Headed for Taupo with the hope of trying out a skydive for the first time, so we booked in for the max of 15,000 ft and sat down to wait, but the weather closed in and gave us no option but to leave with no diving. Headed back to far side of town and checked out the honey centre, where they made alot of stuff from honey which we got to sample, including wine, mead (whiskey), ice cream, jam spreads and hand creams and stuff like that. Own down the road we called i...

A few k's in the morning and we hit Rotorua, straight into the Zorbing balls, got alot of water round us for the first run down together. Was great craic and just like being born again coming out from inside the ball with alot of water! Got threw about alot on the zig-zag course which near caused us to be a little sick but made it through ok. On the hill behind Roto-vegas we took the gondola to the top and had half a dozen Luge rides down the concrete tracks. Ba...

Left thames and took off up the coast of the Coromandel Peninsual along the windy coastal path, nearly getting cleaned by a few logging trucks on some of the single lane sections. Called off at a waiau waterworks, a park with water powered amusements, nedless to say Jo got a bit wet. Across 309 road we headed toward the coast and hot water beach. Got ourselves a spade and dug a hole in the sand letting it fill with hot water which bubbled up from under the beach...

Heading south again we stopped off at the Waipoua Forest to see one of the only original Giant Kauri forests left and at over 3000 years old it'll take a while to grow a new one. One the the trees named Tane Mahuta is 50m high and over 13metres wide, and another shorter one is 16 metres wide, could fit a house inside it.Stopped off at a gum digger shop where they make stuff from the tree gum and wood which is dug from the ground. Took a detour to the iwi lakes bu...

Drove on down the coast to opononi stopping off at the oldest pub in NZ at Horeke. On the way had to negotiate Raetea forest, the roads would easily give the Nurburg Ring a run for its money and the banked corners helped the volkwagen on its way. A few unsealed dark roads later and we found Opononi. We thought about pulling up on the side of the road for the nite but jo does like getting mains electricity for the heating and our fresh refils of water as well as ...