Dear all, some more great time was had here in New Zealand, especially since the weather has changed for the better. From the Bay of Islands and its gorgeous endless beaches, impressive kauri trees (and rain) we moved to the Coromandel peninsula with more gorgeous beaches, more kauri trees and sunny weather, what more to ask for! We first headed through Thames and up the West side of the peninsula before crossing to the East coast, over mountains, past ragged ridges and along tortuous roads. First stop - see pictures, Rapaura gardens and waterfall. Still a bit wet but great stop for food afterwards! Then onto Hahei and its hot water beach and Cathedral Cove Walk. We missed on the hot water but got lucky at the walk: saw 2 orcas barely 3 metres away from ... read more

Ahh, holidays! here we are in New Zealand for 7 weeks of intense relaxing and discovery...We started with Auckland where we landed on Wednesday 13th October. We stayed in a campsite by the beach for the first 2 days (Takapuna), in NorthShore, with Rangitoto island volcano greeting us every morning across the waters of the Hauraki gulf. The sunshine also made an appearance for our walks along the beach, nice part of Auckland! We then caught up with my friends Neville and Loretta who live in Northcote and they showed us around - Mount Eden and One Tree Hill in Auckland. We also headed to Murawai on the West Coast, dark volcanic sands, strong surf and green hills. We have now reached Paihia in the Bay of Islands in Northland (North of Auckland) from where we'll ... read more