From Rotorua, we went north east the East Cape and then south to Gisbourne. It is not a major tourist route as there are no major attractions, but the journey makes it worthwhile. Once we hit the coast we were passing beautiful bays, skirting hills and dropping into valleys for the next 300kms, and mostly we were on our own. On the first night we found ourselves in a very rustic campsite near the East Cape Lighthouse, which is the most easterly point in NZ. Bas...

I have also added Waitomo and Coromandel today. Most men enjoy farting; I love it. I think it is healthy to fart as it keeps the insides clean. My Grandfather always stated that it was 'better to have an empty flat than a bad tenant'. Women, and particularly Jodie, have a different view. This leads most ladies to hold in or 'bake' farts for many months, so when the inevitable dose happen it is enough to strip paint of walls, to kill dogs and to make God fearing...

One of the things we really wanted to do on this trip was see glow worms, so after a quick cold shower at the Hot Water Beach car park (yes we showered in a car park, in the open), we headed west to the other coast. Waitkomo is famous for its glow worm caves, but it also claims to have the worlds first Hobbit Motel, and in a town nearby there is a Kiwi House. We started at the Kiwi House which was a trifle disappointing. Kiwis are great to see - they are such a...

We had one last night at Rose's before heading off, which of course involved a late night. It was a lovely stay in Paihia; Rose is a great host, the Bay of Islands are wonderful, and we met some really nice people. Paihia attracts an eclectic bunch. There is a high Maori population, good solid Kiwis and many Europeans who are staying for various amounts of time. Rose attracts many of the interesting ones. Lucy was a lovely Brummie who popped out to NZ about 18 ...

We are now back on dry land, and I think we are still friends! Our first stop outside Auckland was Paihia, which is a small town north east of Auckland and the principle town in the Bay of Islands area. It was the area that was first settled by Europeans. Paihia is also where our friend Rose lives, who is the Queen of the 'bad idea bears'. Rose is a proper nutter. She came out here just over two years ago after deciding that the way ahead was to sell her ho...