Whakatane to Waihi Beach

Whakatane to Waihi Beach 8/2/2011



 





Leaving our little private house at Whakatane we drove along the inland road towards Rotorua, the tourist town with all the geysers and steam baths, and then around beautiful Lake Rotorua, the weather is a little cooler but the lake is glistening with the sun and just catching the many black swans as they glide across the water. Heading north we passed Te Puke and “Karen“ on the GPS had us turning in circles in Tauranga as a new highway has been built since our GPS was updated. We saw Mt Mauganui in the distance twice. Also was a surprise for us to see the Kiwi fruit growing on wooden pyramids.



Kiwi Fruit



After getting out of Tauranga we skirt along the bays and estuaries and find ourselves in Waihi Beach, a beautiful spot that overlooks Mayor Island. We arrived at our motel where the proprietor was having plumbing problems with a water pipe bursting.





Beach Bum





Do not eat the shellfish



Sightseeing through this beautiful seaside town we have lunch on the beach and watch the waves roll in. Then we set off on a long walk contemplating whether to have a swim but getting a little damp to our knees we decided not to as the water was a little chilly and we then find a sign that states not to eat the shell fish found in this area as it was contaminated with toxins. So we don’t know if the water was safe to swim in.



We walked to a small restaurant in town for dinner where I had, my first New Zealand lamb and it was delicious, Vic had the seafood chowder which was very good also.

Just a funny sign