Pies and Eggy Smells !!

7.30am we awoke and showered before repacking our bags and loading them into the car. We had breakfast at the Motel, a very nice continental. We were all fed and managed to squeeze everything into the boot (after much rearranging!). We were off again.

We decided to have a walk along the Whitianga Beach, having our first dip in the Pacific Ocean. The beach and the weather were perfect, so warm. We then headed into the town centre, it was really busy when we got there. It was lots of little shops and we had a good walk around before setting off again.

Back up and down all the very windy roads. It was like a race car track winding left to right. We had to pull over loads of times to let other cars passed. The Sunny wasn’t a speed demon going up hills!! We all had to lean forward just to make it the top on some of them. We stopped off at the lookout place we stopped at previously, this time the weather was perfect. You could see for miles, it was beautiful.

Back in the car again and we drove to Whangamata, stopping for a walk along the streets. It was a bit like Whitianga, with the same vibe. We decided to get some pies and head down to the beach. We sat on the sand and watched the surfers catching the waves and then struggling to get back to do it all again. It was Bank Holiday Monday so it was full of families. We watched the kids on their Boogie Boards, catching the tiny wave’s right to the sand. There were so many waves, haven’t seen a beach like it. It was really hot just sitting there, so chilled.

After we’d finished we hopped back into the Sunny and drove on, stopping at Waihi Beach. It was a bit windy and nothing compared to the last one so we didn't stop long.

After a bit of a detour we passed through Tauranga on our way to Rotorua. We could smell it before we got there....smells a bit funny. We drove through the main strip looking for Mum and Dad’s Motel but it was up the other end of town. We found it pretty easily and left them to get checked in and get ready. We headed to the Funky Green Voyager, as recommended by the Lonely Planet Guide. We unpacked our bags and chilled for an hour before heading back to pick up the folks.

We ended up in the Pig & Whistle Pub for tea. We all had a good feed, massive portions and a drink before heading back to the Motel for some games of Uno.

Just sitting in bed reading the guide book to see what we can do next. We’re really enjoying it so far, it’s just getting better. Driving a Nissan Sunny is a challenge, of all the cars to drive around NZ..... we would never have thought it would be that!