On Monday, February 20, it took me three attempts to find a car hire company that could help me that afternoon, but in the end I came away from Omega with a silver Nissan Sunny that I named Greg because of the number plate. I was scared about it, because I’d never driven an automatic before, but it was fine. However, things were different, and it was a long time before I stopped turning the windscreen wipers on when I was trying to indicate, or indicating left when I was trying to indicate right.
I drove out of Auckland, over the famous harbour bridge, and headed for the Bay of Islands. The scenery was absolutely stunning. It took about three and a quarter hours to reach the coastal town of Paihia and find the YHA hostel there.
It was the complete opposite of the last hostel. Like the town itself, it was extremely quiet. As there was nobody around to talk to, apart from a couple of antisocial Germans, I went for a walk along the shore towards Waitangi, the birthplace of New Zealand. It was incredibly beautiful and peaceful, with only the waves and the cicadas disturbing the silence. It has been years since I saw such a starry sky. I think the slower pace, and the early nights, were good for me after the buzz of Auckland.