The sun was shining and it was getting quite warm by around
We spent a short time sorting out the tent and then headed North on the main SH 25 towards Whangamata where we had a coffee. This is an upmarket little town for people with money who need a place away from
The journey so far had been through very hilly country where there had been a certain amount of logging which tends to ruin the view.
After coffee we left and then continued North on SH 25 to Tairua where we stopped for a few moments and then went to Hot Water Beach. This beach is quite unique and you can rent a spade and at certain times of day dig a hole in the sand which then quickly fills with boiling hat water which you can sit in providing your lower parts are quite tough.
We then visited another camp site at Hahei and it is really a very good holiday park which we would certainly stay at another time. The views from the beach are superb with great sand and beautiful colour of the sea with the small islands in the background.
Following a brief lunch overlooking the bay and watching the surfers we continued north until we came to the town of
This is a great idea if you have a boat and don’t want to pay
We also visited another
We decided to head back to Waihi which took about a couple of hours of driving and dropped into the town to do some shopping.
Dinner tonight was steak with a melee of vegetables. Alongside us in the kitchen was a Japanese family who seemed to be cooking for the whole Japanese army but a few minutes later the rest of the family turned up to demolish all that was cooked.
Tomorrow we head to the west coast and drive north again up to