◮ Uretiti Beach ◭
On the move. I left my heavy sweaters and winter clothes at Connor’s and began my journey north. My first task was to escape the city since it’s impossible to hitchhike on the side of a three lane highway. I left at 9 am taking two buses to Silverdale, 30 km north of Auckland for a total of $11 NZD. My ultimate destination, Uretiti Beach Campsite, was an hour and 15 minute drive up Highway 1. While hitching, two drivers brought me to my destination; the first was a kiwi man in his sixties who travels around the world and takes photos of buried kiwi soldiers' graves who fought in WWII. The second was a young lad from Gothenburg, Sweden who was traveling around NZ for six weeks. Collectively, I was only standing on the side of the road for 15 minutes so I arrived at the campground at 12.30 pm.
Quick info: there are five types of campsites that the Department of Conservation (DOC) operate. Top of the line campsites are Serviced ($18), meaning they have all facilities including kitchen, hot showers, road access for vehicles, and sometimes even laundry facilities. Next are Scenic ($13), similar to Serviced, but cold showers with limited extra facilities. Standard Campsites are $8 for adults, no showers but still have road access for vehicles, whereas Backcountry Campsites ($6) have no road access. For Basic campsites, campers must be fully self sufficient with access only to toilets and water from a tank, stream or lake. These are free and obviously my favorite.
The Uretiti DOC Campsite was Serviced, with a $2 garbage bag fee. Overall, it was dopeeee. Right beside the beach, mountains in the distance and a beautiful sunny day made it the perfect start to the trip. I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring around, reading, writing, and worrying that someone would steal something from my unattended tent while I chilled on the beach. I also discovered that this beach not only was part of the Te Araroa, the six month hike that goes from the northern tip of the country to the southern Bluff, but it was also a nude beach. Multiple elderly men were strutting around their stuff; one was even fishing.
This was the first time setting up my camp and also using my new stove! I bought an MSR PocketRocket (~$50 CAD) before I left Canada, got some gas from an outdoor store downtown Auckland ($13 NZD) and it worked perfectly. No need to pump up the pressure, just twist it on, fire it up and water will boil in about three minutes. It’s also super light and small - the only downside is that the gas canisters are non-refillable. Ugh, sad for the environment. My first meal consisted of pasta with tomato, onions, grounded up falafel bites and sauce #veganlyfe. I was v content. For breakfast the next morning, oatmeal with peanut butter and banana. Lunch - peanut butter and jam sandwich. This essentially was a test run for future multi-day camping trips, discovering what I’m missing, what I don’t need for next time and how easy it is to get around. Realized I don't have cooking oil or a dish scrubbie or long cozy pants for chilly nights. A.k.a luxury items. I’ll survive.
Transportation Cost Total: $11 (Typically $40) Accommodation Cost Total: $15 (Typically $25-30 at hostels)
↟↟↟ Never Stop Exploring ↟↟↟ Stefan Carlberg
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