Certainly Not Maplins.

NAPIER. 7 NOVEMBER 2024.

One of the best night’s sleep so far disturbed only by the lumber trucks rumbling past on the road outside. We have breakfast in the dining before leaving at 10 am.

Although the journey is through beautiful countryside, it’s spoilt by a series of roadworks which add over sixty minutes to it. To make matters worse, there are no coffee shops on route. Eventually, we arrive on the outskirts of Napier. We stop at a fruit market which offers ice cream made from real fruit. They are delicious. We then call at a hotel for coffee because we are early for the campsite.

Check in is easy and the room modern and comfortable. It’s time for a clothes wash so we use the laundrette and go for a swim. There are two pools one hot and one cold. We obviously choose the hot one. There’s an Australian at the pool who’s brought his 40 year old daughter to North Island. She’s doing some long distance walking.

Later, we walk into town hoping for a seaside restaurant but not exist. In fact, the town is very quiet. So, we return to the site. We pass a couple on the way back and the man looks like our Australian. Naturally, we say hello. Except that they’re from Holland!

The restaurant aren’t servíng food tonight but are cooking fish and chips for takeout. We enjoy these at the room before linking up with Jude on Zoom for a Spanish conversation.