We made our way through the Auckland traffic to Warkworth where we were given a very warm welcome by Dave's cousin Brian and his wife Charmaine. It was lovely to sit down to a roast dinner, our first since leaving home and we really enjoyed it.

Brian and Charmaine live in an absolutely stunning location, only a fifteen minute drive from the town but with only another couple of houses in site. Practically all the land within sight is part of their property, twenty acres in all, although a lot of it is bush land. The house doesn't have mains water connected and relies on water tanks to collect rain water which is then filtered before use. This is the same at many of the campsites we have stayed at and when there is a dry spell, as at present, tanks can run dry and then water has to be purchased. In NZ there is nothing unusual in this but it did seem strange to us, however the water is so beautifully soft and tastes great.

Warkworth is a really pretty town and is surrounded by rivers, lakes and the sea. We can see why New Zealanders love their country and wouldn't live anywhere else.

Although we have been comfortable in the campervan it was a luxury to spend a couple of nights in a proper bed with an ensuite, We'll never take this for granted again!