So off we went north out of Auckland. With a lively conversation going on – between the GPS on the windscreen, Sally in the passenger seat, and the the roadsigns, I navigated the van through the city with an acceptable level of shouting.

After a couple of hours we decided to stop at a convenient site and sort ourselves out, and found Scandrett beyond Snells beach. An old farm built in 1885 right on the seashore. Beautiful place, kept by the council, spotlessly clean and with only one other van.

Nice place to start.