Ohope Beach Whakatane

Leaving Waitomo behind we set off on the less travelled roads to spot a few of the impressive photo opportunities that lie in New Zealand. First stop Mangapohue Natural Bridge and then onto the Marokopa Falls. These were mere interludes in our 4 hour journey to Rotorua. "Egg" would have been a better name for “Rotorua”, or to more …

... extra night so that I could explore the surrounding area. Before I could do that though, I had the small matter of visiting New Zealand's most active volcano to look forward to. Whakaari, or the White Island, lies 50km off the coast of Whakatane. As ...

... the traditional Kiwi dessert of pavlova. (A small war can be provoked by opening the debate of whether pavlova is an Australian or New Zealand invention). On Boxing Day we decided to be a bit more active, and so was our destination. White Island is ...

Ohope ...

Pronounced correctly fa-ka-ta-ne. No sniggers please. So I was looking for a beach and some sun. No beach at Whakatane but nearly this is Ohope beach. Was a-mazing.  Oh, and I found the sun – thank god.  Unfortunately the sand flies ...

... I drove out to the beach where there were a few sufers carving up on the small waves I arrived into Ohope Beach 7km east of Whakatane and into quintessential Kiwi holiday territory. Staying in the type of place where people seem to get purposefully ...

... turned around and walked all the way back. For lunch we returned to the house had some food and headed out again to Ohope Beach. The beach was amazing we got there right around sunset so the lighting was perfect and the shells there were big and hardly ...

Ohope Beach is a fantastic 12km long stretch of sand within the Bay of Plenty. The waves are incredible, there is a James bond baddies island just off the coast and you can see a smoking volcano on an island from your ...

... to send a postcard or two and buy a souvenir and some groceries.  I headed back to my room, grabbed my car and headed out to Ohope Beach, which was the other side of the head.  It was a short drive, and on a nice day would have been a very ...

... at Waihi Beach and then Kohiawa Beach were we could see Moutohora (Whale) Island in the distance. Finally we stopped off at Ohope Beach Whakatane. We then checked into the Alton Lodge Motel www.altonlodge.co.nz which we had booked to stay for 2 days. ...

... % of people in the district have Maori ancestry. You do not say it how it sounds either. Ive learnt this with most name sin New Zealand.  The 'W' becomes an 'F'. (once you have worked this out say it out loud). 'Fack-ka-tane'. Kinda sounds a little ...