Next day, we decided to drop the idea of going to the Auckland Britz to check our glasses for fear that it'll take a whole day (and we thought it wouldn't matter whether we report it now or three days later). So, up we go!
Drove two hours straight and rested at Wellsford for lunch; decision of the location was purely due to it being the midway to our next destination. But the cafe we chose turned out to serve really nice food anyway!
Appetising isn't it?
And then for the next two hours, it was just windy road up and down hill as we near the Bay of Island. And then, finally, we reached Russell at around 4pm! Checked in, booked our Dolphin tour for the next morning and off we go to hike! Except... There wasn't any parking for campervan near the track and we got abit lazy, so we chose to turn back. Settled the vehicle and headed out to their town centre. Russell was the very first capital of New Zealand when the Europeans settled but this place felt more like a zombie apocalypse town; we can count the number of people we see on the streets with two hands. Some of the shops were also closed for the winter.
Life is a storm
Post-edit shot at their most-commonly captured spot. Wind and flag wasn't cooperating though
We still managed to find a nice stall that sold Fish n' Chips and more importantly, Battered oyster! Super yummy, so much so that I decided to purchase their last box of fresh oyster by the dozen to go with our dinner proper.
Where's spongebob?
Amazing bag of sin
So we got back, and it's time for cream of mushroom pasta! Got the condensed version and added some cheese slices in and it tasted super awesome! We weren't even hungry (haven't been hungry the last few days actually; always overeating). And the fresh oyster? Marvellous. One of the better dinner though impromptu. Slept through a peaceful night but was woken up by a windy rain...
This
Into this (I ate them fresh though)
Cooked a simple breakfast in preparation for the cruise trip. Packed up and was ready to go, until I got abit annoyed by Hanni and Qingying for asking me what we're doing for the cruise right before we left for it and when we were rushing for time. And so I flared up. And then they didn't take it too well... Situation was kinda tapered down when I apologise (really my fault for flaring up).
Went over to the cruise after the diffusion only to be told that they won't be going to the Hole in the Rock (which is what caused the "argument") and there is a chance we won't see a dolphin cos of the strong wind. We can either go with it or back out and get a refund; Zongrui opted for the latter and we all know it's cos Hanni will get a seasick from the rocking, so we did what is reasonable. Except I just couldn't take this disappointment well; thought it's a bonus location, but I've been wanting to see dolphins since my first day here...
So Ms Blur and I went back to the campervan first while the other couple got the refund. I headed straight out for a run in the drizzle to cool myself down, leaving them to plan for what's next. Came back after three dash (sorta) up a steep slope with a cool(er) mind and they've decided to just take the ferry across the straits to Paihia for the Waitangi treaty ground museum. So they packed up while I bathe and off we go onto the ferry across the choppy water.
Fried ice cream bread before we leave!
Choppy water in a stormy seas
Hello Paihia, our very last touring stop!
We decided to reward ourselves with a good meal so we head to Jimmy's Jack. Wanted to be discipline, we ordered their legendary platter meant for 4-6 people. It includes chicken breast meat, wings, prawns, wedges, fries, and most importantly, ribs. 3 slabs of pork ribs. And guess what, we didn't finish it. In fact, we left almost 1/3 of it. So we packet it off in three big styrofoam and went off to walk the streets. Nothing much except an ice cream stall, and of course, no resistance. After that, we headed back for the choppy sea, and set "sail" towards Auckland once more.
Saying this is a spread is an understatement. "4-6 Pax" refers to 6 huge ass Caucasian male competitive eaters
And ending our trip how we started it out together!
Four hours and skipping the toll road later, we reached Harbour Gulf, a berthing port slightly north of Auckland with a nice view.
Reached at night so not much of a view but the night lights from the city center were nice enough. Cooked up a storm made up of leftovers but were really Jimmy Jack's standard (lol). And we spent the last night on the campervan doing what we normally do: watching movies.
