We heard some light showers through the night but woke to brilliant sunshine. Alas.... It was short lived, and became indicative of the day - heavy showers of rain followed by sunshine - each coming and going as quickly as the other. Quite bizarre. Packed up and drove out the 4 kms to Haruru Falls - horseshoe shaped waterfall that only required a short stroll to reach. Was worth the drive, especially with the tame chooks in the carpark and the signs warning of a "kiwi protected " area. Bit of a novelty.
By the time we were back down in Paihia we realised a cruise ship was berthed in the bay so the town was inundated with passengers....all trying to dodge the downpours when they occurred. We went to a cafe with an upstairs deck overlooking the bay for a coffee before we headed off on our drive south. So glad we made the effort to get this far and see and do what we have.
We continued to sometimes dodge or get caught in the rain on our windy drive, this time by-passing Whangarei. Took the coastal detour to Waipu, Waipu Cove, Langs Beach & Mangawhai. Even more windy - amazing hairpin bends at times - with the showers added in - but the scenery was spectacular regardless. All delightful little seaside villages - can only begin to imagine how popular in the summer! In Mangawhai we found an old tavern literally right on the water of the inlet. Had a great fish & chips lunch in an awesome setting.
Even though the next part of our drive was only about any hour it was quite slow in places due to roadworks and traffic congestion around Warkworth. Arrived in Orewa (less than an hour north of Auckland) and stopped at a holiday park we found on the way north. Our van is parked right on the beach...almost! Managed a walk the 15 minutes into town (sun is out!) ...checked out things before positioning ourselves at the local surf club....right on the beach...for a few drinks and dinner. Couldn't pick a better spot for our last night in NZ!