Whitianga

Breakfast in Rotorua, and then on to Whitianga, which is near Coromandel.  We spent the afternoon at a Thermal Spa.  
It was very relaxing and we had a great time!  
Off to Coromandel tomorrow morning and then on to Auckland!

Our drive here felt like we were in Costa Rica! So Pretty!

Time to 'Give way'.  Lots of one lane bridges here!

Super cool. They really respect the "aged" here!

The Lost Spring Spa where we spent the afternoon swimming!

Napier to Rotorua

We shopped in Napier before taking off to Rotorua.  The shopping was fun and we had lunch at a sidewalk cafe.
We took our time driving to Rotorua, stopping several times along the way.  We stopped at a Thermal Hot Springs and some Thermal Mud Pools.  You could see the steam coming from both and see the mud boiling!  The mud temperature is about 280 degrees and the smell of sulfur is everywhere!  You will perish if you step in the mud, but the thermal pools are like great hot tubs!

We finished the day off with a nice swim!

Napier, New Zealand

Well..our time in Wellington was short.  We didn't particularly like this big city.  

We woke up and drove to "Napier".  It is another small town on the coast and we just loved this whole day!  The drive was amazing again!  We stopped on one side of the island and spent time on the Tasman Sea and then drove over to the Pacific side of the island and that is where we are spending the night.  The town is really cute and they had an outdoor "50's" night on the ocean with old cars and dancing and food.  Food was yummy!!!  We had a pulled pork sandwich with Fennel and Peanut Slaw that was scrumptious!!  
We also had a twisted potato!  
We walked down to the ocean and were standing there when a man walked up (a little bit down from us) and then began to take off all his clothes and ran in the ocean and went swimming.  Everyone was so stunned!  Kids were laughing and moms were tugging at their kids to keep them from looking.  So funny!
Well...off to bed.

Coffee on the beach!

I found the prettiest shells here!

Nelson to Wellington

A drive to Picton this morning to drop off our rental car, before boarding a ferry to the north island.  The drive was spectacular along the coast.  Windy road, but worth it!
The ferry looked more like a cruise ship!  We had to check our baggage as if you were at an airport.  It was a three hour trip to the North Island and it was SO much fun!  We arrived in Wellington safely and picked up our new rental car and made it to the hotel without any trouble.  Yeah!  Now a day of much needed rest!

A beautiful drive to Picton to catch the Ferry

Yummy !!!   A Toastie (what they call a sandwich)