This morning we went for a walk on the beach near here.

We had a very relaxing day reading and taking it easy. This afternoon we went back to the beach and recorded our car review video. I’ll publish it in the next few days.

Last night we had a very good dinner at Mina Restaurant here where we are staying. So tonight we ate there again. It is nice not to have to drive anywhere.

Tomorrow we drive to Auckland and Saturday we fly to Singapore.

This morning before we left Hilltop Whakaipo Estate, Peter showed us around their farm. He raises sheep, deer, and cows for the meat. He also harvests his own hay for when the grass in the pastures isn’t enough.

About 10 am we packed up and headed north. We stopped a couple of times to stretch. About 2 we arrived in Pauanui on the Coromandel Peninsula.

This morning we hiked to Huka Falls. Round trip the hike was about 3 miles. It was a wonderful hike. We saw interesting birds and vegetation.

For dinner we ate at a restaurant overlooking the lake, called Waterside, in Taupō,. We started with prawns and mussels and then shared an order of fish and chips. It was all very good.

Taupō, where we ate tonight and last night is about a 20 minute drive from Hilltop Whakaipo Estate where we are staying.

I’m usually pretty good at avoiding scam links. But this morning I clicked on a link in an email from a friend supposedly from a paperless post. Unfortunately it was a scam and sent similar messages to everyone in my contacts. Don’t click on the link.

I’m sorry for this. 😖

Today we continued farther north and west on New Zealand’s north island.

Lake Taupo is New Zealand’s largest lake. It’s a little bit larger than Lake Tahoe.

For dinner we drove into town and ate at Steak House Taupō.