We’re up sort of early attempting to make use of all the supplies we have before exiting the apartment; this means we get a mix of chips and toast for brekkie ????

It’s a 10am check out and we pop by Mango Espresso Bar before getting to Sky City to get the SkyDrive bus to the airport

From here, we get a lift from our car rental company to their nearby office and are able to collect our car we’ve booked for 27 days

We’ve booked the cheapest option we could find and it totals just over £100 – the insurance coverage for this time actually costs more (not by much though)!

On the road, we head to McDonald’s in Mount Roskill to have some lunch before properly getting going

Following this, we’re on the road and make our way to Orewa and it’s east-facing beach

We walk up and down for a while, then pop to Woolworths for some car snacks and then carry on the journey

Along our route is Moirs Hill Walkway, in Pohuehue, so we get out and do the little walk to a small waterfall in the woods

Bizarrely, there seems to be a lone cockerel guarding this walk

Back in the car, we carry on driving until we find Brynderwyns Scenic Lookout

It’s more of a path along private property that’s high up but it does give you nice views of Bream Bay and the Northlands – Gary even gets to see (see the featured image)

It’s not too much longer until we reach where we’re staying for the next few nights, in Mangapai – it’s sort of a granny flat with views of rolling hills, though we can’t see that too much now in the dark

We check what facilities we have access to and then head out to the local town to source supplies

PAK’n’SAVE Whangārei sorts us some good deals and we get back to prepare dinner: steak with salad

It’s been a busy day so we call it a night