So one night I’m eating fresh fish of the day at a table on the bay in Russell, and the next night I’m eating a McDonald’s Kiwi Burger* in my motel room in Auckland. And what a room it is. I think the motel used to be an apartment building in the 1950s. They’ve updated the plumbing, appliances, and electrical system since then, but I’m sure the carpet is original. Furnishings are probably from about 1980. There are odd cupboards with tubing in them.

Each unit has a country or region associated with it — Italian, Mexican, Baltic, etc. I’m in the Swiss Suite. I can’t see anything Swiss about it, unless the Swiss put tubing in their cupboards.

I grossly underestimated the drive time for the Northland. In addition to sheep hazards, road maintenance, and slow logging trucks, the roads are more winding, and there are one-lane bridges and ferry crossings.

It’s 436 km from Cape Reinga to Auckland, or 271 miles. That took me a bit over seven hours. I would have been better off spending an extra day in Russell and driving straight down from there.

* I don’t think it’s made with actual kiwis, but I can’t be completely sure what’s in it.