Once we had collected the new Camper van, from a company called Spaceships & returned the car, we stopped for food & essentials, then drove the short distance to Te Kauwhata, a free campsite, where we put our feet up & relaxed in the sunshine. Exactly what we needed.
The new van is called ‘Slartibartfast’ a character from The Hitchhiker’s Guide, which is not something I ever got into & so we just refer to it as the spaceship; it is a small people carrier; smaller in height than the hippie but fresher, newer & v comfortable seats for driving. The bedding area isn't quite as comfortable, the fridge is smaller &, whereas the hippie could be configured to have a rear seating area, this can't & as the fridge & storage is located underneath the bed area it's more difficult to get to. No matter, we were happy to have a little place of our own to call home again.
Fully refreshed, the following morning we were up & ready to go. Unfortunately the spaceship wasn't. Turned the key. Nothing. The battery was dead. I made the call to the company & their first response was to inform me that the battery had been checked recently and was fine. We were then told we had to pay $50 on the premise that ‘if it turned out to be our fault’ they would have the money already. Not sure what legal system they work to but it seemed to me like ‘guilty until proven innocent’. I was unimpressed. Thankfully the garage was there within minutes to jump start us & it fired Up straight away. We knew we hadn't left anything on that would have drained the battery but we were faced with the option of have the battery tested for a fault, which would take the best part of the day or drive off without it being checked, thereby accepting that we were at fault. Given that we had already been told the battery was fine & the mechanic had already declared he didn't think it was a fault with the battery (in other words it was our fault) we took it on the chin, took the and van & left. We explored the town of Hamilton, visiting the museum (very informative) & walking along the river, but the weather was dull & overcast & the morning’s drama had dampened our spirits. We got back in the van and carried on driving to a town called Cambridge where we Camped for the night knowing that we would have the same problem with the van again the next morning. Sure enough as we turned the key the next morning nothing happened. We went through the same process again of calling the company & having a garage out to jump start us, although the company did agree to waive the $50 charge this time, conceding that maybe something wasn't quite right. Once the van started we took it in to the local garage to be fully checked – the prognosis possibly the battery (really? Why didn't we think of that!!). Meanwhile, we had 4 hrs to kill in Cambridge, which is pleasant enough town, but in 4hrs you can visit every shop & still have time to spare. We know because we did. However, by 4pm we had one new battery , a $50 refund from the first call out, 2 days rental charges refunded & huge apologies all round. Hopefully, now we could get on with our travels. The van fired up & confirmed it was ready for action. Hmmm we shall see! Our plan had been to visit Waitomo caves but it was too late in the day, so we headed in that direction to camp nearby ready to go the following morning. Our campsite for the evening was on a farm, which Mr L loved & I didn't. It had rusty tractors, animals & ‘quirky’ toilets & showers. I didn't want quirky I wanted functional! When we woke the next morning it was a relief to hear the engine start as we headed off out. The history of the caves was interesting & it was great to see the little glow worms lighting up the roof of the caves, but it was very touristy & by then I had had enough. I had to admit I hadn't been feeling well for a few days so Mr L bundled me in the van and drove us to Rotorua, to a lovely campsite where I was forced to nothing but sleep & recharge.
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