of a few camping shops on Broadway, but all of them turn out to be the sort that specialise in branded, specialist outdoor equipment with prices to match. Not the sort of stuff which is only required for five-week trip. We end up buying a couple of sleeping bags and some other bits and pieces at a household store for a fraction of the price. As it turns out sleeping bags come in useful sooner than expected as we return to the holiday park to discover that the smaller cabin doesn’t have a full set of linen – only pillow cases and bottom sheet are provided.
We take a detour around through the suburbs of Mission Bay and …..
After dinner we walk to the the Lone Star, a themed restaurant and bar which is the nearest place to get a drink. It feels empty even though there are a few people eating and drinking. The staff wear T-shirts with the slogan ‘Be staunch – walk tall’ the significance being lost on us – perhaps its a New Zealand thing? And on the wall hang posters of Elvis, Johnny Cash and The Magnificent Seven – starting to get the idea? And despite it being the height of summer there is an open gas fire burning. Hopefully there will be better to come!