Thursday 19th AprilWe stay with the Atchinson's for the next few days. They are more of Simon's parents friends. I can't believe how lucky we've been with so many people opening their homes to us. It's been a great experience and a good way to see how people here live. In the evening two of their three children come round - I say kids but they are our age. Erin is the middle daughter and is delightful. She and her fiance Chris have been living...

Tuesday 17th AprilWe go sea fishing today with a guy called Craig and 6 other people. I caught 11 fish but only 1 was big enough to keep. It was much more exciting and involving than the lake fishing. Wednesday 18th AprilWe visit Cathedral Cove and Hot Water beach today. People are digging their own hot water pools. It's quite chilly so Simon and I chicken out. We drive on through the Coromandel to Thames and then on to Auckland.

Friday 13th AprilWe drove to Tauranga last night and stayed with Dave and Jenny Parry. Simon used to go to school with their son. Kate is also here and is coming round for dinner tonight. I'm so excited to see her.Dave and Jenny kindly offer us their house for the evening and leave us to it. So it's really funny when Kate arrives bringing her in and treating it like it was ours. Hee hee. There are stunning views out towards Mount Maunganui and at night it...

Thursday 12th April Simon and drove to Waitomo yesterday and this morning we head off in search of glow worms. They turn out to be quite an ugly looking larvae thing in the light with lots of sticky strands hanging off their bodies in order to catch flies. And if you've ever wondered how they create their light, it's made from a chemical reaction between their poo and two other chemicals. Nice! We get in a boat and float gently down into a cave and whe...

Monday 9th April The weather is still beautiful even though it's Autumn and we go to Otawawarei beach for the day. Simon used to come here with his parents when he was young so he loves it. We sunbathe and swim in the sea. The beach itself is lovely, very quite and secluded and the walk around the bluff is beautiful. Tuesday 10th April Today is one of the highlights of our trip - we go to visit White Island which is an active volcano just off the coast fr...