Coromandel – save the best for last

Here we are then, on our very last stop of our 6-week kiwi road trip.

The Coromandel is a favorite holiday spot for kiwis and foreigners alike, due to the great swimming beaches and the good climate they have here, and after 3 days, we know what it’s all about.

For our last retreat we rented a deluxe unit… on the beach ;) by far the most expensive accommodation we have had in NZ but oh so worth it. I booked it way back in August I think, the best places get booked quickly here.

We are staying in Whitianga on Buffalo beach, the resort has got kayaks that we can borrow, even Madeleine can paddle away here, it is so safe.

In the garden there’s the spa tub and the trampoline, and the bbq area with the bar overlooking the beach.

Yesterday we went to “Hot water beach” famous for its hot water streams, you can dig a hole in the sand and have your own hot tub right there on the beach. It does require some hard work and you need to be careful, because the water is up to 60 degrees… a great experience. The beach itself was not good for swimming, the waves were too big.

Today we went to another famous beach “New Chums beach” rated one of the best secluded beaches in the world.

Awesome J to use a favorite kiwi expression. Great play in perfect waves, nice walk across the huge beach with perfect white sand, with little islands dotted in front of it and surrounded by bush in the back… Michel had a special experience when a gannet dove into the water right next to him.

Have got a “don’t want to wake up” feeling in my tummy…

Living the moments fully, enjoying our children, looking forward to sharing with our dear ones. 

In the tub

Very safe (if you don't mind toe biting crabs ;) )

Surfing

Finally kayaking

Dig your hole

Soak in hot water

And here comes high tide!

daraaa

New Chums Beach

New Chums

Close

I love it here

Perfect sand

Beach babe

New Chums

Memory to save

Auckland - day 2

Are we getting homesick? The choice of restaurant this evening could suggest something like that. Belgian café, style “bruine kroeg” and we went for the full monty: Duvel, Kriek, Achel, (they had Westvleteren on the menu, but it was 100 dollars!) Furthermore, steak frites, Vol au vent (disappointing) and cheese croquettes. Served by a Chech youngster eager to earn enough money to travel about New Zealand. We see that a lot here, young Europeans working in shops and cafés before they can travel.

The day was spent swimming in the hotel, laying in the park next to the university and shopping.

We are already working on our jet lag by sleeping in until scandalously late ;)

We like Auckland! For the first time since we arrived we used public transport, we recommend it ;)

Tomorrow we are moving for the last time… 

See you soon.

Auckland - City of sails...

Today the Duponts got themselves a proper city-fix. 8 hours straight we wandered the streets of Auckland. Shopping, gazing at the beautiful yachts, eating ice cream, and finishing with a cinema.

Auckland is the biggest city of New Zealand with 1,4 mill inhabitants, that is 32 % of the country's population! It is built on the narrowest part of the north island with the pacific ocean all around. It has an impressive skyline good shopping and generally a nice feel to it.

I mentioned yesterday that we would try to get tickets to the tennis tournament, turned out Rochus and Malisse were playing today and we could get tickets, only they were in the very far corner where you couldn't see the whole court... too bad, but we didn't want that, mind you Michel was in doubt for a second... 

Thank you for reading our blog :) it's fun to watch the statistics and see where our followers are located, I copied it below :) (your anonimity is still guaranteed, I can only tell which country you're from ;) ) but I do wonder who is following us from South Korea :)

See you soon! 

Belgium

874

New Zealand

120

Faroe Islands

107

Denmark

84

Sweden

24

United States

23

Spain

20

Germany

19

South Korea

7

Canada

6

The famous flat white and two hot chocolates

building

Crazy about "A"

relax

sweet as ...

tower with bungy jumps

yes imagine that ...

Rotorua – geothermal soaking and Lake Hopping

Kia Ora! (Hello)

So, this is one of the last blogs I will write on this trip. Cannot believe there is only a little more than one week to go. This extra ordinary experience has proven wonderful and has brought us very close to nature in its most beautiful appearances and closer to each other. Ok, a little too close at times, I admit, (it will be good to get a baby sitter when we get back home ;) )

We spent two days in Rotorua which is a town on the shores of lake Rotorua. The motel owner explained to us that Rotorua town as well as the other towns around the lake were actually built in the crater that the volcano left behind.

We decided against going to the Maori-show, just too commercial and very costly.

Instead we went lake hopping yesterday, starting with the Blue lake some 20 minutes from Rotorua, it had a beach and lots of kids playing. For the first time I heard some Maori spoken, be it mixed with English.

Then on to the Green lake with a stop at the Buried Village in between.

The buried village is a museum telling the story of the village which was destroyed by the Tarawera eruption in 1886. The place was world famous for the so called terraces, beautiful volcanic formations with lots of hot springs, attracting thousands of travelers each year (this in the 19^th century) The inhabitants, a mix of Maori and English ran hotels and sight seeing tours by boat until the disaster struck and all 150 were killed.

Today on our way to Auckland we did a detour to the Waitomo glow worm caves. Beautiful caves, where you go by boat in absolute quietness and darkness except for the millions of glow worms attached to the humid roof of the cave. Nice doesn’t really cover the phenomenon, but we are being so spoilt here with magnificent views and experiences.
Now we are in the Surrey hotel, having pizza and watching Monfils go through to the second round of the Auckland tennis tournament J Will try to get tickets I think.
Haere ra! (Farewell)