After a confusing start due to road works and road closures we finally freed ourselves from the metropolis of Maunganui-Tauranga and hit the countryside roads but not before we fell victim to a Toll Road due to road closures before the Toll. Deliberate I’d say! We followed the long Kohioawa Beach to our first stop, Matata where we had a coffee and shared half a muffin each and enjoyed the small community. Our NZ neighbour back in Perth, Ron Hardie, is from Kawerau and as that was not many kays from Matata we headed there. It is home to the Tasman Pulp Paper Mill. We watched some of the action from the side of the road. Our biggest surprise while exploring Kawerau was coming across the huge Ron Hardie Recreation Centre named after our neighbours Dad.
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