We were travelling to Tauranga today, so had a few hours to kill before the bus left at midday. We decided to have a leisurely breakfast outside the hostel in the sun, finishing off our breakfast supplies. What else was left to do but chill out and enjoy the sun before heading due South?!

We shared our bus journey with two Swedes (or Danes possibly?) who had also been on the bus with us from Coromandel. They were also going to Tauranga to WWOOF.

The driver made a brief stop in Thames which gave us enough time to sample some NZ cuisine - the pie! We shared a smoked fish pie, which seemed to be the better choice over steak and cheese, mince and cheese, or bacon and egg pie. The journey continued until we had to swap buses in Ngatea.

We had half hour to kill, and used up the remainder of our food supplies - Bolognese wraps. A very messy, but tasty, combination.

Then boarded the bus to Tauranga. Much bigger than the minibuses we were used to, this one boasted air-con and even wireless Internet! Sadly though, the Internet was shockingly slow, so we didn't bother. Arrived in Tauranga after passing through kiwi orchard country, to be greeted by what looked like storm clouds and Heather - VERY pregnant with child.

Drove back to their house and were greeted by Twpsyn, their big black friendly dog, then sat and chatted until Ben returned from work. Had a bite to eat and went our for a short walk along the beach near Mt Maunganui, aka 'The Mount' (quite confusing for a girl also from a place known as the mount!). We saw, in the distance, the freight ship that had ran aground on a reef causing a nasty oil spill on the beautiful beach. Luckily, the clean up operation had been very successful, no doubt to get it tourist-ready for the height of summer and Christmas. We drove back via the main route, taking us theough the dockyard - apparently the Kiwis don't consider industrial land to be an eyesore, rather being proud of its symbolism in advancing progress of the country. It seems the British approach to town planning is very different!

Back home in time for bed at about 10:00. The Kiwis are, apparently, still in the agricultural time clock of early to bed, early to rise...