I felt my heart beat rapidly against my chest; I was not equipped to deal with this situation. Why had I never learned how to get a car out of the mud? I feel like this was a skill a 20 something year old should have.

Isn't it?

Taxes, boiling water, separating reds and whites for laundry, and getting a two ton holiday van from out of the mud are the adult skills you must know.

But here I was, watching my sister fruitlessly floor the engine trying to move this beast of a car. Mud flung everywhere, light quickly fading from the sky - we had to accept the situation - were hopelessly and entirely stuck.

You know that feeling when panic starts to sink in. Your extremities get cold and tingly and you feel as if someone has cracked an egg on your head and cold yolk is travelling down your spine and you start to get really shaky and feel as if you are going to projectile vomit everywhere? That is how I was feeling when it started to sink in, that we were stuck, without reception, in the middle of nowhere and it was getting dark. And all I had to eat was a jar of peanut butter.

This was day one of a seven day roadie with my sister. It was meant to be a grand adventure. I was meant to marvel at mountains and be awed by ancient forests. Go for hikes and eat too many bad service station food. Not be nearly crying in the mud in the middle of nowhere.

There was one thing for it. We needed help. We found a local farm and started the long hike up to the lone house on the hill. This was my nightmare. Knocking on a stranger's door. The last time I had attempted this was when I was a Brownie selling cookies . People were nicer to you when you were armed with cookies, not to mention a ten year old. But, we were two women covered in mud, tired looking, and my eye looked very dodgy but it was only because my contact lens was rubbing something awful.

The guy who answered was armed with fluffy socks and a smile. Good start. He listened to our rushed story - and straight away offered to help, as well as coffee - an offer once more echoed by his wife. With a giant ute and some kiwi ingenuity, he managed to get our van from out of our sticky situation.

We wholeheartedly thanked this man - our literal knight in plaid and wooly socks, and we set once again off on our grand adventure. This turned out to be a five minute drive down the road. We were both knackered. After a hasty dinner of peanut butter straight from the jar, we settled in for the night.

Only to be awakened a little while later to lights shining in my face. My sleep addled brain at once jumped to the most likely of culprits, aliens.

But, soon I heard raucous laughter and swears that would make my grandma’s toes curl and aliens quickly were replaced with potential ruffians. I lay frozen in terror - as they circled our van, all the while shining their torches in. What did they want with us? They wandered off eventually to the nearby beach - I let go of the breath I had been holding dear to my lung. My sister then began to talk about every person in the history of New Zealand who had been killed in their campervans. She was great at the whole soothing talk thing.

We were suitably freaked out

We dived into the front seat - still in our PJs and without shoes, and got the fuck out of there like bats out of hell as my friend Meatloaf would have said

It was dark. It was so dark I felt like my eyes were closed and I was staring at my eyelids. Or staring out into the abyss. It was really fucking dark basically.

I squinted - trying to figure out where I was and how far to go until we reached civilization. My sister informed me that we were now on a quarter of a tank of gas. I felt my heart beat stumble. That was not good.

Natane slammed on the brakes suddenly. She was staring out into the road with a dismayed look. I turned slowly to see what she was fixated by - A tree. A giant tree had fallen, blocking the entire road. Great.

Natane hopped out of the car - and attempted to move it. And again I will reilate it was a giant fully grown tree. I still have no idea what she was trying to achieve that night. Perhaps she felt the need to do something - after all the cards were not being played in our favour. After a few fruitless attempts at pushing a 20 ton tree from out of the way - she gave up.

We carefully manoeuvred the van into a U turn as getting stuck in the mud again would be the icing on the metaphorical cake and parked up in a random patch of grass at the side of the road.

With a quarter of a tank - we could not try to go the other way as the nearest gas station was 145km away. We had to go forward. I fell into a fitful slumber, with thoughts of drunk laughter, trees and my sister’s pushing said tree in her dressing gown racing around my mind.

My dreams were dissipated with a trunk roaring down the road past our van. We sprung up. For that trunk to get through - the tree must be gone. I felt excitement and hope bubble inside, we quickly got dressed and drove back to the tree. And sure enough, the tree had been cut in two allowing us thoroughfare. I had never been so happy. And vowed to always carry a saw for every road trip after this.

The first night was terrible. A night involving way too much mud, tears, dodgy people, and a giant tree - but it got a lot better.

Below, I have curated my top five moments of our mini roadie around the North Island - the spots I would recommend you drop in at if you are ever in the area.

Three Sisters and the Elephant

Three sisters is a rock formation that you can stop at on the North Taranaki coast. Well, it is now two sisters and an elephant without a trunk due to erosion.

It is a beautiful place - the rocks are beautiful and the views amazing. The walk along the beach is really interesting as well - be sure to peak into the many caves that dot the cliff face around this area.

Plan your time right - as you will need to come at low tide

Castle Hill Wind Farm

Winding up the Saddle Road in Wairarapa, you will see giant wind turbines dotted everywhere. Emerging from the hills, proud and tall - these giant man made objects are really something.

There is a turn off on your way where you can come up and view the turbines from a lot closer.

I mean a lot closer. You will be literally underneath one of these giants. You do not really realize how large or loud these bad boys are until you have been under one I feel.

Very much worth a stop

Whakapapa Village

We stayed at the Whakapapa Village Park. It was great. Fries, hot showers, and unlimited wifi, what more do you want from a camping ground.

We based ourselves here to explore the area at the bottom of the mountains.

There are heaps of great walks to try out - such as the Taranaki Falls walk, or you could attempt the big one, and do the Tongariro Crossing.

The Chateau is around here, where you can marvel at it’s Shining-like vibes and also pop in for a tasty bowl of soup

Soup is always good.

There is a nice pub around here as well that actually serves vegan pizza which is what I liked to see. Had vegan cheese and everything.

The views around here are out of this world. I felt like I was wandering around a painting - the grand mountains in the foreground and the moody tussocks everywhere.

Link below to the holiday camping ground

https://whakapapa.net.nz/

Polynesian Spa (Rotorua)

Soaking in very hot water until you resemble a boiled potato while staring up at the stars makes for a great time. After walking a lot - this is a great place for an unwind

You can book a private room or splash around in the public ones.

I opted for a private room with my sister. Which basically ended up with her pouting at her phone sending pictures to Tinder boys and me looking like a boiled potato. So, basically a Saturday night.

Link below to the spa

https://www.polynesianspa.co.nz/

Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre in Mt Bruce Wairarapa.

Birds are awesome. I will flock anywhere where there is a chance at seeing a bird. So, Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre was one my list of must dos.

Mainly for the Kokako and also for the white kiwi.

We meet the kokako who has a love for all things men with glasses and beards. Don't we all. But, for her it was because that was what the ranger who raised her from a chick looked like.

Funnily enough, when we visited there was an old man who fitted that bill - so she was all over him.

We saw the white kiwi - it kind of looked like a rock. But a breathing rock. It was amazing.

There was an open aviary as well. The open aviary is where you can walk into a netted enclosure, where Kaka, Hihi, and korimako are zooming around. There are also pateke and Whio chilling in here as well. It is a great way to get up close and personal with these guys.

Link below for more info

https://pukaha.org.nz/

Virginia lake

I fell in love at this lake. Mainly because I saw the most beautiful bird ever. The mute swan.

Virginia lake is home to a number of mute swans. A fact I learned after visiting. I had never seen one of these - so of course, I was amazed. And marvelled at them for a long time. They are huge.

There are many other birds here as well - and if you are not too into birds, it is also just a really nice walk. They also have a greenhouse here where you can check out some awesome exotic plants.

An aviary is onsite - which is the home to guinea fowl, finches, and a few boisterous cockatoos which you can say hello to.

A Road Trip with my Sister