Again, sorry its been such a long time since the last entry but here we go! My last day in the Bay of Islands was spent visiting the Waitangi treaty grounds where the founding treaty between the Maori and the British was signed before heading back to Auckland for another night before heading to Mercury bay in the Coromandel peninsula. I had hoped in the region to go to hot water beach, where hot spring water bubbles up through the sand when you dig, but the tide...

I'm now in Paihia in the bay of islands north of Auckland. I'll get to that in a minute but just need to briefly fill in the end of Japan! The day after my last entry I went to the Hama detached gardens to get a boat tour on the Sumida river to get a different view of the city. To my surprise I found all the blossom just coming out in the gardens here so I didn't miss it all! The boat trip was great too, heading north up the river and finishing in Asakusa, passi...