North Island trip 2018-19

Day:11 Weather: 22 Overnight: Waihi Beach NZMCA park Activities: Gelato and Coffee, avocados and corn, gold mining at Waihi, Woke to a sunny day. A slight breeze that had dried most of the washing. Left park around 10 for Whangamata. First stop was Waihi Beach shops after a look around at Anzac Bay and peninsula. Had a quick stop at shops and dump station. Got an ice cream at hotel. Travelled on and stopped at Waihi for a tour of the gold exhibition and visit to Martha opencast mine. A very big hole that has been closed now since 1956. All mining is done underground about 500metres from original site. After a quick look at the hole we did the gold extravanaganza tour at the information centre. It went through the history of gold mining in NZ and was very informative. We drove on to whangamata and found a spot to stay for the night at the Marina.A noisy New Year’s Eve with lots of fire works being let off from 11-2. Not too many drugs, etc.

Day: 10 Weather: 25 cloudy Overnight: Waihi Beach NZMCA Activities: Mount Maunganui - shops, swim Woke up to beautiful day in Rotorua. A cloudless morning, smelly with the Rotorua smell and hot. There was talk about church but this did not happen. The girls got up and were ready to tackle the day. Left Rotorua about 10 towards Tauranga and Mt Maunganui. No stops on the way. Arrived at Mt Maunganui around lunchtime. I did a drop off at Coronation Park ( Farmers Market) and continued in search of a park for the camper. Impossible. I ended up driving for about half an hour then came back and parked beside the market. We lunched at Pita Pit and decided that this was not the place for us so headed out of town. Further along Mt Maunganui Beach we found a car park so made the most of it. It was still very busy but gave all a chance to swim. The girls were stoked. We ended up staying for about 3 hours. Lots of boogie boarding. Once we got our stuff sorted we started the drive to W...

Day: 9 Weather: 18 - 23 Overnight: RSA Activities: Redwoods walk Public Thermal walk and foot spa Rotorua Gardens and museum ( Museum was closed) Woke up to another drizzly day in Rotorua. We were keen to view a geyser but did not want to pay the crazy price of Whakarewarewa village or Te Puia. Google came up with a walk through the Redwoods bike park that overlooked the Village and TePuia with a fantastic view of the geyser. So that became one of our missions for the day. We first headed towards the public walk. It was fenced off thermal activity in the middle of town that had a small market and thermally heated hot water. The water was in two baths that were knee deep. Perfect for foot soaking so we made the most of it. After a short walk around the market and thermal area we sat for a toasty foot soak. By this time the drixzzle had stopped but we kept our jackets just in case. Next we did the tourist look through town and parked up at the museum. Much to our disappoin...

Day: 8 Weather: 22, sunny Overnight: RSA Rotorua Activities: Huka Falls Woke up to a top day in Taupo. We all went for a quick morning swim to wake us up. Millie and Clare decided to bike into town while Tony and Frankie filled with water, etc. Had lunch in the van in Taupo before heading off to Rotovegas. Saw turn off to Huka falls when leaving Taupo so decided to visit. Amazing. Had a great view of the falls and watched as one of the tourist jet boats came up the river. Stopped at Wai - o - tapu thermal village on the way. This was just 30km from Rotorua.

Day : 7 Weather: 16 Overnight: Clifton Road reserve Activities:

Day: 7 Weather:24 Overnight: Naper International Club Activities: Te Wai Puna thermal wonderland. Left Greytown for north. Thought we would try for Rotorua. Weather still looked unsettled but improving. Before getting to Rotorua we visited the thermal wonderland. It was well worth it with the bubbling mud, coloured lakes, steaming pools, and coloured water. Walked around for a couple of hours. Travelled on to Rotorua and found Napier Club on NZMCA. It was a great spot in the car park out the back. Kids swam in pool. Bed at a reasonable time.

Day: 6 Weather: Wet Overnight: Greytown camping ground Activities: Present unwrapping, eating, Woke to a rainy day. Unwrapped a couple of presents then headed down to church at the Presbyterian at 9.30. Donned Parker’s and scooters. An OK Christmas service. Very warm just wet. On return we decided to cook up lunch in camp kitchen so did ham, veggies and made a trifle. Yum. Unwrapped a few more presents without too many hitches. Millies biggest were a Powershot Canon Camera, Frankies was a new scooter and Next Generation doll. Clare scored an amazing pack of three of the best DVDs and truck loads of other outstanding presents. I got a book and clothing. Nice.Most of the day was spent inside the camper as the weather as pretty wet but we survived well.

Day : 5 Weather: Rain Overnight: Greytown Camping Ground Activities: Preparing for Christmas Day, pick up camper The day was warm and sunny in Welly. We left DJs around 3.00 following church, etc. Drove on heading North a bit unsure as tho where we would stay. Checked out weather. It all looked nasty for Christmas Day so settled on Greytown. Very wet but a nice wee spot under the trees.

Day: 3-4 Weather: Drizzle Overnight: Ayling’s Activities: Church,

Day: 1 Weather: 16 Overnight: Kikurangu Activities: Driving Left home after a busy day of packing and tidying up. Following Tonys three day hospital visit the planned North Island trip was already a week behind. The Dr had given Tony clearance to travel by car but had recommended it be a week following his accident that this happen. Biking, running and any strenuous activities were out for the next 4-6 weeks. Perfect timing for a summer North Island trip with an adventurous family.