Not easy to drag ourselves out of bed this morning after a 1am finish... Not to mention all the excitement and tension! But we managed and the big plus was the sunshine! Yippee! Unfortunately our departure after brekkie was slightly delayed due to the fire alarms going off! Once the fire brigade arrived - all was sorted and we were good to go! We drove over to the beachside with fabulous views all round - especially up the Mountain (Mauao) - bathed in sunshine i...

Realisation this morning of just how lucky we have been with the weather! It rained heavily most of the night and was pouring when we woke up this morning. Although we haven't had brilliant sunshine we have only had to deal with intermittent drizzle. So, Rotorua became a relative non event - and a very wet soggy one at that. After brekkie we drove around the central town area, through the Government Gardens - and we both remembered the majestic Rotorua Museum. ...

Woke to an overcast gloomy morning. Can't get over how well set up these holiday parks are here in NZ! Great amenities - so good for families. After cook up brekkie headed back down to beautiful lake for coffee and to decide on the days itinerary. After discussion with lady at I-site, we drove around edge of the lake for a while to catch some views - managed to see couple of young Kiwi boys who had caught a rainbow trout. Good size too! Grabbed a few bits for lu...

Not raining this morning but still couldn't convince Raymo to do the 3 hour tour by open tractor to Cape Kidnappers Gannet colony. Had heard it was worthwhile but still very early in the season. After brekkie and a coffee back in Havelock North, we still drove out to check out the grey pebbly Clifton Beach. At least we could see the rugged sheer cliffs of the coastline of the cape Kidnappers area. Wound our way back along the coastline intersected by several rive...

Drizzly rain through the night and steady rain this morning. Showered and brekkie and headed out of our lovely little park, dodging the ducks, before 10am. Drove through the tiny little hamlet of Norsewood and stopped for coffee at Waipukurau. Drove on agonising over our route for next few days based on weather forecast, and fortunately the sun started to appear. Glistened on the undulating landscape continually dissected by abundant rivers and streams - bridges...