Wednesday 12^th November

Today we had a lie in and breakfast at 9am before heading off to Cathedral Cove. This was a short drive followed by a 40 minute walk on a very pleasant path that wound up and down the coast before a steep descent by steps to the beach. Cathedral Cove was quite spectacular and well worth the effort!

We then drove around the coast to Coromandel town. This involved a very windy road up a mountain which used up a great deal of fuel so we had 5Km worth left by the time we coasted down to the town! As we were refuelling I noticed we were next to a smoke house so I went in and bought some delicious spicy smoked mussels as well as a vacuum packed packet of assorted smoked fish for a future occasion. We stopped at a café and had a very good lunch – Iain had mussel chowder and I had a burrito with a lovely salad on the side.

We the drove back on an even windier road back (309) and reached the Hot Sands beach just about the right time (2hours either side of low tide). Avoiding the rain again we sat in a pool of hot water that Iain had dug out at the edge of the shore where the sand is almost too hot to walk on! A strange but pleasant experience!

We then went back to the B&B and watched the rain and the rainbows before going to dinner again at The Church.

Tuesday 11^th November

After breakfast of porridge and brown sugar at 8am, a water taxi came and picked us up (the rest continue snorkelling etc and get back at 3pm) so we were back in Pahia at 9.30am. We collected our bags from the Morepark and drove down through the centre to join Highway 12 and then taking the direct route into Auckland. We decided to go this way as we had come up the coastal highway before and the scenery was magnificent although the road was very bendy up and down the hills and through large forested areas, so it probably took us longer.

Once in Auckland we collected my prescription easily enough from the pharmacy on Ponsonby road and then headed out to the Coromandel peninsula where we are staying for two nights. We had an excellent dinner at a converted church which is now a restaurant specialising in Spanish tapas etc. The B&B is fine although not as welcoming as Morepark and the bed is very comfortable!

Monday 10^th November

Today we set off driving up the coastal road through lovely scenery, diverting off the main road to take a peek at little deserted bays along the way. Once at Awanui we decided we had better head back on the faster central road rather than continuing back along the west coast as we had to be back in Pahia for 4.30pm for our overnight boat trip in the Bay of Islands.

At 5pm we boarded ‘The Rock’ and as expected we were by far the oldest guests aboard. The others were all in their twenties on a group trip and of varying European nationalities. We got on fine though and joined in the firing at a plastic duck bobbing behind the boat (missed!), fishing at dusk (no catch!), drinking beer and eating smoked kingfish (caught earlier and smoked by our captain!) which was delicious. Having motored for a couple of hours we moored up in a beautiful bay and had a pleasant buffet from the on board barbecue before setting out in the kayaks for a row around the bay. Unfortunately it was cloudy so no stars were visible but the water was phosphorescent when you dipped your oar in. Iain went for a swim as well and loved seeing his legs outlined by the phosphorescence as he swam, but it was a bit too cold for me.

We had a wood burning stove on board so we all huddled around chatting and having a glass of wine or beer. We were one of the last ones to bed and had a separate cabin so managed to get a reasonable night’s sleep.

Sunday 9^th November

We had a bit of an early start as we needed to get to the pier in Paihia before 7.45am as we were taking a boat trip to view, and possibly swim with, dolphins. It was lovely scenery in the Bay of Islands but I had forgotten to charge my camera battery (spare battery is a dud) so I wasn’t able to take the shots I would have liked. We spent quite a while watching a large pod frolic around but as they had babies and juveniles with them we were forbidden to get into the water with them. Some people tried with a pod of five adults later but they didn’t want to play and so they had to come back to the boat. Iain and I hadn’t yet got into the water so our wet suits were still dry... and as the wind was quite cold that was quite lucky!

We got off the boat at Russell which is a picturesque little town and we took a short tour around Pompallier House which in the 1840s and 50s was home to a catholic mission led by Bishop Pompellier who was responsible for the printing of 38,000 prayer books and hymnals. The building has been restored as has part of the tannery behind it and we had an interesting demonstration of the labour intensive method of making the leather and printing, binding and covering the texts using the original printing press and blocks.

We then had lunch at the oldest New Zealand pub (Duke of Marlborough) – Iain enjoyed calamari and I had some delicious seafood chowder. We then caught the busy little passenger ferry from Russell to Paihia.

Having collected Iain’s camera from our B&B we made a short trip to Haruru Falls which were rather good and then over a scenic and partly untarmaced road over Mount Hobson to Waitangi Treaty grounds where the treaty between the Maoris and the British was signed in 1840.

We returned to Morepork Lodge (our B&B named after a small owl) and relaxed in the sun in their beautiful gardens before saying hello to their goat and couple of alpacas. We had an excellent dinner at the lodge with our hosts, Paul and Barbara, with some wonderful New Zealand green lipped mussels followed by lamb.

Saturday 8^th November

We had quite a long drive up to Paihia today, as we took the scenic route that twisted and turned up and down the hills. Everywhere is incredibly beautiful, with rolling green hills and deserted sandy bays. The tree ferns, though, remind us that this is not England. It was quite windy, with some cloud but it became quite sunny in the afternoon. We crossed from Okiato to Opua, near Paihia, on the car ferry, which was fun.

We arrived at our B&B around 4.30pm and received a lovely welcome – tea and nibbles. Having settled in, we drove the 8Km to Paihia to check out where we get the boat tomorrow and had dinner at a seafood restaurant – nice food but a bit overpriced.

Friday 7^th November

Today we were picked up to go on a city tour which was quite interesting. We saw the deep water harbour (with liner) and container port as well as the marinas and had great views from Mount Victoria, in the suburb of Devonport.

In the afternoon we picked up a delicious pie for lunch from a bakery and then drove to see the black sands. This is incredibly soft and silky and sparkles in the sunlight because of the high manganese and titanium content. The whole of Auckland and surrounds are on extinct or dormant volcanic cones and calderas. We then had a short walk in the sub tropical rain forest which has loads of different ferns and cycads.

In the evening we had been invited to a local GP trainer’s house for dinner – she had read my books etc and wanted to meet me. There were three other couples there and we had a very pleasant evening and left much too late (after 10pm!). I have never been a ‘guest of honour’ before!

Thursday 6^th November

We had an uneventful flight to Auckland and after a bit of a wait we picked up our car – non-automatic this time – so we have to remember how to change gears! It also comes with a sat nav which is handy. We found our way reasonably easily to our B&B which is a quirky place in Ponsonby which has some relatively old wooden houses that are quite picturesque.

After settling in we wandered along the main road and found a lovely Vietnamese restaurant that had been recommended. It lived up to expectations and my fish dish was exquisite. We had a lovely view of the Sky Tower and the centre of Auckland all lit up with coloured lights on our way back.

Wednesday 5^th November

We left with Tony about 8.30pm so that we had time to visit a special shop in Proserpine called ‘Colour Me Crazy.’ This was an Alladin’s cave of arty knick knacks but we bought a couple of nice mugs for Tony and Avril.

We liked the tiny airport at Proserpine and it was only an hour’s flight to Brisbane. We caught our shuttle bus and arrived at our very nice B&B. They are even going to put on some breakfast for us at 5.30am tomorrow (our pickup is 5.45am) although I doubt I can manage anything that early.

We wandered down to the river and caught the free City Hopper boat that goes up and down the river in the central part of the city. It was very pleasant to see the city from the river and there is a nice mixture of modern buildings and apartment blocks with some older houses here and there.

In the evening Zenica (one of Tony and Avril’s twin daughters) who lives in Brisbane, came and picked us up and we had a very nice Italian meal together in a restaurant in the renovated powerhouse complex where she works in media. 

Tuesday 4^th November

Avril had to spend the day manning the art gallery in Cannonvale but the three of us went down to the Community hall at 11.30am because today is Melbourne Cup day. Everyone dresses up as if they were going to the races and watches the race on TV. We all brought food and drink and took part in a sweepstake and an auction...Tony won around 140AUD, our three horses didn’t win us anything but it was fun, all the same!

We spent the rest of the day relaxing as we seem to have done most of the time while we have been here. The feel of the place is very peaceful and the temperature stays between 23 and 28 degrees almost all the time – very pleasant.

Monday 3^rd November

Iain went for a swim but I preferred just having a shower. We spent the morning reading or doing a bit on the blurb book and then in the afternoon Tony drove us to Cannonvale to pick up Iain’s test strips at the pharmacy. We also drove around Airlie Beach and up a very steep hill (Mount Whitsunday) to get some views of the marina and surrounding areas. They have sold plots up on the hillside for building but I think they will need 4WD to get up and down!