This is the Esplanade hotel, our stopping place for our last night. We have just finished our sea food platter which was delicious overlooking the sea front. Tomorrow sees us up bright and early to fly to Fiji. Hard to think we’ve been here for a month as it seems to have flown but at the same time when we look back at this blog it seems like an age ago we arrived in Wellington. Don’t know what the internet will be like this coming week but will add to this ...

After a lovely unexpected meal of mussels and NZ wine organised for us by Lowri and the gang to help us continue celebrating A’s birthday, last night we planned a sailing Saturday for today. Catching the ferry back across to Auckland this morning we checked in for our treat of sailing in an America’s Cup yacht in Auckland harbour. It looked as expected a pared down racing yacht of 70 ft. It was sunny to start and she quickly picked up speed as soon as the s...

This is a one off entry in praise of two things we encountered on the road. First, FREE CAR PARKING. We have paid next to nothing for car parking throughout NZ irrespective of whether we park in a national park, overlooking a stunning view or a city centre shopping area. Secondly and more fundamentally PUBLIC TOILETS. Again, with no exceptions wherever we have stopped the toilets have been at no cost, graffiti free and clean. Forgive me here but I must speak in p...

Navigating our way to gas bottle refill sites and filling up with fuel just before returning the Van was a little tricky given that we had got used to country roads and no time pressure. Gave away what little food we had left at the campsite and made a donation of the other bits and pieces to a homeless project. The handover was painless and the taxi swiftly dropped us at the terminal in Auckland’s CBD and within 15 minutes we were walking into our hotel in D...

We left the Hot Water Beach Park a little reluctantly this morning and decided to traverse the Coromandel Via a gravel highway for some 22 kilometres only saw about three other cars just as well, as narrow ,hilly and generally tricky, but it was soon over and we stopped for coffee ( and pancakes) at Coromandel town. Quaint and a mecca for fishermen and all things to do with mussels and smoking. You catch it they smoke it for you. We also came across our first ...