After stopping for a dance (it was Salsa Night down the street from my hostel!) and a quick sleep in Wellington, I was back on the road north. A friend lived in Upper Hutt, and I’d decided to drop by for a cuppa en route to Taupo. As tends to happen with life on the road, one thing led to another, and an afternoon tea (it was wickedly stormy that afternoon, to set the stage) turned into an invitation to stay the night and sleep out the storm. With a winter solstice party looming just two nights away, I was invited to stay and enjoy the land before continuing north. It was an offer I didn’t want to refuse.

Days were spent exploring the surrounding land, and evenings were shared with delightful conversation and delicious food. The company was phenomenal, and it was a hard place to leave. We celebrated winter solstice together with an evening full of music, dancing, singing and carrying on. After getting some solid advice on my van build the next day from a friend (seen here having the time of his life on a little Casio keyboard), I was ready to hit the road again.

It looked like a LONG drove, to be sure, so I decided to take a little detour to a place in the North Island I hadn’t seen yet, a beautiful town called Napier. I’d gotten a late start, and my nose had begun to run — it felt reminiscent of the seasonal colds I used to get. I don’t know if I was overtired from the solstice celebration, or if it was something else. Thankfully, and surprisingly, the van actually had a full box of tissues on the shelf above the passenger seat. I’d wondered why it was there when I first bought it, as there was nothing else up there but this new box of tissues. Serendipity at it’s best!

It wasn’t until after dark that I finally arrived in Napier at the Masonic Art Deco Hotel. I quickly grabbed a bite to eat and called it a night. The next morning I arose to a gorgeous sunrise, and the ocean just across the street. A little singing in the shower, then I packed up my stuff before heading out for a walk along the boardwalk en route to the van. Departing Napier, I knew it was a place I wanted to return to; there was a certain beauty and nostalgia to it.

This next leg of my drive back to Mangawhai would prove to be EPICALLY long. I hadn’t prepped myself for what turned into a 10 hour drive. I passed beautiful fields and mountains and towns. It was a JOURNEY! I finally made it back long after nightfall, ready to collapse into bed.