First thing this morning we set off to Hot Water Beach. It is named among the top 10 beaches in the world by the Lonely Planet Travel Guide. There are three places along the beach where the hot springs are present, and they are situated close to the water at low tide.  You can hire a spade and dig yourself a little spa. Sometimes the water under the sand was scorching hot. As the above photo shows , it is a popular spot.

Even without the glamour of the hot springs, it is a very pretty beach...

Not far away is Cooks Beach, named after James Cook who landed here.

After a coffee we walked the trail to Cathedral Cove, the views were spectacular.

Stingray Bay

Mares Leg Bay which is next to Cathedral Cove...

Still in Mares Leg Bay....looking into Cathedral Cove at Cathedral Rock...one of the most popular attractions on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Me...under the rock between the two bays.

The view from Cathedral cove over to the rock between the two bays. Pete and I had a swim in the cove, great little waves.

Hahei Beach where we stayed last night...

Hahei Beach...more birds..we had a fabulous day!

An exciting morning, waking up and knowing we were going to explore the Coromandel Peninsula. It  is the one place Pete and I really wanted to see this time in New Zealand. After another wonderful plunge in the hot pool we set off. Our first stop was Thames. Such a quaint little town with a lot of gold rush history.  Above is the Anglican church.

One of the many stunning old buildings...

Isn't this a cracker? One of the local second hand shops on the main street...

The drive up along the coast of the peninsula was so pretty , we were always right on the water...called the Firth of Thames.

Still driving up along the coast....

Looking back at Manaia Harbour...the  sun shone for quite a few hours today, the water looked so blue. It is still lovely when it is overcast but gosh the sunshine does make a difference.

We are still up high, it is quite a mountainous peninsular....the views were breathtaking. 

Our lunch stop was a Coromandel Town and we parked near the water. Pete enjoyed looking at all the old boats tied up amounts the mangroves.

One of the lovely beaches that we had been told about by our fellow walkers last week...it is called Otama Beach....had the whitest sand we had seen so far.

And the next bay, Opito Bay was also pretty and we were very excited to see this bird...a northern NZ   dotterel which is slowly disappearing and they are trying a few protection programs to improve their numbers. ( I never thought I would be so interested in birds!)

Our resting place for the night...Hahei...and this is the view from our van.

And this is what the beach looked like at five o'clock this afternoon....photos cannot capture how beautiful this place is. We can't wait until tomorrow...more adventures in this lovely part of the world.

Although the sun was shining when we woke, the forecast was for rain, everywhere, so Pete and I decided to spend the day driving. We wanted to go to the Coromandel Peninsula. We were planning on driving it over two days but decided to do it in one, since there was going to be rain. I have taken so many coastal shots and none of the lush green pastures that we drive through everyday. I have been taking some photos from the car window, some have worked out ok. They are just to get an idea of how pretty the countryside is here.

Not all their trees have leaves yet.

You often see this in NZ, low lying cloud.

Cows, cows and more cows...the North Island seems to have more cows (mainly dairy) than sheep. Pete and I remember seeing thousands of sheep in the South Island.

Coffee stop....just out of a town called Whangarei..

Lunch stop....just out of Auckland...Maraetai

Finally arrived in Miranda, hardly a town, but a small place with a Holiday Park that has a hot spring pool. 

Our first stop today...Te Ngaere

Whangaroa....marlin fishing is a big attraction to this area...

Mangonui....a pretty little harbour town with many historic buildings, like the above....they had a wonderful heritage trail to walk.

Coopers Beach .. we are now in Doubtless Bay

Matai Bay... a rather remote area just past Doubtless Bay....there was camping here but no power...very few people around...the water was crystal clear.

We stayed at a little camper park in Tokerau Beach, the photo above shows our little path to the sand.

These two photos I hope will show what the NZ weather can be like...both were taken within seconds of each other, of Tokerau ...there was a storm coming, and it did arrive a few minutes later.  But then as usual, the sun came out shortly afterwards.

Paihia on a gorgeous morning....we were on our way to catch the ferry to Russell, on the other side of the bay.

On the ferry...

Russell...pretty little town with lots of historic buildings....

Stunning view of the bay from Flagstaff Hill in Russell...

Back in Paihia, coffee and biscuits on the foreshore....

Trip out to Waitangi Treaty Grounds...fabulous place....spend a while soaking up the history.

Haruru Falls...

Pete and I were thrilled when we arrived at our planned overnight stop. We knew nothing about Matauri Bay except Trip Advisor had given it an excellent rap. It is beautiful and we scored a beachside location for the van.

This hill was at one end of the beach and we climbed to the top...

...to see the memorial sculpture to the Rainbow Warrior...isn't it magnificent?!...

View from on top of the hill...our van on the right under the pine trees...

View of our van from the beach, I just loved the reflections in the sand.

Our van has a BBQ! We have never had that before. How nice to cook fresh salmon on the barbie with that view!