We arrived back in Auckland at the ferry terminal downtown and Spencer and I went off to get the hire car. A bit of schlepping later and we were in our new commodore SV6 and fanging it down Highway 1 south. We made good time and arrived at the small seaside town of Thames for lunch. We found a suitably dodgy bakery (custard tart of course) and refuelled.

Leigh took over driving and we drove up the western side of the peninsula. What an amazing road! - not a straight patch for more than 50 meters - twist and turns right on the water - incredible. We drove on to Coromandel town and then over the Hills to Whitiangia. The Coromandel is very beautiful - hilly and green, covered in forests and ferns - it was once full of kauri pine however they were mostly felled to make wooden masts for Tall Ships.

It was the usual NZ cloudy, rainy, sunny day as we drove into Whitiangia. We are staying in a family resort so the kids were keen for a hit of tennis and a swim once we got out of the car!.(Leigh went for a run) In the afternoon I went to the local Woolies (which the kiwis call "Countdown") for groceries for dinner. That evening we had a quiet night in watching movies and playing Yahtzee.

The next morning dawned great and rainey - we got a message from our boat trip that it had been cancelled so we had the day to fill. It was starting to brighten up by mid morning so we jumped in the car and drove 20 mins to Otama beach - a secluded beach back up the coast.

The beach was indeed secluded - apart from two other people we were the only ones on it - it was amazing - wild but beautiful. The kids loved playing on the rocks and making stone pillars out of the crumbling sandstone. We drove back a few minutes to a lovely beachside shack called Luke's kitchen - the kids have fresh wood fires pizzas and I had the best seafood chowder ever! Full and very happy Leigh chatted up a local who suggested a rainforest walk not far - this is the best part of the Coromandel - 10 minutes before we were on the beach and now we were in rainforest looking for kiwi birds.

The Waitaitia walk was very nice but a little muddy so we only did a little bit before we headed back to the resort for a nap. The kids and I went for a swim later and walked into town for dinner.

The seafood restaurant we had planned for dinner was a bit quiet so we walked across the street to the Whitiagia hotel. This was clearly the place to be on a Thursday night and was full of fishing memorabilia - the photo of yellow fun tuna as big as a man was amazing. We had our dinner then Leigh and I played the kids in some games of pool - it was good fun teaching the kids how to play - they pick up quick!

The next morning we were up early as it was low tide at Hot Water beach at 7:23am!. A quick scone and coffee at a cafe in town (the kiwis love their coffee!- yet to have a bad one) and we were on our way south. It was lovely crisp autumn morning as we drove the 30 odd minutes to Hot water beach.

When we arrived we thought we were the only crazies to come to the beach so early but there were already 30 odd people making their little pools waiting for us. The kids got stuck in - taking their shovels and built our pool - it was lovely and warm. The hot water trickles down the beach in sometimes very very hot rivulets. We and the kids had a blast soaking in the warm sandy baths and then as the tide marched inexorably on - a cool dunking of fresh sea water. It was a very special place - almost spiritual in the early morning.

As the tide marched on we took our spades and headed back to Whitianga. We quickly packed and the jumped on our Ocean leopard speedboat to explore the Mercury coast (so named for Cooks visit to observer the transiting of Mercury in 1769). The boat trip was incredible - Justin was a great captain - taking us into the amazing rock chasms and water caves. Cathedral cove was a highlight but I also wished to be on the beach to see it. The areas reminded Leigh and I of the boat trip we did off the Tasmanian coast - equally wild and amazing. The sun was out but it was a bit cold in the wind - the kids love seeing the snapper swim right up the boat and the speed boat flying over the waves - some of the houses overlooking the water were spectacular.

After the boat trip we were back on Whitingia - we had a lovely cafe lunch in the sun and thenwe were making our way south to Taupo. Leigh drove first and she got the bum steer as the roads in the Coromandel are super curvey!! Anyway, a few hours and an ice cream later we were winding our way through the pine forests towards Taupo. It's amazing to see how strong the timber industry is in this part of New Zealand - miles of planted trees...what a contrast to the sun and sea from the morning.

Late afternoon and the kids were getting a little over it as we drove into the norther part of Taupo to our farm stay. Taupo Farm lodge is a beautiful farm atop a hillside in the green of the north island. The kids (especial Eleanor) were super excited to be staying next door to horses, pigs, goats, lamas, sheep, chickens and cows. Samantha (the owner) was there to meet us with a loaf of hot homemade bread (amazing smell!) we lit the fire and watched the stars and ate roast chicken and played cards and finished what's had been an amazing day!