



We started about 8am and our bus picked us up from the other end at 4pm, we just made it! We took an extra side trip to hike up Mt. Tongariro which gave us great views across the national park and to other volcanic mountains. One of the highlights was feeling the steam bellow out of the earth's crust

From National Park, we spent one night in Lake Taupo and then headed up through Roturura and into the Coromandel Peninsula. The whole North island seems to be harbouring thermal activity
just under the serface so there is a huge focus on thermal baths, steam vents and volcanic activity in general. It's also a great place to experienc some of the Maori culture which unfortunately we ran out of time for.

By the time we reached the Coromandel Peninsula, we were in need of a sun-tan top-up and some beach time again! Luckily we had the opportunity to hang out on Whangamata beach for most of
the day and then made our way to Hot Water Beach in the afternoon. Hot Water Beach gets it's name b/c at low tide people come to dig holes for themselves to sit in and enjoy the thermal waters that bubble up under the sand. We were there at high tide so we didn't get to experience this but the beach was pretty and the waves were strong so it was a beautiful site
nonetheless.


After Coromandel, we headed to Auckland where we returned the van (sad to see it go...), caught up on laundry and prepared to relax and adjust to "Fiji time", a term we were getting quite familiar with. We opted to fly to Fiji w/o a plan and see what sounded good once we got there. It ended up being a good way to enjoy the blissful Fijian life!
Love,
Renee & Chuck
Pictures from top to bottom: (Mt. Tongariro w/ kiwi sign, beginning of the Tongariro Crossing, Mt. Ngauruhoe, Emerald Lakes, steam vents behind us (and the next installment of Chuck's FFH), Whangamata Beach, sunset on Coromandel Penninsula, FFH in Auckland)