This morning we got up to agree that we had spent one of the most miserable nights since we started to travel. The weather is raining hard for about 15 minutes, then about 30 minutes of light rain in squalls, and finally no rain for about 15 minutes before it starts all over again. Even with this rain the temperature is still in the lower 20’s. In addition the mosquitoes are really bad. (We discovered that next door to the campground is a swamp and with the rainy weather the mosquito population has grown big time.) So how did this impact our sleep? Glad you asked.We could not open the windo
ws in the van because of the rain and the mosquitoes. We learned that in New Zealand the power stations in the park use a special RV plug in (I am thinking it is a ground fault end) so we are not able to hook up to power and run the little fan we have for helping to stay cool. The tenting on the campervan is not 100% tight so mosquitoes could find their way in – but not in hordes just enough to be annoying and bothersome. So the van is hot, humid, and hard to sleep or breath. We would normally sleep without a blanket but with the few mosquitoes in the van this was really not an option. We did eventually put on a dose of “Off” to help keep the buzzing away from our faces but you know how that works - you still hear the buzzing.
ws in the van because of the rain and the mosquitoes. We learned that in New Zealand the power stations in the park use a special RV plug in (I am thinking it is a ground fault end) so we are not able to hook up to power and run the little fan we have for helping to stay cool. The tenting on the campervan is not 100% tight so mosquitoes could find their way in – but not in hordes just enough to be annoying and bothersome. So the van is hot, humid, and hard to sleep or breath. We would normally sleep without a blanket but with the few mosquitoes in the van this was really not an option. We did eventually put on a dose of “Off” to help keep the buzzing away from our faces but you know how that works - you still hear the buzzing.Forecast for the next 2 or 3 days is continued rain. We had planned to continue north to see the 90 Mile Beach and the very north tip of New Zealand, but with the rain we are starting to rethink that. We reasoned that it was too wet and rainy to be able to explore these areas and it involved driving at least 250 km there and 250 back. Considering everything we decided to just head south. At least if we had to find things to do inside for the next few days we could consider Auckland. We did like the camp grounds we stayed at the first night so we headed back to that one.
After the dogs showed what they could do, we were taken into the barn and watched a sheep being shorn. This was very interesting – again no pictures. Finally we were given a chance to bottle feed some lambs. As we left we also go to see the ‘pink’ sheep in the front field. Apparently for publicity reasons they use water based bio friendly wool dye on the sheep in the front pasture.
After we finished here we continued on to the campsite but decided to stop in Warkworth (the closest town) to have my camera checked out hoping it was just faulty batteries. We were able to find a Canon dealer who checked it out and told us the camera was toast. I was thinking I would just buy a small inexpensive camera to finish this trip with and buy a small DSRL when I got home. However, I have been doing research for several months expecting the current camera to die soon because it was making some sounds. After talking things over and doing some research we decided to go ahead and buy a new DSLR camera and picked up the extras we wanted to go with it. By the time we finished we were paying almost $1500 NZ dollars. When I priced the same purchase on the Canadian websites I found it would cost me about $1500 Can dollars plus taxes. Considering the NZ dollar is about 20% less than the Canadian, we feel we got a good price. (Actual estimated savings of about $500) Oh right, the warrantee is world wide and is covered in Canada.
After we finished here we continued on to the campsite but decided to stop in Warkworth (the closest town) to have my camera checked out hoping it was just faulty batteries. We were able to find a Canon dealer who checked it out and told us the camera was toast. I was thinking I would just buy a small inexpensive camera to finish this trip with and buy a small DSRL when I got home. However, I have been doing research for several months expecting the current camera to die soon because it was making some sounds. After talking things over and doing some research we decided to go ahead and buy a new DSLR camera and picked up the extras we wanted to go with it. By the time we finished we were paying almost $1500 NZ dollars. When I priced the same purchase on the Canadian websites I found it would cost me about $1500 Can dollars plus taxes. Considering the NZ dollar is about 20% less than the Canadian, we feel we got a good price. (Actual estimated savings of about $500) Oh right, the warrantee is world wide and is covered in Canada.
Needless to say, by the time we researched, checked and double-checked and then followed up with second guessing ourselves we left with a new camera and a bunch of reading to be done on it.
The campsite is very quiet again since no one seems to be interesting camping right now but we have been assured that by Christmas Day all parks will be packed. Tomorrow we are going to continue southward since the weather forecast is for rain in this area and further north for the next 4-7 days. That may change.
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