Tuesday 14th April

Went for breakfast at the shopping mall on the way to the airport to pick the kids up. Their flight was due in at ten past twelve, so we called in to find out if it was on time, which it was and then went to pick up the other hire car. We met them at arrivals and it was great to see them after three months away.

They arrived tired after the twenty seven hours of travelling, so we made our way back to the hotel and sat and had a drink in the sunshine. Later on we walked to the train station which was next door and got the train into Auckland city centre.

Auckland was a strange place, quite a big city but with very few people around, we had a walk around the harbour area and found somewhere to eat, then found a bar to have a drink before returning to the hotel.

Wednesday 15th April

Got up early and set off for Rotorua, the drive took us about three hours driving through Hamilton. We stopped off at a cafe along the way and sat out in the garden in the sun. Rotorua was a lovely city with a large lake. As we drove through there was the very noticeable smell of sulphur from the hot springs. The hotel was on the outskirts of the town by a Maori village where there were a lot of hot springs and the sulphur smell was very strong. We had a drive into the city later to have a look around. It was not a city as we would know it back in England, it was quite a small place with low rise buildings but very nice. We had a walk around the shops then went for food. After we had a walk down to the lake.

Thursday 16th April

We went down to the coffee shop at the lake, there was a couple of sea planes on the lake, lots of boat, peddleos and canoes, we walked along then into the town to the information office to see what there was to do in the area. Robin and I decided to go for a walk in the red wood forest and later go to the Polynesian spa. The red wood forest was quite large and there were several walks you could chose from varying in time. We chose one that was an hour long, the trees were very tall and it was lovely walking round the forest. A small bird called a fantail fell to the floor just in front of us, we think it was probably leaving the nest, but wasn't quite able to fly and it followed us along the floor squawking. There were lots of people in the forest on the different walks, which was nice to see. The redwoods were massive.

Later we went back to the hotel and picked up our swimming gear and headed off to the spa. There was lots of options when we got there, there was a family area, adult area, private pools. We chose to go into the adult area for Twenty dollars each. There was no time restriction and when we got in there, we found lots of different pools heated to different temperatures. The pools were open onto the lake, you could sit in one of the pools which was forty three degrees and look out over the lake which was a nature reserve. We stopped in the spa for two and a half hours it was very relaxing although the hotter pools were a bit too hot!

The kids went off for the day to the luge and cable car which was on the hill side coming into the city, then they went to a animal park.
We met up later for dinner.

Friday 17th April

We had a ride to Lake Taupo, which was a couple of hours away. When we set off the weather was not too good it was quite over cast, but as we got to the lake it cleared and turned out sunny and hot. We turned off just before the lake and found a bungee jumping place, where we stayed for a while watching some of the jumpers. It was over a beautiful gorge and the first three people we watched backed out of jumping at first. The first couple were going to jump together but the girl backed out and got very upset, then a lad who was very confident when going onto the platform decided not to jump when he had looked over the edge. Later after thinking about it they all jumped!

We made our way down to the lake and drove around it for a while. Lake Taupo is extremely large, we stopped and had a paddle in the water, which was very cold. We watched the various planes and boats on the lake and admired the view of the volcanoes in the background.

We went back into the town for lunch and found a Breakers bar which is a fairly cheap bar serving food. After lunch we made our way back along the road we had travelled in on calling at a park which had go carts, quad bikes and other activities. The kids had a go on the go karts and then on the mountain bikes. There were lots of extreme activities along the road from Rotorua to Taupo. It was amazing to see the hot springs along the way in the fields and at the side of the road, steam pouring out of the ground. We got back to Rotorua, back to the sulphur smell, it made you wonder if the locals ever get used to the smell. We had a ride to a park where the hot springs were free to wander round, it was where the Maoris used to use the pools for washing, there were springs bubbling like a kettle boiling the water and hot bubbling mud, it was very interesting to see and very smelly.

We met the kids in Breakers, for a drink before heading back to the hotel. Tonight was our last night in Rotorua.

Saturday 18th April

We set off for Mount Maunganui on the east coast which was about an hour away. We hadn't booked any accommodation but had emailed a couple of places to see if there were vacancies. When we got there the weather was starting to brighten up, we stopped on the beach and went down to the water for a paddle. The surf was amazing and there were lots of surfers in the sea. We checked out the one accommodation which was way out of town, then went to find the other one which was in a perfect location, on Maunganui road right by the town centre and right by the beach, walking distance for everything. This was the place to stay, Atlas apartments, it was fully equipt with three bedrooms, it was really plush. We dropped off our things and headed for the beach, it was very warm and we sat on the beach for the afternoon. The surf was as good as we had seen on Bondi beach and it was great watching the surfers catching the waves. Robin, Ben and Bazz decided it looked too good and went in to play in the surf, the locals looked on, they were the only ones in without wetsuits!
We found a supermarket and bought in some supplies for dinner, we made good use of the facilities.

Sunday 19th April

We climbed The Mount, it took well over an hour and was quite heavy going in places. There were great views from the top unfortunately the weather was not as good but you could see for miles along the beach and over the town. We came down a different route down the steps which brought us on to the sea front, the surf was up and there were lots of people in the sea. We had a stroll along the front and sat and had coffee. Watching the surfers.

Later we went for a walk around the town and the harbour which was a lot calmer than the other side of the mount.

We had a ride into Taronga town to have a look, we were glad after visiting that we had chosen to stay in Mount Maunganui.

Monday 20th April

Emily's 21st birthday today and it was raining very heavily. We went out for breakfast and decided that going in the sea would be a great thing to do. We had sorted out hiring wet suits and boogie boards, so after breakfast we made our way down to the surf shop to get the gear.

Even though it was raining there were lots of people in the sea surfing and 'great fun' was had for a few hours in the surf.
We later went to the Breakers bar in town for lunch and played pool for a while before going to Woolworths (the supermarket) for the food for dinner. Emily requested Paella for dinner, which we had whilst watching a DVD and drinking wine! 'Happy Birthday Em'

Tuesday 21st April

Moved up to the Bay of Islands, it took us two hours to get to Auckland and then another three hours up to Paihia. We were all sad to leave Mount Maunganui, we had all enjoyed being there.

The journey up here was eventful, the New Zealand drivers are very mad and we were cut up several times by people in a great hurry!!

The Bay of Islands was a very beautiful place, the sea was very green/blue in the sunlight and the town of Paihia was quite a small place and again the hotel we had booked was in walking distance of the town and harbour. We had a look around the town and walked along the sea front.

Wednesday 22nd April

We got the ferry over to Russell, the small town across the bay. Russell was a very quaint town, with the oldest church on the island, and the oldest hotel The Duke of Marlborough. Whilst walking through the town Becky and Ben drove past so we got in the car and went for a drive down the coast with them. It brought home just how remote you were driving around the North land when we thought we were going to run out of petrol and there was no where to get any! Fortunately we stumbled upon a petrol station, otherwise it would have been a long walk. We saw some beautiful bays and beaches including Bland bay.
We got dropped back in Russell where we went for lunch and a drink at the Duke of Marlborough, it was very pleasant sat on the front by the waters edge.

Thursday 23rd April

Walked from the falls back to the coast. It was a beautiful two hour walk through the forest, along the estuary and mangrove swamps. We saw lots of different types of birds but we never saw the elusive Kiwi although they were supposed to be there somewhere. Walking back into Paihia it started to rain again, the weather had take a turn for the worst and the sea was quite rough. We went to the sea front for a coffee and sat and watched the ferry's going over to Russell, they were struggling to get across the bay and eventually the ferry's and other boat trips were cancelled.

Friday 24th April

Had a ride in the car over to the west coast. The roads were not in good condition, a lot of them had subsided and there were a lot of road works going on. It was quite wet and it became apparent how bad the New Zealand drivers are, they don't drive to the conditions of the roads, they are mad drivers anyway and the rain didn't make any difference to them, we saw a number of wrecked cars. The coastal views were incredible though and we saw the beginning of Ninety mile beach.

Saturday 25th April

ANZAC day today we were woken up at 6 O'clock (dawn) by the sound of bagpipes in the town. ANZAC day is taken very seriously and lots of places were shut until 1 O'clock. We started our journey back down to Auckland, Emily and Bazz were catching a plane to Sydney in the early hours. Weather conditions had improved slightly and as we got closer to Auckland the weather was good. When we arrived back in Auckland we headed into the city by train, for a look around.

We checked into the hotel but could not go to bed until we had dropped Em and Bazz off at 1 O'clock in the morning.

Sunday 26th April

Went up to Coromandel and stopped in Whitianga, a very quiet town. The harbour was lovely but again the weather was not good, we found a bar later in the afternoon and stayed until late. We were rudely awoken at about twelve thirty in the morning by some very loud Kiwis who were stopping there, in the end we had to ask them to be quiet, which didn't work very well, they finally went to bed at about three in the morning.

Monday 27th April

Complained to the hotel management about the nights noise and they gave us half the money back which helped to make up for the lack of sleep we had all had. We went to the 'Lost spa' for a relax, the lost spa is a hot water pool and it was wonderful, very relaxing.

Drove over to Coromandel town to have a look and see if it was worth stopping, but it was smaller than Whitianga although it was a beautiful little town. We stopped for lunch and decided to go back to Auckland for the rest of the week. Coromandel would have been a great place to stay if the weather had been hot but going into to winter there were not many people around and the places were just a bit too quiet.

We drove back to Auckland along the coast road, it was a beautiful drive right by the seas edge with some breathtaking scenery. We eventually got back to Auckland about tea time, back to the hotel we had used several times before. We booked a five star hotel in the centre of Auckland for the rest of the holiday.

Tuesday 28th April

Moved in to city centre hotel, right by the Auckland tower. The hotel had pool, jacuzzi, sauna and gym facilities.

We went up the Auckland tower in the afternoon the weather was very bright and sunny, there were good views across the city and we spent some time watching the “jumpers” diving off the tower. The platform was metres high and there were glass panels in the floor so you could see the ground below.

Wednesday 29th April

Had a day pottering, we had a walk into the town and walked around the harbour to have a look at the many boats. There was a great gallery by the harbour full of photographs of boats taken around the Auckland area. Later we had a walk to the Food town supermarket for some bits for dinner, we bought a bag of New Zealand green lipped mussels which were very cheap, unlike at home where they cost a fortune. We also had a bottle of New Zealand wine, we have had quite a few bottles which have been really great and again quite cheap.

Thursday 30th April

Went to war memorial and museum today, just on the out skirts of the city it was a huge building on top of a hill. There was History of the wars, Maori culture and history and exhibitions on earthquakes, including a house you could sit in and experience what it would be like if there was an earthquake. There were also several memorials to the different wars the New Zealanders have taken part in.

We later went out to a bar in the city offering happy hour drinks and free pool where we ended up playing against two Kiwis, Robin let them win!! After we went to the oldest micro brewery in Auckland and had a really good night.

Friday 1st May

Checked out of the hotel our flight to Nadi in Fiji was due at four thirty. We headed to the town of Ellerslie for breakfast, then nearly went to the shopping mall but instead we went to the hotel where Becky and Ben were stopping before their flight the next day. When we got there I went to check on the internet to see if the flight was still on time. This was when we realised the flight had changed and the new time was one thirty, it was by this time nearly eleven O;clock. It was a good job we hadn't gone to the shopping mall!!
We got to the airport about an hour and half before the flight took off, it was a quick goodbye to Becky and Ben.

When we arrived in Fiji we were in the transit lounge for about five hours before the connecting flight to Hawaii. We finally got there at six O;clock in the morning.