From the Bay of Islands we drove to the Waipoua Forest where we saw an immense Kauri tree which is estimated to be about 2,000 years old, with a trunk which is 13.8 metres in girth. It was absolutely huge and you could see why it was the focus of many Maori myths. From there we drove to the Coromondel Peninsula where Aucklanders are supposed to pass their summers. It is indeed a beautiful area with a densely wooded interior coming down to white sandy beaches.

We stayed at Hot Water Beach - so called because under the sands at low tide you can access hot springs of about 64 degrees. Everybody gathers and watches as the tide falls, all armed with a spade, and prospects for hot water by wriggling their feet in the sand. We marked out our spot and I did a great job of supervising the digging! It got quite competitive at times as people were all digging on top of each other and often ended up by throwing sand into others' pools and hoping that any wave will knock down someone else's wall rather than yours. We were quite put out when a neighbouring couple decided that our water was hotter than theirs and knocked down the dividing wall in order to share the fruits of our (well Roger's) hard work. We let them off as they were Brits! Anyway the reward for all this hard work was the opportunity to lounge in your personal spa bath and survey everyone else's labours. The beach looked like some huge community project - digging for victory- but was a real laugh. Never have I seen so many disparate people all labouring so hard with a spade and with such good humour!

We also visited a beautiful beach called Cathedral Cove which was reached by a wonderful cliff top walk. The beach is divided by a huge hole in the cliff which you can walk through and the view was really lovely.

One of the high spots for me was a walk through the Karangahake Gorge. It follows a stunning river valley along the disused mining trails and tramways in the area, which used to be a thriving gold mining location and you can explore old mine tunnels and cross rickety suspension bridges. It says "torch recommended" and I was really glad that I sent Roger back to the van for our one, as without it the tunnels would have been pitch black and impossible to manoeuvre. It all reminded Roger of Indiana Jones and he insisted on singing the theme tune every time we went over a bridge or into a tunnel - it did get a bit wearing after the tenth time but luckily the scenery compensated!