It was another warm and sunny day today. We have been really fortunate with the weather lately.

We did a fair amount of driving today as we wanted to make it at least as far north as Levin. There didn't seem to be much of interest in the actual town of Levin, but just beyond was Waiterere Beach and we thought we'd stop off here briefly. It was an incredibly long beach with lots of sand dunes. You could drive on to the beach, although we didn't want to risk it with the van. We took a stroll, and Stu found a big stick to write our names in the sand big enough for any passing aircraft to read.

We continued our drive towards Wanganui. Viginia Lake just past the main part of the town seemed like a good spot to stop for lunch. Then we took a walk around the lake. There were hundreds of ducks, geese, swans and other birds around the lake. It was amusing to watch them going about their business, fighting and playing with each other. It was a nice lake, and made for a peaceful and pleasant walk after lunch.

We decided to head back into the town of Wanganui, park up on the high street and take a wander. Stu had managed to lose a lens cap today so the camera shop was the first destination - thankfully only a quick visit! I also ended up buying Mario Kart for the Nintendo DS to keep me amused. We grabbed a coffee at a nice little cafe on the corner before heading back to the van.

Stu didn't sleep too well last night and decided he wanted to stay in a cabin again. We drove to the best local campsite and managed to get a self-contained cabin for the night. It's not quite as luxurious as the cottage we had in Murchison, but it will make a nice change to spending the evening in the van. I think that being on the road for as long as we have and sleeping every night in a van is starting to take its toll. Not that we aren't still enjoying things, because we most definitely are. But after this length of time we are starting to look forward to sleeping in a proper bed.

The cabin has been good this evening. We've been able to cook dinner in the spacious kitchen, and even caught an episode of Flight of the Conchords on the TV which was great. A nice evening off.