Karangahake gorge and Waihi gold mines

After flicking the pages of the NZ "Must-do weekends", we decided to go somewhere new for us and Alice & Pasq, so we headed south east of Auckland towards the Karangahake gorge. En route, we passed Peroa "World famous in New Zealand" for their soft drink Lemon and Peroa (L&P).

We booked a little cottage in the gorge and spent the afternoon walking through the old gold mines and exploring.



























The evening was spent in "Cockrel cottage" eating yummy pasta and playing cards.













On our way through to Waihi, Gareth, Alice and Pasq took the historic train and Hannah met them all there....the train did go at a snail's pace, so Hannah had lots of time to plan the rest of the day.













Next stop, Waihi and the open-cast gold mine. Sounds like this will be a lake in a couple of years as little gold is now being found.





And to the beach for a dip with the sea lettuce...we didn't stay long!



Back to the gorge on the way home for a swim under the waterfall before driving back to Auckland.