We drove down the rest of the Coramandel occasionally and round the coast to a little DOC camp ground right on the coast called Matata we had a nice evening stroll along the beach, it was pretty cool as it was a clear night and we could see Whakaari/White Island which is an active volcanic island just off the coast. The next morning we headed into Whakatane and had a nice wander around (mainly looking for surf!!) The next spot was Opotiki where there was surf (...

We drove South through Auckland on our way stopping off at Orewa where we bought surfboard number 2 for Debs :) !!! We carried on driving past Aukland to the East coast and stopped at a really beautiful regional park called Tapapakanga. We both went for a run (James a longer one) and it was a gorgeous evening the park was great as it had the coast, farm and bush. We had picked up some fresh red cod which made an awesome dinner!! The next morning we carried along ...

We drove down from the Bay of Islands down to a nice DOC campsite on Waipu Cove, the beach was beautiful and James went for a run. The next morning we headed to the Waipu Caves, they are amazing! They are free anfd you just wlak in there with a torch or headlamp. We climbed and scrambled quite far back!!! But the most amazing thing was the glow worms. We turned our torches off and the ceiling lit up with glow worms!! It was like the night sky! They are super c...

We arrived at Paihia on Wednesday afternoon. The sun had come out and it was beautiful. We parked up in a camp filled with olive trees and run by a really nice guy. He bought us over a load of oysters which he had just shelled and told us we could help ourselves to the lemons on his tree :) We went for a nice walk along the beach. The next morning we got up for a boat trip that we booked the day before, we decided it would be a good way to see the bay properly. I...

We left Maitai Bay and headed south via the Manginui Fish and Chip Shop 'the best in NZ!' for lunch. We had battered snapper and chips, it was schmasty!! Then we headed down to a little Island that we were told abouth by a lovely couple whilst we were staying at Pouto Point. you have to drive out on a causeway to get there. It is an eco centre where they protect the Kiwi's. It is such an amazing place and we were avid Kiwi fans as soon as Chris and Daryl (Loo...