Our plan for day 1 is to drive through Auckland and get out of the region before any new lockdown is announced.

We stopped at Owera for a spot of lunch by the sea, a diversion we take to avoid the toll road.

Just as we rejoined sh1 we hit road works, part of the Pohoi / Warksworth bypass.

Not too much time lost.

Our stop for the night was Uretiti beach, a DOC camp set just behind the dunes at Uretiti beach.

Having purchased a DOC pass this stop doesn’t cost us anything extra. The camp even had hot showers for $2.

Take a look at our YouTube video to see the start of our trip north.