Saturday - We left the 'Bay of Islands' today and headed back to 'Auckland'. On the 4h drive we passed the "Wharengi Falls", which were georgeous!!, and took the costal route back. We got to 'Auckland' and checked into "City Groove" (v. basic hostel, $18, close to town and home to cats). We left Fiona there to chill out and went to drop the car back to "Quality Car Rental", the depo was all the way out at the airport so we had a lengthy bus journey back. All was ...

Thursday - We left 'Auckland' and drove 4h up the coast to the 'Bay of Islands' right at the far tip of 'New Zealand'. It was a really nice and sunny day, which made the drive nice. We drove through stunning costal scenery, picturesque green hills and tiny sandy bays. We arrived in 'Paihia' and checked into "Saltwater Lodge". It is $21 and really nice; en-suite, good kitchen and huge TV lounge. We had a little wander around the very cute town, little craft shops ...

Wednesday - We left 'Rotorua' early (9am) and headed to the 'Coramendel Penninsula' on our way to 'Auckland'. What a beautiful drive it was, through rolling hills and past golden bays. We got to the 'Hahai' and had our lunch on a bench overlooking the white sand beach and its clear green/blue sea. Then we drove to the "Cathedral Cove" lookout and decided to do the 1h30 walk down to the cove itself. On the track down we followed the sign for "Stingray Bay" as this...

Monday - Today we(Me, Neeley and Fiona - who has joined us on the trip since Wellington) left 'Taupo' for 'Rotorua'. We arrived by lunchtime and checked into "Central Backpackers". It is $20 a night with great facilities and in easy reach of the town centre. We then decided to take a tour of the town after visiting "Ronnies" the best bakery ever, doing one of the free thermal walks. We went to "Kuirau Park" and walked round the grounds past the steaming lakes, mu...

Saturday - Today before we started the drive to 'Taupo' we decided to squeeze in the 2h, 7km, walk to the "Silica Rapids". We walked through a mountain beech forest, dark marshlands and volcanic rocks all with "Mount Ngauruhoe" in the background. We then reached the rapids having walked alongside a cascading stream, arriving at the creamy-white rocks where the rapids desended. Such a spectacular and interesting sight. From the rapids we then caught a lift back to...