We had
about 550 kilometres to do today and bear in mind it is 90% single lane roads but
what a fantastic drive yet again. We passed rolling hills, mountains with snow
on, gorges with fast flowing water and finally the odd volcano or two. The
journey took us via Taupo and Rotarua (where you can smell the sulphur in the
air) and then on to Whakatani where we arrived around 18.00 hrs and we were
both a little tired after the long drive but also having enjoyed it immensely at
the same time.
Whakatani
is a nice little town and we found with help from the receptionist an excellent
restaurant which is renowned for its seafood and we both had the fish of the
day which was snapper baked and placed on top of potatoes and pesto, absolutely
brilliant and we almost licked the plates. We had a short walk around the town
and there certainly appears to be some money here with the expensive new apartments
overlooking the sea and quite a few bars and restaurants. Would certainly come
back here sometime should we ever return.
Back to camping
from tomorrow night in a place called Miranda in the Coromandel peninsular.
