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 mad...

First thing in the morning was heading to Hot Water Beach, which is a beach with hot water (surprisingly) which bubbles up through the sand from geothermal springs. Borrowed a shovel from the hostel, and hitched a lift with a young German couple and their little daughter Paula in their camper van. It was really crowded on the beach, as the hot springs are concentrated in a small area. We were warned off digging a hole to expand a pool as the temperature would g...

Went for breakfast in the greasy spoon in Coromandel since the nice cafés were closed. Was a so-so brekkie & sod's law the nice cafe's were open when we walked back up towards the Lion's Den! Got our bags and met the naked bus to go to Hahei. The drive was scenic and very windy going up, over & down the hills. The scenery could be British except for more pronounced hills, the turquoise blue sea and the occasional palm tree in the forests... We drove ...

Another late start to the day due to a somewhat sleepless night, and then a trip to onetangi beach - apparently the nicest on the island. Initially tried catching the bus, but eventually decided to hitch and got taken straight there. A quick coffee and cake in Charlie Farley's café (Welsh flags outside were a good omen), after a very blustery walk on the beach, then decided to wander through a nearby bird reserve to stay out of the wind. Turned out to be a very ...

Stef: "As I lay awake, unable to get back to sleep, at 2:00 am, I told myself that you can never presume that jetlag is over. Tossed and turned until breakfast at about 8am and ate as much as I could, which made me sleepy again. Managed to doze until about midday, when we set off to find the kayaks that the B&B had. We weren't sure which two were the ones we were supposed to take so grabbed two at random and paddled to Palm Beach bay, about 30 minutes away. ...