Have Car, Will Drive

Beautiful scenery in the Bay of Islands Having spent four days in New Zealand so far, I am beginning to get into a comfortable routine. The last couple of days have been action packed,with Wednesday being my busiest day so far. I spent the morning on a cruise around the Bay of Islands, and visited the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi, where the in 1840 Moari cheifs singed a treaty that brought New Zealand under British rule. Yesterday, I left the caravan park in Paihia and headed north towards Cape Reinga. Stopping for fuel at Awenui, I was able to gauge for the first time Hogan's thirst for unleaded, which came in at just over 12.7L/100km. This was not too bad given that ExploreMore's website quotes 12.5L/100km, however with petrol priced at more than NZ$2 per litre, filling up was not going to ever be a highlight of the trip.

I flew into Auckland airport right on schedule at five o’clock yesterday, and was picked up by my welcoming host who drove me to her nearby B&B where I had booked for the night. After a good night’s sleep, despite the bickering neighbours, I left the B&B this morning to pick up my transport for the remainder of the trip. New Zealand has some of the southern hemisphere’s best driving roads: winding mountain passes, beautiful coastal roads and everything in between. My choice of vehicle has just two seats, and a 3.4L V6 driven through the rear wheels. The prefect choice for some spirited driving on twisty tarmac. Well…sort of.

Welcome to Have Car, Will Drive. I am a young motoring enthusiast and uni student living in Melbourne, Australia and I have decided to share my thoughts, experiences and opinions on this blog. HCWD will document my driving experiences, and thoughts all all things automotive, as well as share interesting vehicles I see and anything else that is vaguely relevant. Car love for me is not just about exotic vehicles that are out of reach for most of us, but about finding enjoyment in any vehicle. This enjoyment for me is two-pronged, and stems from both driving enjoyment and a less tangible, emotional attachment that I seem to have to anything with four wheels. Pictured above is my '08 build Ford Focus, my first new car purchase. Two weeks ago I piloted it on a four-day, 1000km round trip laced with twisty bitumen and a good helping of gravel back-roads. It is not amazingly fast, not is it particularly luxurious. And yet with its two-litre four and five-speed manual transmission,...