Anchorage Motel Whitianga

... the fact that it used to be a public toilet with their motto &#8220;come in for a leek&#8221;. <br><br>We also randomly met a couple from Sweden (Patrick and Sandra) that we had met when we were in Oamaru to see the penguins. Unfortunately they were leaving Wellington the following morning. We went to watch a rugby game while we were there. The local team, the hurricanes were playing against the Cape Town Stormers in the super fourteens league. The game itself<br>was a bit ...

... but has a cove and a marina and 3 chip shops to choose from for my tea tonight - I've been advised to try the teriheki fish if i can find it - its supposed to be gorgeous. Already decided i don't fancy getting the bus back to auckland at 7.45am and want to spend some more time here so will aim to revise my booking and get the lunchtime bus so i can do some exploring

The rain has caught up with us in a big way!! Yesterday we had a great drive from Hamilton, I think Geoff has already told you what a buzzy town that was. We stopped for coffee, more flat whites!, at a small town with a lovely history of a busy spa town in Victorian times, now a little tired. Te Aroha, meaning, the love!! Then on to the Coromandel and 'Hot Water Beach' really hot water ...

... Whitianga waren wir dann in cats Pyjama untergebracht...und so wie sich das Hostel anhoert so war es auch.... alle schliefen zusammen in einem 12 er schlafsaal und ja....war etwas versifft...aber egal. Am Abend gingen wir dann in ein Thermalbad "The Lost Springs", das echt der Hammer war! Denn das Thermalbad war aufgebaut wie ein Paradies, mit Hoelen, Grotten, Wasserfaellen, versteckten Pools, Farne, Palmen etc... Da haben wir uns es richtig gut gehen lassen. ahhhhh

... wir, Ghost town zu sehen. Wir wollten echt ins Kino.... Der Film war lustig und unterhaltsam aber manchmal schwer zu verstehen. Zurueck im Hostel sassen wir uns in die Kueche und plauderten mit 2 schottischen Jungs und 2 deutschen Girls und gingen danach ins Bett, es war schon 23.30h. Am naechsten Morgen hatten wir uns entschieden, laufen zu gehen. Wir hoerten vom Kauaeranga Thal, das so schoen sei. Da gibt's Wege fuer Jeden, von einer Stunde bis zu fuenf Stunden Maersche. Ich ...

... quick enough to catch one cup full of vomit in the glass he swiped from under my drowsy eyes. All I saw was Raymond quickly reaching over the man sitting next to me and grabbed something. The travel tab I took seemed to work very well as I found out what happened about 15 minutes later as airline workers kept coming back and forth to Monique. I add this so Raymond and I will remember it was not all sunshine and roses ...

... on the Karangahake Gorge Walk, 1km of which is through a disused railway tunnel (extremely dark and creepy). Another great (but wet!) walk was to Cathedral Cove a massive arch in the cliffs and apparently a great area for snorkelling (a bit cold!). The weather now is beginning to take its toll on our enthusiasm so we decided to leave the peninsula and head off to Northland. We spend a few days driving around the area but unfortunately ...

... bus yet, I ended up finding out all about the Greenpeace mission in New Zealand... basically they pay students to drive around the country and stand in the street and beg for memberships and donations and things. Not great work but if you want a way of getting around the country for free the idea has some limited merit. Put it this way though, if they had one of those warships parked out in the bay, I would have been jumping straight on it to blow up ...

... it though, There is a huge rock that has been carved out over time....I've forgotten the reasons but it's amazing anyways! There are also a lot of great snorkeling spots around here. We tried to stop at one.. but the rain had ruined the visibility!! Hot Water Beach is one HUGE tourist attraction. When we arrived, there were people EVERYWHERE digging holes into the beach. There is a certain ...

... and what looked like wonderful swimming. We also went to a small winery and had kiwi fruit (not the animal) liqueur. They also had a fujuoia liqueur which was like a non-fuzzy kiwi fruit. <br><br>At about 1:00 in the morning, Lisa and I were shockingly awoken by a fire department siren. The noise was so close and loud that we jumped out of bed with extreme unconciousness and confusion. I basically didn't know what was ...