While touring we stopped off at Coromandel Peninsul’s Hot Water Beach as we had heard so much about it.  For two hours either side of low tide, hot water oozes from the sand.  Armed with our hired spade ($5 AUD) we dug our own custom-made spa pool.

It was incredible how hot the water really was, in places you couldn’t walk on the sand.  You will see the steam rising from the sand in one of the pictures.  Once all steamed up you could cool off in the sea while body surfing the large waves – a great few hours.

I’ve included a nice photo for the boys, certainly kept me amused and distracted.

Having had a day or so chilling out at Goat Island we headed further north to the Bay of Islands then down south through Auckland and onto the Coromandel Region.  The Bay of Islands itself was pretty but the drive there and around was magnificent – the scenery was simply breathtaking as you’ll see in the pics. 

One of NZ’s top tourists drawcards, most take a tour on a sailboat around the islands but having experienced a true sailing experience in Halong Bay in Vietnam we didn’t think it was necessary to do it here too and we seen a lot of the islands from the roadside.  Even the Lonely Planet thinks it’s a teensy bit over hyped.

Camping and touring here is awesome, you can park anywhere on the side of the road, be surrounded by beautiful scenery and eating fresh organic veg for dinner purchased from the many wwoofing shops (willing workers on organic farms).

Many of these pictures were taken while driving but you get a gist of how scenic NZ really is.  Have a look at pic 5, yes they really are pink sheep – god knows why – we had to drive back and take a snap to show you.