Day 18 24/2/13 Paihia

After today we have now been from the bottom of the south island to the top of the north island of NZ. We decided to give a day off to the driver and went on a coach tour with Explore NZ to Cape Reigna and we had an excellent driver Paul. This is the most northern part of NZ and a 416km round trip and where the Tasman Sea (Pacific Ocean) and South Pacific Ocean meet at the Cape Reigna lighthouse, quite amazing to see the two seas crashing into one another. We stopped at Taipa, a small seaside town for our lunch box which is part of the tour and of course a coffee…gee they make good coffee in NZ…eh! Our next stop was the Gumdigger's Park, a replica 1900s gumdiggers camp on the site of an ancient buried kauri forest over 100,000 years old. This was hard work to dig the buried trees up to remove the gum and then process it into amber and other products etc. This area also was discovered by Cook in 1769 and when he saw 90 Mile Beach he thought it was a sand desert so named it the 90 Mile Desert, what is amazing is the land in this area was then reclaimed and the sand was planted and the bog was turned and turned and now it is extensive farming land. The next adventure was boogie boarding down a huge sand dune, Judy declined due to lack of coordination and to photograph the event, and John was off and into it. John enjoyed it so much he went up for a second go, he might have tried again except getting to the top was pretty gruelling especially with boogie board in hand, the feedback was "they need a chair lift to get to the top." We then travelled about 100km along 90 Mile Beach, which is an actual highway, so road rules apply, this was an awesome experience. Final stop was Mangonui for their "world famous" fish shop. We tried the salt and pepper calamari and a piece of the blue nose fish which was delicious, and to finish off some Rush Munro's Rum & Raisin ice-cream, a NZ brand, I still think Movenpick was better, John said we need to compare with their Rum & Raisin to be sure…two ice-creams in 1 day, not sure about that. We got back to Paihia about 6pm and had a stroll over to Waitangi in the beautiful late afternoon sunshine. Paihia looked so lovely with the sun setting and two cruise ships in the Bay.

Day 19 25/2/13 Paihia to Auckland

After travelling the east coast road to Paihia we went back via the west coast forest highway 12, and this takes you through spectacular country. Firstly Haruru Falls, then Hokianga Harbour which has huge sand dunes and rolling hills and stunning aquamarine water to grace it. We stopped at Dargaville for our morning tea which was delicious, a vanilla slice and a cream pancake and one of the best macchiatto's of the trip, using the brand of coffee Avalanche. We then drove twenty kilometres through a magnificent kauri forest, where the largest living known kauri tree Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest) said to be over 2,000 years old with a height of 51.5mtrs high and a girth of 13.8metres is located, now this is a WOW moment as you just come across it in the forest and it is towering and magnificent with a wonderful growth of fernery etc. It was then onto Auckland again stopping at Orewa for our lunch which coincidentally was opposite the Movenpick ice-cream shop, so of course we had to have one more go at deciding the best ice-cream of the trip and it is Movenpick! We had dinner at a harbour side restaurant La Vista in St Helliers with the manager of Starrett NZ Phil and his wife Sue and other friends Ken, Marie and Lindsay all of whom John knew from his time with Starrett.

Day 20 26/2/13 Auckland

We started with a good walk around Auckland down to the Quay and decided to go to Waiheke Island which is a thirty minute ferry ride across the harbour from Auckland. Such a beautiful harbour and those gorgeous aquamarine waters. After leaving the ferry we walked to Mudbrick Winery which is situated on ridge with superb gardens with both a fine dining restaurant and a bistro. The winery overlooks the island, its harbour and back to the skyline of Auckland and with it being another perfect sunny day, it was very picturesque. We opted for the bistro and had a lovely alfresco lunch with a glass of rose and pinot gris, which were excellent. We languished and took in the perfumes from the garden and the view. We walked back to the ferry just taking in the views and sunshine. We had a delicious BBQ dinner of NZ lamb at Phil and Sue's place, a six acre block 40minutes from Auckland. They have several cows and some "children" Bruce and Neville two cheeky Labradors and George a 14yo female cat who just loves a pat!