Already early in the morning I wake up again, still not completely in the New Zealand rhythm. I wait for the sunrise and then make myself a cup of coffee with the gas cooker provided with the spaceship. I also get myself some breakfast with the food I still had from the hostel and then hit the road again.

I drive to a small town not far from where I stayed for the night, called Russell. There are a few little stores and a bakery. I find one coffee place where I get a cappuccino and go online to post on my blog and check in with some friends. After that I get myself some croissants at the bakery and do groceries for the coming days. I continue driving until I get to the waterside where I need to take a small ferry to go to the other side. It’s nice though I’m also thinking about how everything here costs more than planned. Taking a ferry for just a couple of minutes costs 12,50NZD. I think that’s the thing with traveling, it always costs more than you think. It’s okay and I enjoy the ride. I drive further to a town called Kerikeri where the oldest stone building of New Zealand is located. I guess that for someone from Europe it’s less impressive, but it’s still nice to see. I think it’s also good to find many reasons so get out the car, so you won’t be driving all day. Next to the stone house is another old wooden house with a front porch. There are two benches on the porch and I decide to sit down and read a couple of pages in the book I carry with me. Little things like that can make me really happy. I walk a bit further and visit an old church and a place where there used to be a Māori village. Then it’s time to continue the road trip.

I look at my watch and see that it’s four o’clock in the afternoon. Two more hours until sunset. My first thought is to keep driving so I can reach Cape Reigna just before dark, but then I realize that it’s better to take it a bit slower and I drive to a departed bay where I had seen that there is a remote camping place. The bay is absolutely beautiful and peaceful. I park as close as I can to the beach and walk around for a while. Then I make myself some sandwiches and get into the car, while it’s getting dark outside. I watch some series and read a bit and go to sleep early again. I like it that my day rhythm here is in sync with daylight. I go to bed just after it gets dark and I wake up just before sunrise. It enables me to see the two most beautiful moments of the day for taking pictures and it helps me getting the most use of the days. Relaxing in the morning, driving and other activities in the afternoon and resting again in the evening. It’s a good vacation so far.