Sand, smells and shoes

We retraced our steps to Cambridge and then drove on to Tirohanga in the Bay of Plenty, where we were staying in a Beach House. A brilliant location which was just a dune away from the beach, unfortunately, the property needed to have been aired prior to our arrival (it was musky), and a bit of a deeper clean. Annoying but not difficult for us to rectify. Although it's dampness took a few days to clear.

We were pleased that the drive was only a small slope up to the property, narrow but not difficult to drive on!!

Snapper and salad on the decking, after an earlier walk along the beach in the sun, made the perfect end to the day and promised good things for our stay. Unfortunately we had a number of 'housekeeping' tasks that we needed to do which took up most of the next day. Paying for our camper van via a bank transfer from the UK proved an interesting challenge, which with the a little research we succeeded in doing. We did manage to get out for a drive in

the late afternoon where we viewed some lovely properties overlooking the sea. There are a lot of these in New Zealand that we would not say no to. Just need our lottery ticket to come up.

Our local town of Opotiki was a little rundown with a number of buildings in need of TLC. The Maori community we encountered were all very welcoming and friendly, however, there was high youth unemployment and they were coping with the problems that this caused. Problems are the same the world over.

In contrast we took a trip to the next town along the coast, Whakatane, that had a thriving shopping area, harbour and businesses. With young people enjoying their leisure in the sun that day. I am sure there are very good reasons for the differences between these two towns, but on face value it seems very unfortunate for some of the young people.

Our big outing from here was a trip to Rotorua, one of the centers of NZ's geothermic activity, or at least that is what they sell. It is, however, a lot more than that as we discovered. The lake is very large and has the ubiquitous steam boat running on it. No.we didn't go on it, just saw its arrival whilst we had our picnic lunch.

Visited the Gardens where we encountered a hostile gull colony. (picture a scene from The Birds), had a short walk to investigate the steam escaping from the ground, (accompanied by bubbling waters), looked at a sculpture park, and sussed out the local spa complex (research for later, possibly). All of this put Bobby into a quandry which of her shoes to wear.

My previous memory of Rotarua was purely based upon the smell, (If you've been there you'll know!) I now know that there is a lot more to the place and is, possibly, worth a longer visit. However, we had to return to our accommodation for our last night in the Bay of Plenty, and start to prepare for our move the next day.

Further to my comment above Bobby thought she should share her holiday shoe limitations:

We had many discussions about our trip and the clothes we might need for four months of travel with weather that could range from sunny and hot to very cold and or wet. We had a 30kg luggage restriction from Qantas and it felt like difficult choices would have to be made.

Flip flops were a must, no question about it, walking boots would be useful but trainers are lighter, then there would be times when I want to look smart but might have quite a walk to get there. Then what about dressy occasions, a pair of heels, I need those! Thinking about

each place we were staying and what would happen if I needed to change shoes during the day was another consideration.

I decided my footwear could not be kept in the case and would need to be in the car and available for any eventuality. Three pairs was the final tally, flip flops, trainers and flat blingy sandals, which live in the back under the drivers seat, so far so good, but they do have shops here...........