Since it’s my last day on the road, I decided to spend some time on the beach – I won’t really have a chance to do that again probably until the end of the trip, and definitely not without staying fully clothed. So: Tauranga. The place is meant to have some of the best beaches – I`m not much of a beach creature, but I liked it. The Mt Maunganui that rose suddenly out of the end of the peninsula definitely made it interesting. Some more sunbathing and jumping through the waves was had, and in the afternoon I explored the town a bit and took off to Auckland to return the car. I ended the trip as I began it – eating chicken wings on the grass in front of a supermarket.
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| Some cool graffiti in Auckland |
I spent the rest of the day trying to upload some photos, planning the rest of the trip and chatting with my couchsurfing hosts. Not much happened at all.
So here’s a summary. Traveling alone is great. No waiting for others, nobody gets tired and wants to go back, no compromises on where to go, or any other nonsense. Don’t get me wrong, I love traveling with others for completely different reasons and there are many things for which a couple or a group would be better, but for hardcore exploring I`m quite happy with my own company. It’s my first roadtrip and I loved it. I made exactly 1504 km in six days, managed to see a lot, and the road itself was an experience. Most importantly, I got full days for exploration. Not ‘got there at noon and need to catch a bus at 5’ days, but ‘woke up at sunrise, traveled to next location to be there at 8-9 am, had a full day exploring and perhaps traveled some more in the evening’. I loved that part, no time wasted, and living from dawn til dusk worked quite well. Sleeping in the car wasn’t as bad as I thought, even though it was tiny – and the spots I found were better than any hostel, unless they can offer breakfast on a riverbank. Also, surviving on tins is fine. I really want to go for a longer road trip, one where I can stay in one place a bit longer. It will happen.
jrmsbh