Oh my goodness! Where to start...I'm sitting in a caravan typing as fast as I can see my credit running out!!
From Auckland we headed North up the East Coast. To break the drive we stopped at Goat Island Marine Reserve. The island was about 50m off shore and there's a shallow gully between it. From the rocks you could see BIG fish. It was a glorious day so we hired a snorkel, mask, flippers and all over wetsuit (including balaclava thing) - its NZ its pretty cold. Phil was chuffed that you can get prescription masks. Fish school around bigger fish...and me and Phil were the biggest fish out there for the hours that we swam we had our own school. Close enough to touch. Big enough that they could nip at your fingers!!
At the Bay of Islands we did the grey nomad all day boat tour. It was an all day thing and it was good. We had an hour on one of the islands for people like me to recover from their sea legs - and for them to try and sell you lunch.
Also at the Bay of islands is where the Treaty between the Maori and the English government was written and first signed. The site had been given to the people but now the people have to give $12 to see it. The meeting house and the Maori waka/canoe were most impressive and they were carved in the 1940s to commorate the centeneray of the treaty.
From there we zoomed across to the west coast and saw some very big trees. This was definitely my choice. I don't think Phil realised just how big they were going to be. They weren't too tall but 16m in diameter; 10m to the first branch and 2000 years old. Unfortunatley the whites cut almost all of them down and sold the wood.
I'm a convert to camping in NZ. All have camp kitchens - with cooking hobs, fridge, microwave, toaster, tables, chairs. Some have TV lounges too. Tonights campsite is in Rotarua which is a thermal area in the central North island and tonight we have underfloor heating.
I've only got 3 mins left and no other coins and I still need to tell you about: Whakatere ranges; Hobbiton or White Island!!
Apparently the North has a sub-tropical climate. From my experience its more like Wales!! Wet, windy, hilly and lots of sheep. After Australia I love the greenery though.
