Leaving the admiralty lodge in the morning  (psst I accidentally put a towel in my case) We headed for Hahei Beach for Coffee. Day Looks gorgeous. Not a cloud in the sky. And from there we hit the hot water springs. I decided not to remove my shoes as it took me days to get all the sand out of my shoes lol. But the rest of the team all dug up the sand and yes the water was hot.

Rons found a new friend. Its obviously A beach day as another beach arrives and we walk along the stretch to meet the bus. From there lunch is in the mining town of Waihi. A ham Roll and a pint is enough for me as its verryy hot. The Cornish Pump house is a relic of the original mine in Waihi – the richest gold mine in New Zealand. there’s a big enough hole for sure.

Onto Rotorua, and another meeting with the Maori. We picked our chief sang our song and rubbed brows and noses with the tribe representative Shiloe but it was all so calming. All problems disappeared as we ate prawns and corn which he cooked in a hot sulpur pool in the ground and became a member of the tribe. His house is now my house. Thats handy.

On the trip I have found those Maori that stick to their believes to be so so……well different, confident, calm and totally in control of what they know. They openly admit that not many stick to those believes and yet there family, tribe, history mean so much. Shiloe can trace his family history back 800 years with no paper trail but I will certainly be looking up mine when I get home. I have learnt a lot about life here.

Kia ora

Well not really just that every town we visited on the Coromandel Coast looked like El Dorado lol.  Named after HMS Coromandel  the coast was mainly used for Hardrock Gold mining. As we travel down the coast we see alot of remains of the equipment used for the gold mining. Quick stop for coffee. You gotta love these places. no one there then we turn up and it all breaks out. Coffee & blueberry muffin was good though.

Stop for lunch at Rapaura falls. Nice walk around the beautiful gardens run by Sally & co followed by an excellent lunch. Off the beaten track but well worth the visit. From there we go down the coast to Coromandel town, home of the wild west lol. Quick coffee and off to our hotel tonight at Whitianga. Beautiful Motel opposite the beach. Just got back from town and some beers in the sports bar. Nite nite

Up & out we go again. Did get an extra half hour. Thanks Ron. While Ron got the tickets for the afternoon cruise I poped over the road to the craft Market. Got some prezzies. Then onwards to Russell via the ferry. Russell used to be the capital, before it was moved to Auckland. On the way we stopped at the Flagpole where hung the first British flag after the first treaty. Funny story there with the flagstaff war. Read the link if you wish.

Saw the cruise ship Aurora sitting in the bay of Islands. So named (the bay) from the 140 odd Islands in the bay. I have so many beautiful pictures. The whole day was spectacular. Russell its self was quite quaint with its 18th century Mission house and loverly frontage. I even did some printing and the story of those intrepid adventurers was amazing. After Lunch ( a small sandwich) we got on our hole in the rock tour boat. Hole in the rock? No idea, something religious I expect lol.

Not the Dolphin tour this one but we got to see some beauts as we went out. We where surrounded by the beautiful animals. I for one have never seen them come so close. (How many times do I say that this tour)  Wonderful. All the usual asian tourists leaning over the boat with there cameras, managed to get in the way so I missed the picture opportunity, but got some fair bird diving ones.

And there was the hole sure enough. We couldn’t go through as it was to rough. I would not have wanted to if it had been calm lol, It was very small. Good views of the feeding fish and the diving birds. Tbf the whole trip was good for wildlife. A quick stop on an island for those that where retching over the side to recover and onwards to Cooks Island and into the main bay itself on the homeward run. Even better dolphin viewing there. Here was the history when Capt James  Cook arrived  in 1769. There is even a marker for him.

Into the final run to Paihia harbor saw some classic tall masters. Thats next for me.  Round the world lol. O dear we are late for dinner so went straight to Jacks for Ribs and Beer. Perfect ending to a perfect day.

Life is full of surprises! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be in the middle of no where sliding down the biggest dunes I had ever seen on a piece of wood. But hey, thanks to Ron we was there today. Our Maori guide took us out on the boat to the deserted island ( felt like Robinson crusoe) dumped us on the beach and handed us a pile of boards and said “Ill be back in 30 mins”. Then it started to rain. It took all my efforts to climb to the dune top and noticing that it ended in water I positioned myself carefully. Egged on by the Canadian contingent off we went. Missed the water by inches lol. Unlike Roger….but that’s another story.

A quick change later and we are on the way to the ferry at Rawene and a cup of coffee. Over on the ferry and onto the fish and chip shop for lunch at Mangonui. Some nice fish for sure but $1 for vinigar I thought was a bit much!! Being as we are now on Maori land we must mention the Maori people. They don’t seem too know what they want to do next. How do they get the best of what they have…going from here to Hot bay was still Maori land (Ya Ya…ill ask Ron tomorrow) A obvious holiday location but a cafe or 2 would be good ill have thought. But nothing. Beautiful scenery as usual. But then maybe that’s best?

The government has even offered them re numeration but they cant decide which group will accept the surrender of New Zealand . Typical. The beach reminded us of sand to much so we left quickly. Into the Stone store house, the oldest building on the Island. ( I got a fruit truck. Looks good) Winding down into Paihia and the Copthorne hotel for a light snack and beers before bed. Don’t believe those that said I fell asleep and arrived late. Another tiring day or maybe I’m just getting old.

So often too many Cooks spoil the broth as we see here. Seize the opportunity before it is gone.