To add to the disappointment of the motel room, the organised continental breakfast was frowned upon by everyone - egg and onion sandwiches and super sweet custard.... At least a couple of apples were also included.
Packed up and headed back into the city to try and exchange Joel's bag. We noticed in Sydney that it was faulty with some of the stitching coming away. No joy at Strandbags even though we had been emailed our receipt by head office.
Treated the kids to a trip up the Sky Tower. It was a great view and were lucky to be there before the cloud set in. Looking down was pretty impressive though I was a bit more hesitant than the kids to walk on the glass floor. We were also up there when someone sky jumped (harnessed in) from the tower.
Picked up the car and headed to the Auckland War Museum. It was very busy and parking spots were hard to come by. Lots of usual museum stuff though the part that was most interesting was Te Ao Tūroa (Māori natural history) section. Learning the cultural stories and understanding the genealogy of how things can into existence was very interesting - especially when comparing Aboriginal dreamtime stories to the Māori beliefs.
Finally hit the road though only headed to a shop centre to buy supplies for a few days (time to start eating proper food) and try to exchange Joel's bag again (which we did manage to do this time). It was difficult shopping for grocery items as the brands that you are use to don't exist here. Went combining that with the need for GF it was a bit time consuming. The highlight for the kids was getting milk that was packaged in what looked like a laundry detergent bottle.
Finally left Auckland. It was so good to get out of the city and into the country. The landscape is so very different. So many hills and mountains - the whole place is "bumpy".
We headed to Hahei via Kopu, and Tapu. The coastal road was very spectacular, at times driving within meters of the water and all the time have amazing views of the mountains. We cross over to the east coast of the Coromandel's and heading to our accommodation for the night.
Once checked in we went for a quick trip down to the beach and were greeted by a spectacular view!! Lots of ocean scattered with islands of varying sizes! Absolutely breathtaking. We all had a lovely walk along the beach and we were happy to see the kids getting alone so well. Btw Caitlyn's cartwheel record now stands at four in a row.
Our accommodation is fantastic - a big difference from last night (Hahei Holiday Resort). We booked into the cottage as it was the only one that could fit a family of five. Heaps of space and very quiet seeing we are travelling outside school holidays.