Arrive New Zealand, Auckland to Russell

Yesterday, our first day in New Zealand, we connected with our delightful campervan rental owners, Karen and Roger Ballantine, who got us all set up in our home for the next few weeks, equipped with wireless to be able to stay in touch with family, friends, colleagues and all of you. I've never done this kind of trip by campervan and it's really a fun way to travel.

Our first night was in Russell, north of Auckland on the east coast overlooking the Bay of Islands.
Driving the road to Russell is not the best way to get there (we didn't yet know about the ferry). Here is the drive we had on the last few miles along a dirt road, through a forest.

We awoke before sunrise and went down to the beach to watch the sun come up.
Rand set up chairs near the water's edge. It was glorious.