2008 New Zealand Trip

North Island's East Coast

After the competition and spending an extra day in Rotorua, we headed straight north to Mount Maunganui. It was the first coastal town we got to after Auckland. We found ourselves an apartment right off the beach and when we woke up in the morning, went for a hike up Mt. Maunganui. Our goal at this point was to drive up the coastal to see the Coromandel Peninsula. We made a few stops on the way and eventually set up camp for the night in Whangarei. In Whangarei there is the beautiful waterfall and it was a great start for a new day of exploring more of the little coastal towns along our way. One of the highlights of the trip was going to Tutukaka which is a divers paradise. From here they have diving trips out to Poor Knights Island. Jacques Cousteau rated PKI the 7th best diving place in the world. It truly was amazing, swimming with thousands of fish.

The no longer active volcano Mt. Maunganui looking down on it's creation. Now a beautiful mountain to be enjoyed.
Sheep fence seen from Mt. Maunganui. If I was a sheep this is where I'd dream of grassing..		Mt. Maunganui at sunset.
Emma at Hot Water Beach. During low tide, you can dig your own pool on the beach and let it fill with up hot water from termal activity. Watch your feet when you walk around... ;-)		Eddie walking off Hot Water Beach.
Whangarei Falls.		Beautiful beaches everywhere... Emma collected sea shells all along the coast and brought home to her niece and nephews.
I brought part of my gear... surprisingly the water is cold enough to need a 7mm wetsuit to stay warm. Similar temp to San Diego, California where I got certified in '96.		Me and other divers at Poor Knights Island getting ready to look for Morays, Stingrays and Blue Mao Mao. The East Australian current have carried sub-tropical fish to this location which makes it so unique. My dive buddy Ted and Lesley. They work for one of my favorite bands, Def Leppard who just ended their Sparkle Tour in Auckland.
On our boat trip out to Poor Knights Island we got a pleasant surprise, three Orca Whales (killer whales) joined us and swam around and under our boat.