Today was a fairly uneventful day. We headed north to the Coramandel. Stopped in Whangamata to have lunch and walk on the beach. I had forgotten how winding the roads were going up toward Whitianga. Some turns seemed almost to be 360 degrees. One turn was so tight they had put up a mirror so you could see what was coming around the bend. We are staying at Hot Water Beach campground and we think we will go just to Ha Hea tomorrow. We went to Whitianga by ferry and...

Relaxation day of a sort. We did some laundry in the morning and then drove to Mount Maunganui and hiked up to the top. I felt somewhat humbled slogging my way to the top and having several Kiwis of a wide range of ages jogging by me as if they were running on the flat! It is pretty tough going up some of that hill and they weren't even breathing heavily. Jos, you will be pleased to know we had the Tauranga women striders run past us as we were approaching the hi...

Jean had 1/2 a day to attend her choral convention so we walked her to her session and then wandered around town, stopping for a coffee and goody in a small cafe. It is amazing how much variation there is on pricing. We passed one cafe which advertised a coffee and cookie for $16.00 while the place we stopped at was $8.50 for a mochacino and a large piece of orange cake. The end of Jean's convention featured a choir sing off between all the groups attending. My f...

Woke up to another beautiful day which, as the day progressed, by 4pm turned into a torrential downpour. We all walked Jean to her choir day and then at 9am went on a tour of the Rotorua museum. Rotorua is home to the Arawa people and a large part of the exhibition is based upon their history. There was a short movie on the Tarawera eruption which occurred in 1886. This was the last time this volcano erupted. The Te Arawa display is a wonderful history of the Mao...

Woke up to a very beautiful day.. Not a cloud in the sky and nice and warm. Walked Jean to her choir event at 8am and then met up with Gary and Sunni as I walked back to the campsite. We decided to explore this little flea market that had set up in a park on our way. Most of the stuff was what you find at any flea market but we did find a vendor selling beautiful sweaters, heavy New Zealand wool with wind proof lining inside. Very well made and only $99 NZ which ...