Tuesday, 18.02., from Rotorua far north to Tutukaka

Today we have a long distance ahead of us. We drive almost 400 km to the north to the Tutukaka coast near Whangarei. Here you will find the most beautiful and spectacular beaches in New Zealand, each with its own character and appearance. Whangarei is the sunniest city in New Zealand, located in a green subtropical landscape on a natural harbor. On the way, off the highway, we accidentally discover the town of Te Aroha. From Wikipedia: The development of Te Aroha was significantly influenced by the donation of the town's hot spring by Maori Chief Te Mokena Hau to the British Crown in 1882.[6]The hot mineral spring, which was previously used by the local Māori, was now available to European visitors for relaxation. The railway connection built in 1883 brought tourists to Te Aroha, and with the opening of the Te Aroha Domain in 1989, Te Aroha quickly became a nationally known spa and recreational area under the control of the Minister of Lands. During our visit to the I-Site, we see that the town is now the starting point of a cycling trail and several trails. We embarrass the 2 ladies at the I-site with our question about the tree with the special cones and they research it in Google. It's a Himalayan cedar. So now the two of them know too. Very nice!

We make a short detour to the Coromandel Peninsula, but quickly realize that we don't have enough time for a round trip. So we turn around, treat ourselves to a pie (Reinhard) and an ice cream (Eva) on the way, and continue to drive, making kilometers.

We drive north on the Twincoast Road. The region is so named because here the east and west coast are very close together. There is a highway around Auckland and some traffic jam! We haven't experienced both in New Zealand so far! After we have left the toll road (Northern Gateway), we have to make another stop at a look-out! What a view!

In Whangarei we take an extra round in the harbor and drive over a drawbridge! Once around the roundabout and we are stuck: The bridge is actually raised - and after two sailing boats have passed, it slowly comes down again. Cool! But the weather??? Can we still swim in the pool there???? And we arrive at the Tutukaka coast and immediately find it very cozy! By the way, we don't know what Tutukaka means, but always think of our boys, who surely find that very funny, right??? We continue on the road and come to the beautiful 115 - The Lighthouse Lookout - and then we are completely overwhelmed. What a location, what a nice welcome from Suzy and Brett, and we actually have the room with the best view: The Lighthouse Lookout is located on a peninsula overlooking the Poor Knights Islands and we get to enjoy legendary sunrises.

The Lighthouse Lookout is one of the best accommodations in Tutukaka. It's the icing on the cake of our tour through New Zealand! So with a big grin on our faces, we swim, eat and look, look, look - great!

And the starry sky here is gigantic! Milky Way and the Southern Cross....