A long siren went off at 4.30am this morning in the town. It wasn’t the fire dept siren it had a different sound. We decided as no one else moved it was ok. Tsunami warning did come to mind!

To get to Tauranga you go down a Gorge. It is famous for gold mining. We stopped here and walked down the gorge above the river.

” The Karangahake Gorge lies between the Coromandel and Kaimai ranges, at the southern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand’s North Island. A sharply winding canyon, it was formed by the Ohinemuri River. State Highway 2 passes through this gorge between the towns of Paeroa, Waikino and Waihi.” I copied this from Wikipedia

We visited the 3 towns mentioned and at the first one Paeroa, a” world famous” soft drink was made with spring water and lemons.  Have you ever heard of it?

At Waikino we parked by the sea and walked along the shore. It was another white sandy bay full of shells and sea birds and no one on it except a few families swimming in the wharf.

From Waihi onwards we saw many orchards of avocados and kiwi fruits.

Now at Tauranga we are in a smart motel close to the sea front. Grandad and I walked down to the volcano by the sea and watched the sunset.

Happy Birthday Blandine hope you have a lovely day xxx