Once we were up we decided to head down to the beach and spend a couple of hours there before setting out again. This way it was not too hot to sunbathe and we weren't in the van all day - sensible, eh? The beach was beautiful, as they all are here, and quiet. The perfect spot to read a few chapters and splash around in the sea. For those of you out there who don't know - I love being in the sea and get too hot on the beach and so go in for a dip quite often. So, off I toddled, but forgot to remove my sunnies - so out I came after diving into the waves, only to wonder why the sun was so bright. Both lenses had disappeared into the sea never to be seen again, leaving me looking like a bit of a t**t! Once we had both had enough we headed back out on the no 1 before stopping in Kaiwaka at a supermarket for lunch. We seem to have got the hang of this campervan thing - toilets opposite the carpark, lunch on our laps - sorted!! Or so we thought....... We left town and I noticed some strange looks from locals and other drivers. There I was thinking that we were getting some admiring glances, but alas, they were gawping at our ineptitude. We had forgotten to shut the side door to the van and we had gone about a mile before we spotted it. We could not stop laughing - not so cool after all!! From here we drove through Auckland and picked up the no 2 highway out to the no 25, which does a loop around the Coromandel Peninsula. The road is often closed in bad weather as it runs right along the edge of the sea, with hills directly to the right. We found a campsite at Tapu, where the van was right on the sea and was facing west for a change - hence all the sunset pictures, like the one on the right. This was actually taken from the rug by our van. Corn on the cob, tuna salad and wine again - may have to change this soon!! S xx