No driving today! After a pretty noisy night from traffic and the light from the overhead street light on our site on the waterfront it was nice not to have to think about driving. Driving the motorhome has been very easy in spite of the size and the high cab position and big windows gives really good views - we have both enjoyed the driving and taken turns so no one gets tired. After showers and breakfast (interesting going across site for a shower and men cross...

A fairly early start as need to cover a longer distance today. Travelled some 42 km along the side of Lake Taupo before stopping at the bottome end of the lake for coffee. The motor home certainly means you can be very flexible where you stop for refreshments and meals! It was then continuing south on Highway 1 through lots of rolling countryside with a different view around each corner. Sun shining but very windy and had to be careful with speed as vehicle get...

After breakfast we walked round the beautiful Blue Lake - no sign of another person and then back to the motor home and we headed to the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Steam was rising from all over the place as we travelled to Wai-O-Tapu another major thermal wonderland. The area was covered with collapsed craters, boiling pools of mud and water and steaming fumeroles and lakes and pools of different colours which were dependent on the type of minerals through which steam...

There was heavy overnight rain and we woke to grey skies. We did some food shopping at Countdown for the next couple of days and used our discount voucher from the supermarket to top up with diesel - $NZ1.06/ltr less 10 cents discount which made it approx £0.46/ltr! How good' s that? Weather took a turn for the worse with heavy rain showers as we headed along Fenton Street to Te Puia described as a thermal wonderland and the smell of sulphur was very much in ...

Left Hot Water beach at 10.15 after getting the motor home into some order and headed south along coast. Stopped at Whangamata for a brew overlooking the beach which was one of the best for surfing in NZ. Best automated loos on beach! We then headed across country across a relatively flat and uninteresting plain before arriving in a much more scenic area with rolling hills and lots of milking cattle. Stopped for sandwich lunch in Morinsville and passed through Pa...