Corromandel ( the East side) and Rotorua!

Waking up to another overcast day didn't stop us from driving across the peninsula to visit Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach hoping that the weather might be better on the other side. Sadly that was not the case and it remained dull and rainy for most of the day. We did however trek down to see Cathedral Cove - it only took us 20 minutes even though the signs said 40mins! On arrival we saw the impressive limestone formations slowly being eroded by the sea. We sat there, ate lunch, people watched and kept an eye on the rain clouds in the distance. As soon as we felt the first drop we packed up and left. Overall an impressive place but the weather and sheer number of people there took away some of the magic. We then headed further down the coast to Hot Water Beach. With the weather still overcast we walked along the beach to an outcrop and where loads of people were gathered. There were probably 100 people, some digging, some lounging in the hot water and some like us - just watching in amusement and dipping our toes in. We decided to head back to the campsite and pop back on our way through the following day if the weather improved. That evening we sat in the TV/kitchen area chatting to a lovely Kiwi couple about British/NZ banter.

Neither of us slept well that evening due to the high winds and rain pounding the tent. At one point during the night Mark had to get up and peg the tent down again as the wind had pulled a peg out! We wanted to leave early and head down to Waihi Beach and pop in to Hot Water Beach again but with the weather the way it was we took our time, trying to keep the tent dry when taking it down. We arrived in Waihi Beach around 2pm and pitched the tent and ate lunch. The campsite was fantastic with great facilities and we were looking forward to dinner and beer later on. Before that though we headed back inland to walk around the Karanghake Gorge. The weather fortunately had improved as we walked along the old railway tracks used for the gold mining back in the 1890s. The walk took us along the river and then into various tunnels, one 1km long. We took our head torches only to realise they were pretty weak so walked in the dark instead. In the evening we chilled by the kitchen are and played cards after dinner.

Yesterday we left Waihi Beach for Rotorua. On the way we visited Tauranga and Mt Maunganui Beach. As we neared Rotorua the sun came out and we started to smell the distinct smell of sulphur. Pitching our tent at Holden Bay campsite which was on the outskirts of the town we ventured into the centre to walk around the thermal pools in Kuirau Park. We then drove South and visited the Blue and Green Lakes which are surounded by the Whakarewarewa Forest. We walked around the lakes stopping at various places to admire the views, again stunning and very peaceful. Hot from all the walking we changed into our swimming gear and plunged into the lake - it was very refreshing and fantastic to be able to swim in such a place. That evening we sat in the camp kitchen talking to some lads from Newcastle.

Today we packed up the tent and made our way towards Ohope Beach on the coast. We have decided we love the coast more than inland now and couldn't wait to return. On the way we stopped at one of the geothermal areas on the outskirts of Rotorua (Tikitere - Hell's Gate) and we walked around various smouldering pools of mud. A great place to visit and you could really feel the heat - one pool had mud bubbling away at 145 degree C! We spent about an hour there and after walking bathed our feet in one of the hot mud pools - very relaxing despite the sulphur smell.

Arriving at Ohope Beach we had lunch and then headed into Whatatane to stock up on supplies. Tomorrow we go to the White Island (Whakaari), an island off the coast where we'll be doing a two hour ecotrek around a still active volcano!

Hope all is good at home and its warming up!

Love to all.

Mark & Rach

PS - 5 weeks and then home!