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 had some "honeycomb" rock formations that Neeley wanted to see. It was a really pretty cove too! Then we got back onto the track and headed down to "Cathedral Cove" and got to see the famous gigantic limestone arch, which looking stunning with the sunny backdrop. After a bit of a play on the beach we walked back to the car and made our way via 'Tapu' and 'Thames' to 'Auckland'. We checked into "Uenuku Lodge" ($22 and very basic) in the suburb of 'Ponsonby'. Then we had a bite to eat and then had a wander into the city, with Fiona as the guide, and saw the "Skytower" lit up - spectacular! Thursday - We are all off to the 'Bay of Islands' today. Before we left I went into the city and changed my flights. I want to do the USA in more depth and have decided to cancel going to 'Fiji' and the 'Cook Islands' and instead I fly to "San Fransisco' on wednesday! Annie is going to do the islands and then fly via 'LA' and 'NY' home.