The Northland Part I – Pakiri Beach

I hope you enjoyed Paula’s camper story.  I’ll jump back a bit to our first few days of vanning.

From Auckland we drove North and stayed in Pakiri Beach. This was our first experience with a campsite and a good introduction for us.  It was a lively space with an awesome beach. We had a prime ocean-viewing spot and could hear the waves at night.  While Harry and I acquainted ourselves with van living, the kids enjoyed their freedom, running around the camp, playing ping pong, and hanging at the playground.

It’s very communal living in these campgrounds. We used the kitchen to prep dinner and shared utensils and spices with the other cooks. The five of us washed the dishes after dinner with the rest of the families, and we made small talk with the other people waiting for laundry machines. It was most pleasant to be amongst other people while doing regular chores.

The beach at Pakiri is fantastic.  There’s a little inlet that’s great for kayaking and an outer beach with massive waves for body surfing. We spent 2 nights here and kept it pretty chill. Beach, swim, kayak, and some school.  Since H and I were still getting used to things the van chores took a bit long at first so it felt like those first couple of days were spent surviving.  Throw in the fridge situation and a visit to the mechanic and we were momentarily discouraged.  As we spent a morning waiting for a washer to free up and turning beds into seats, refilling our water tank, emptying out the toilet tank, amongst other chores, I said to myself, “Self, what in God’s name are you doing? Why didn’t you go to Paris or Tuscany for 3 months?”

Thankfully, the blow to our spirits was only temporary and the Bay of Islands helped cure any doubt about our lifestyle choice.  This was our next destination by way of the mechanic (we’ll be stopping back in Auckland for a new fridge) and a couple of more appealing stops (waterfalls and caves).