After my last Wicked Camper, I expected the worst again over here but I am now the driver of an ungraffitied Toyota van in very good condition, I will have room to sit-up in bed without any contortions and hopefully it will be kinder to my poor old back. After collecting the van, filling up with juice and purchasing the necessaries like a pasta cullender and king size quilt we made our way, avoiding major roads up to Coromandel Town. We are staying at Tui Lodge which is mainly backpackers accommodation with a few spaces for small camper vans, it is a lovely quiet place and was a boon to be able to cook dinner in the camp kitchen while the cyclone wreaked its wrath outside, actually just an hour of high wind and heavy rain.
I popped down to the town after the rain had stopped and had a couple of drinks in the Star & Garter, I managed to acquire a seat in the bay window in a plush button backed antique leather chair so I could watch the comings and goings in comfort it also gave me the chance to contemplate.
New Zealand has become a very expensive place compared to our first visit here 15 years ago, then house prices were about a quarter of UK prices, now apparently they are comparable and a pint of beer is over £4.50 with petrol also similar in price to UK so maybe I will not be retiring over here after all. One of the other travellers who is on a sabattical told me that prices are high in NZ and OZ because they export everything which means that prices for what remains have risen so high, I think that there is some validity in this view but if you export your country prices are sure to rise, I have met a number of people who are worried what will happen now that all the utilities are owned by Chinese companies or is that the Chinese state. I must say Auckland seems to be a suburb of Beiging with all the Chinese institutions and businessess and also the smell of Chinese food in the air.
I will leave you to contemplate these thoughts.
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