We arrived in Auckland in the North Island on Wednesday night after a gruelling 30 hour flight. We stayed at a lovely Airbnb in central Auckland with a really friendly host called Edreen. We drove 3 hours north to the Karikari Peninsula and stayed in a wonderful, deserted DOC campsite overlooking Matai Bay – our first taste of freedom camping! We then headed south along the east coast to the Bay of Islands to the small town of Paihia.