Cathedral Cove is two coves and two beaches connected by a limestone arch. It is a must do hike from Hahei, up hills and down hills and about a million steps. The scenery along the way is very beautiful. This area is the Te Whanganui-A-Hei Marine Reserve. On the way to the Cathedral Cove we detoured to the Gemstone Bay which is an area good for snorkeling , but you'd have to navigate some huge boulders to reach the water from the trail. When we arrived, we we...

We were interested to spot the active gold mine in the town of Wahei. The gold mining process is very similar to our mine in Victor; they also use cyanide leaching to extract the gold.We have now reached the Coromandel which is a mountainous peninsula fringed with sandy beaches. The road from Wahei Beach to Hahei winds through holiday towns situated on stunning Pacific coast beaches with crystal blue water and views of islands . Some say that Hahei is the best of...

We were in the midst of the Tinman Triathlon as we left Mt Maunganui this morning – literally, as the race went through and around our campground. The name is a play on words because the event follows the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, and it conforms to standards in distance (1.5k swim, 40k bike, and 10k run). They had 650 competitors for the event. We thought about entering but we didn’t bring our bikes on this trip. Bob did do some beach ru...

It was still drizzly when we reached Te Puke which is the Kiwi fruit capital of the world. We arrived during the holiday parade so we were detoured around the town center. Although it was still cloudy when we reached Mt Maunganui, Bob said, “If it ain’t raining, I ain’t complaining.” Our campsite is right on the beach with the Mount directly behind us! We ate a quick lunch and headed out for a walk on the beach. Within an hour the sun was ...

Rotorua, known as “sulphur city”, is a popular tourist area because of its geothermal features and Maori cultural activities. Tom and Maureen suggested that we visit the Agrodome, which was a great choice for a rainy day. We attended the Sheep Show. The presenter described the 19 breeds of sheep as they took their places on stage; he explained their origins and the products for which they are famous. Then we watched a sheep shearing demonstration. Fin...