Kia Ora...welcome

I am sorry that the updates have been few and far between but unfortunately internet is expensive and sometimes fairly slow....oh ya and I have been busy visiting many a gorgeous and sometimes smelly places.

I am still in Whangamata and I have been here for a week and a half. Joy and I left Auckland and drove up the Coromandel Penninsula, which is full of really small towns that all look the same. It is mixed with massive forests and some rare native trees. Whangamata is so beautiful it took my breath away the first time. it is a long white sand beach that is perfect for swimming, body surfing and sun tanning. there is even a spot to surf...although I have not managed to be able to go.
Joy and I visit her property regularly. They are building a logging road there so that they can forest behind her but it is perfect because they are building her a road to where her house site is and they have cleared the area for her as well. She has taken me all over her acreage which includes some Kauri trees. Some of it is really hilly and there are some gulleys and some streams. She has also rented some of the flat paddock to a cow farmer and the cows follow us around and lick the car clean.

Also we have done a day trip up to Haihi which includes Cathedral Cove, a secluded beach in a recreation reserve, which is only accessible by foot and then through a large archway and only a low tide. It is glorious!! Then we went to Hot Water Beach, where at low tide you dig holes in the sand and sit in warm pools, its a nice beach, no swimming.

We have done some hiking around in the wentworth valley, and up to the waterfall. Its great to be able to hike around and we were averaging about 2 hour walks everyday. not so much anymore.

The weather was turning against us last weekend so we decided to head to Rotorua, which is a thermal valley. It smells of rotten eggs/sulfur, but it is rich in Maori culture and volcanic activity. We visited the Te Puia arts and culture centre, which houses a carving and weaving school, kiwi house (yes I have now seen the real bird now), and a geyser. We also got to see a Maori concert, showcasing a welcoming ceremony. Then we visit the Polynesian Spa, a grouping of thermal pools of different temperatures right on Lake Rotorua. The next day we visited the Agrodome, which is a sheep sheering farm and we went to the show. It was informative on the different types of sheep And then they showed you how they sheer one. Next we went to the Buried Village, which was a settlement that was destroyed in the 1886 eruption of Mt Tarawera. About 120 people died....i think. Then we drove to Lake Taupo to try and see the mountains but it was too cloudy. I managed to drive the way home in the pouring rain on a windy road and not kill anyone!!!
Then it was back into town for the Searchlight Tattoo....no I did not get another one. It is a military band showcase. There were brass bands and bagpipe bands, a police dog show, battle re-enactment, and maori singing. It all ended with Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture and fireworks. Ok so I know I am a geek but whatever, the music was fun....we are just going to put it up to the fact that I am cultured.
Tomorrow I am heading to the capital Wellington on the train. until next time, miss you all!
RIP Lael and Shoga.