Sadly we leave leave Paihia and the Bay of Islands and head for Rotorua stopping at Auckland for lunch and to collect another couple joining the tour.

We head to Auckland - 227 klm - retracing the track we took on Wednesday. We arrived into Auckland and headed off to do some shopping and have some lunch while the rest of the tour went for a visit to the Sky Tower.

Back on the coach were headed for Rotorua - a trip of 228 klm. The countryside changes from rolling hills and deep gorges to flatlands. At times we drove along the Waikato River - new Zealand's longest river. The area is renowned for its horse studs and athletic sports training areas especially equestrian and rowing - New Zealand's Olympic Teams regularly train in this area.

Along the way we also passed dairy, sheep, alpaca and red deer farms. We went through some quiet little towns like Tiaru where much of the signage is made of corrugated iron and colourfully painted.

We arrived into Rotorua at about 5:30pm and proceeded to our hotel. As we got off the coach we were met with the smell of sulphur. Dinner and a quiet night as we prepare for a full day in Rotorua tomorrow.

Today's insights....

New Zealand was the first country in the world to introduce the 40 hour working week.

The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for 425 kilometres through the North Island. It rises in the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and emptying into Lake Taupo, New Zealand's largest lake.

Alpaca wool comes in 22 different natural colours.

Today's pemperatures: Min 10 in PaihIa and 20 in Rotorua.