First Week in the Campervan

Next stop was Waihi Beach. It was about 2 hours drive from Whitianga, but was well worth it when we got there and saw the beach! The beach itself was a 9km stretch of white sandy heaven, and hardly anyone else was on it. We spent most of the day basking in the glorious sunshine and dipping our toes in the Pacific Ocean (a first for both of us). Shorts and t-shirts weather all the way (sorry to rub it in)! After lunch we walked into the ‘town’ of Waihi Beach, had a mooch around some shops, and bought another magnum.
We stayed at Sea Air Motel and Holiday Park, which was everything we needed; showers, toilets, kitchen etc…

From Waihi Beach we drove for about an hour to Tauranga, the biggest town we’ve been to so far. Had another wander round some shops and got a brew, had to wait an age for them but we were compensated with some free drinks vouchers (and therefore will never complain about the service)!
About 7km from Tauranga is Mt Mangnanui where we are stopping the night. The centre has a few cool shops and cafes, and round the corner from the holiday park is a White Rose-style shopping centre, where we bought fish and chips. Post-feed we had another walk on the beach, this one is possibly even bigger than Waihi Beach, and even nicer. Life is good!

After another early morning run on the beach we drove for about an hour to Roturua, on the banks of the lake of the same name. Town is pretty much like everywhere else we’ve been, and first stop was Starbucks, to use the vouchers we got yesterday! Two of the biggest hot chocolates ever, coming right up. Camp site is great, free hot thermal mineral pools they were amazing! Basically what Rotorua is all about, thermal pools and bubbling mud all over the place.

From Rotorua we drove to Taupo, but took a detour to Huka Prawn Park, the worlds only thermally heated prawn farm. We spent the morning filling our heads with knowledge about prawns, feeding baby prawns, feeding trout and then fishing for our own prawns. We caught 5 whoppers (James caught 4 of them) and had them cooked up for our lunch, from bucket to plate in around 5mins, delicious. Found the campsite, paid for 2 nights and got a 3rd free, nothing like a freebie to put a smile on a backpackers face! Usual facilities, no spa like pools like the Rotorua site never mind though! Going to a market Saturday morning and then for an explore around the town centre.