I got through Auckland in one piece which seems to me to be a miracle in it’s own right.  The last time I went through Auckland it was on my way out, and things got easier the further I got, whereas this time I was heading into the heart of the beast so things only got worse the farther into the city I went.  I though to myself as huge lorries are flying by my ear at 100km/hr this is insane, and I kept muttering to myself about trying not to die.  To top it off I only made it as far as West Auckland by the end of the day (I had started the day in Hamilton) whereas I was hoping to make it up to Helensville but all the stop/go lights really put the breaks on the days ride. I ended up for the first time in a motel after asking a bunch of people where the nearest campground was, one couple lamented to me the lack of camping in that area and told me the only bet was a motel down the street.

Today I finally got off the main road onto the long way to Cape Reinga which, thankfully, has much less traffic.  I can only hope it remains that way until the top.  I’ll hit up the kauri museum this morning as many a person has told me it’s well worth the stop.  As a note kauri is like the giant redwoods in California, though it was heavily logged early in New Zealand colonization because it grows straight and is extremely wide.  I’ve seen a fair amount of furniture made out of kauri and it’s always nice stuff.  Because they can’t really log it anymore to get new kauri they dig it out of swamps which the logs sank into when they were logged the first time.

I’m probably 3 or 4 days from the end of the line here, then I’ll try to find another wwoofing gig and hang out for a few more weeks before the next adventure starts.