Auckland 2
Meticulous planning was required after my difficulties getting into Auckland almost a week ago.
The four hours required to get from Cambridge to Ponsonby for my meet-up made me nervous.
It was a Friday, so a mid-afternoon departure wouldn’t have been good. I really had to get moving.
The particular Cambridge motel from my northwards journey was unavailable, so that suggested Whakatane seemed a good stopping point for the night.
Intent on finally visiting Newmarket, a 9 30 am arrival would get around the commuter traffic, so a two-hour 30-minute travel time suggested a 7 am departure. With no coffee-making facilities in my accommodation, that was achievable. No coffee shops or petrol stations were spotted, so that encouraged movement.
Unsurprisingly, there was also a major 60 km diversion.
Eventually, I spotted a decent-looking coffee shop in Mangawhai Heads, so that aspect of my day was resolved.
The traffic moved seamlessly into Auckland, and I peeled off at Newmarket to do what turned out to be window shopping.
Drizzle.
My directions back to the car were: turn left at the Ferrari dealership, go past BMW on the other side of the road from Mercedes, and then duck up a sidestreet past Rolls-Royce.
No exorbitant parking fee this time around.
A cheapish petrol fill-up, some sushi takeaway, then back on the motorway south.
This time there were no diversions, and minimal delay with merging issues.
A clean exit.
Hooray!
Still drizzling.
The real slowdown came with getting through Tauranga albeit without car engine overheating issues, so that was a plus.
Ten hours after leaving Whangarei, I was parked outside my accommodation in Whakatane.
So, lots of driving.
So what.
Well, it just makes me realise how fortunate I am to live in Nelson, where I can go for ten days before hopping in my car.
Walking is good.