A little before 8 am on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, my husband, my kids & I head off on our South Island adventure. As we head out on the open road none of us, save my husband knew what to expect. As he reminded me this morning, I am the ‘second American bird’ he’s taken to South Island. The first time he went to South Island was during high school with his friends Paul W. & Carol. That time it was the three of them, a station wagon and a tent. This time…I reckon will be a bit different.
Our first stop today is Taupo. It’s a geothermal spot in the North Island that is very conveniently located about half way between Auckland and Wellington. We’ve been here before and it’s lovely. The campsite where we’ll be staying is the Lake Taupo DeBretts site. Perfect as it has hot as well as normal pools and a  huge water slide. It will also allow is to practice staying at a campsite. Our other option was to park outside a friend’s house, but on our first night I did not want to use our caravan’s toilet…people, I need time to acclimate to this caravanning thing.