In 2001 my partner and I fully loaded up my car for a 10-day Christmas camping retreat at Tauhara near Taupo in New Zealand. We lowered the back seat to make more room in the boot for all our gear – tents, sleeping bags, swim goggles, flippers, food etc.
We set off from Papakura, a suburb in the south of Auckland, around the 21st December and drove to Rotorua where we spent the night with his sister’s family. The sun was glaring and so I wore sunglasses as I drove.