Have Car, Will Drive

The Great Ocean Road, running along Victoria's Surf Coast, is arguably the state's most famous stretch of road. Combining stunning ocean scenery with a seemingly endless series of twists and turns, with many stretches of the road cut into the side of spectacular cliff-faces, the road is certainly like no other in Australia. And yet, in my seven years of driving since passing my learner's permit test I had not yet driven the Great Ocean Road. And so earlier this year, when memories of 2010 were still fresh in my mind, I set off with my Focus to drive the GOR for the first time.

A typical example of New Zealand's one-way bridges, found near the Taumarunui end of the Forgotten World Highway Well thanks to a combination solo travel exhaustion and post solo travel distraction, it has been a little while since my last post. I am back in Melbourne now, but there remain stories to be told about my adventures on the other side of the Tasman. My last post left me in Whakapapa Village in Tongariro National Park. There I spent the best part of a day walking in the park while avoiding gale-force winds at higher altitude. Leaving Whakapapa early the next morning, I set out on what would be my longest driving day of my trip. My destination was Wellington, but after reading an article in Wheels magazine last year I was very keen to drive highway 43, otherwise known as the Forgotten World Highway, which required a slight detour on the way to Wellington.

Sunset over Lake Rotorua I have a confession to make. I am starting to grow fond of my campervan. Despite my strong belief that nothing built by Toyota (4wds excepted) should ever elicit an emotional attachment, Hogan is doing his best to find a place in my heart. To be fair, Hogan is more than just a Toyota. Thanks to a comfortable, if simple, camper fit-out he has become my transient home of the last seven days. And despite his (predictable) shortcomings, he has also carried me reliably around New Zealand, serving as my ticket to travel wherever I please, doing so at my own convenience. Leaving Matakohe on Saturday morning to head through Auckland to Thames, I was blissfully unaware of the difficulties I would encounter on my journey. Thanks to Friday night's heavy rain, many roads were closed due to either flooding of landslides, and many more were blocked in one direction. At Wellsford I discovered that SH1 was under about a metre of water at Dome Valley and I...

Beautiful scenery in the Bay of Islands Having spent four days in New Zealand so far, I am beginning to get into a comfortable routine. The last couple of days have been action packed,with Wednesday being my busiest day so far. I spent the morning on a cruise around the Bay of Islands, and visited the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi, where the in 1840 Moari cheifs singed a treaty that brought New Zealand under British rule. Yesterday, I left the caravan park in Paihia and headed north towards Cape Reinga. Stopping for fuel at Awenui, I was able to gauge for the first time Hogan's thirst for unleaded, which came in at just over 12.7L/100km. This was not too bad given that ExploreMore's website quotes 12.5L/100km, however with petrol priced at more than NZ$2 per litre, filling up was not going to ever be a highlight of the trip.

I flew into Auckland airport right on schedule at five o’clock yesterday, and was picked up by my welcoming host who drove me to her nearby B&B where I had booked for the night. After a good night’s sleep, despite the bickering neighbours, I left the B&B this morning to pick up my transport for the remainder of the trip. New Zealand has some of the southern hemisphere’s best driving roads: winding mountain passes, beautiful coastal roads and everything in between. My choice of vehicle has just two seats, and a 3.4L V6 driven through the rear wheels. The prefect choice for some spirited driving on twisty tarmac. Well…sort of.