You have arrived in New Zealand via the Auckland
Airport and just picked up your campervan
or self-drive tour car. Did you come to New
Zealand because you have been told shopping
in Auckland will give you the best bargains
available anywhere in the world? I should not
think so, but if you have been told this,
forget it. It is not true!
Maybe you came to New Zealand because
you heard of a couple of fascinating Auckland
tourist attractions. In that case, allow
yourself a couple of days to visit them.
You will probably waste half a day getting
around Auckland to start with!
If you have not heard already, Auckland City
has become a traffic nightmare. My guess
is that even getting from where you picked
up your vehicle and travelling to the nearest
entrance to the Southern Motorway will have
you wondering why you ever came here.
There
you are, in a strange vehicle and, if it is
an upmarket campervan, it will be stranger
still if the window wiper and indicator stalks
are on opposite sides to what you are used to. But
the good news is even on a bad day
at peak hours travelling south, once you have reached the motorway, it is not too
bad at all.
Which all leads me to my personal opinion,
which is to get out of Auckland as soon as
possible. The fact is you are probably working
to a restricted time-scale, whether it be
one week or three months, time is still important.
NZScenics is devoted to the prime idea that
you are here to see and experience our great
outdoors, preferably in their natural state
and freely available. You will not do that fighting
your way around Auckland.
If you are travelling independently, and have
no urgent desire to explore Auckland, and
you intend following all or part of the NZScenics
Great New Zealand Scenic Tour - Central North
Island, then head for the motorway and southern
parts.
I am going to assume you are leaving Auckland
sometime before midday. If you have arrived
at the vehicle pick-up point later in the
afternoon, it would probably pay to spend
the night in a motel somewhere, even if that
means parking the campervan right outside
the motel door!
Among other things, you may
find the processing of your rental agreement
and taking control of the vehicle, takes
a touch longer than you might expect. No sense
heading for the motorway, and then south
on the motorway, in peak-hour traffic and
in an unfamiliar vehicle.
Instead rest up for what is
left of the day and get yourself a good night's
sleep.
If you can head off first thing in the morning
- around 9am or earlier, perfect!
If, on the other hand, you have decided to spend time in "The City of Sails" and play some of the great golf courses in the Greater Auckland area, starting with Maungakeke, the closest to Downtown Auckland, then I will talk to you again further down the island.