We had a nice coffee sitting on Paihia Beach before hitting the road this morning - it was so nice to actually relax for 10 minutes - we will definitely be doing that more often from now on. Today's plan was to head across to the West Coast (Kauri Coast) to see Waipoua Forest, but actually that wasn't even the highlight of the day.

We passed through Kaikohe and picked up a "French Stick" from the bakery (it would appear that New Zealanders are no better at making "French" bread than the English), before driving on towards Opononi. It was here that we stumbled across an absolute gem - Hokianga Harbour - and the most beautiful views I have ever seen. Glistening blue waters, giant sand hills and a mountainous backdrop - wow! We couldn't resist stopping for a picnic and a little walk here. I can't believe this place isn't even mentioned in any tourist guides! I suppose that's a good thing as it would be ruined otherwise.

After tearing ourselves away from this amazing place, we headed towards Waipoua Forest along some incredibly windy and scary roads. We hopped out to visit the 'Tane Mahuta' or 'Lord of the Forest', the biggest and most ancient Kauri tree. It was pretty huge and the pictures don't do it justice but still, it was Hokianga which made the trip across to the West worthwhile as the tree wasn't that exciting.

We then moved on to the Kai Iwi Lakes where apparently the waterskiing world championships have been held a few times. Again, the scenery was stunning and this time I could resist a dip in the sparkling, clear water.

Our final destination for the day was Bayly's Beach where we are now camping at another Kiwi Holiday Park.It's a very small site but does the job and its only a 5 minute walk down to 112km of virtually empty beach. You can drive along the beach and we did see a few people doing just that. We went for a run along it this evening but it was quite surreal. There were huge waves, a strong wind and it always seemed hazy ahead so it almost we felt like we weren't getting anywhere. In truth, we could have run for miles along this rugged coastline. I think Phil appreciated the flat route for a change!