21/7/9 Whitianga (Fitianga)

After an early check out we joined the Kiwi bus for our trip to Mercury bay. We met Matt our next driver/guide and he was a real character, full of enthusiasm and a good laugh. There are only 11 passengers so its a pretty quiet bus and everyone is really friendly. We stopped briefly at the kiwi office for people to book onward travel seats which we had already done. We stopped off at Mount Eden (Maungawhau) another of Aucklnads volcanoes for a look out over the city. After our last look at the city we went to a town called Thames for lunch before driving out towards the Coromandel Peninsula through the Coromandel ranges. It is an area known for its beaches and untouched native forest. Passing Mount Puka once a Maori village we headed for Cathedral Cove. We walked for 45 minutes to reach the perfect white sand beach with fantastic rock formations. Phil ran into the sea and Liz dipped a toe in. He swam out to a rocky outcrop and it was raining by the time he returned. We all played cricket on the beach before retuning to the bus to carry on towards Whitianga. At our hostel we were the only guests so had a private bar and had a few drinks while the owners made us Spaghetti Bolognese and garlic bread. After a huge feed we all went to a local secret The Lost Spring which is a natural thermal spa . It was a really lovely place with grottos and caves and many really hot pools and a massive bonus...bar service in the pool !!! Apparently the owner spent 25 years searching for the spring he knew was there...glad he finally found it , we all had a lovely time relaxing in the water. Back at the hostel we had a few more drinks to finish a great day.