Waipu, full of Scottish heritage. Lovely place. Great coffee shop! We spent some time having a wander around. There is a small museum here where you can learn all about the town’s history. After a great coffee at Logan Maclean https://www.facebook.com/loganmacleanstore we head out of town down to Mangawhai where we spend the night. We find Don’s Landing en route!

Our drive down to Goat Island was hairy to say the least and so when we arrived at the Lookout carpark, neither of us felt up to snorkelling. Instead we visit the Discovery centre which is run by the University of Auckland before treating ourselves to a glass bottom boat journey. Goat Island is New Zealand’s first marine reserve, established in 1975. It was like taking part in an underwater treasure hunt without getting wet! We saw some amazing fish and kelp forests. No goats though!

We drove to Leigh where we have fish and chips for dinner – probably the best fish and chips so far! leigheats.co.nz

Our next stop was Matakana. There is a very interesting place here – https://www.sculptureum.nz/ where I take so many photos my battery runs out! After an arty overload, we have coffee in town at Goose Bakery. What a lovely town!

A quick stop in Warkworth, a town used in the filming of a couple of popular NZ drama shows.