Our early start ended up not so early but we did get away by 9.00 and left Totty at the kennels at 9.30 and were off.
The dive to Auckland, having done it so many times now, is pretty boring and the only highlight is where we stop for a coffee. We stopped at the Native Tree and enjoyed our coffee and the delicious smell of the homemade pies they cook there and would later regret not buying one!
We made good time and didn't get held up in Auckland and got as far as Warkworth for lunch. We found a pretty cafe by the river and had a sandwich sitting outside. My friend Viv lived in Warkworth and she said she didn't like it but it certainly looks very quaint.
We drove on and stopped at Matakohe and the very famous Kauri Museum which lived up to everything we had been told about it. New Zealand forests must have been amazing with all those huge trees and how hard the men worked cutting them and moving them to the ports with very little machinery.
We drove on to our first stop and I was not expecting much as Sharon had told me Dargaville was grim and she was not wrong!! Our motel was OK, clean and spacious but the owner not your usual friendly Kiwi.
We drove into the town to check out the places for dinner and walked by the river which is very wide and very brown and muddy and apparently it always is. We noticed a lot of cars were very dirty and I mean can't see through the windows muddy and dirty.
We went into the supermarket to look for something for dinner but didn't find anything. I had to buy some new sunnies as the screw had come out of mine and I need them all the time so we went into the Warehouse but nobody knew where they were and sent us from one end of the shop to the other - twice!! Finally Jon found them and I bought a pair and we left.
We eventually decided on fish and chips as they are usually dependable. Not in Dargaville!! The were awful but then if the fish comes from the muddy river it is no surprise. So not much dinner and a very small TV made for an early night!!
WEATHER
Sunny and warm 23 degrees
No comments:
Post a Comment