Lots of unexpecteds today! We said goodbye to Cable Bay at 9.30 and began our long journey back south to near Auckland. Our first surprise was at our coffee stop in Kawakawa. We knew they had some famous toilets there - yes toilets! - as we had seen a photo of them in a brochure but had no idea that much of the town had been taken over by those wishing to emulate the work of Hundertwasser, an Austrian artist, who lived in Kawakawa.

Hundertwasswer's toilets exterior

One of the Hundertwasser toilet cubicles

Our photos best explain Hundertwasser's style but it reminded us of Gaudi. Having had coffee first we were able to explore not only the toilets but also several shop fronts and a community art gallery with art that made us smile! Again photos will explain. Unfortunately part of the gallery had suffered from a land slip and we weren't able to view it all.

Amazing, amusing community art in Kawakawa

Steve amusing himself with the art

We got to Whangerai in time for lunch and returned to the quayside to a favourite restaurant from our visit in 2011. We were able to have lunch and buy things for our evening snack as well. It was very warm by now - 26C!

Clock museum in Whangerei

As we got further south, the roads got busier and eventually we were glad to leave the main road and return to Wenderholm Regional Park (we visited it on the way up) in order to have a walk. Last week when we were there we had only done a very short walk and we thought we would tackle something a bit longer this time. In fact, we did the perimeter walk. This wasn't all that far - about 3 miles - but what we didn't realise till we were doing it was that it involved a good deal of uphill and the quality of the path went from walking track to tramping track! This is the NZ way of saying it goes from an easy path with gravel, boardwalk and steps, to difficult terrain, clambering over roots and steep gradients! So surprise no.2! We enjoyed the challenge and were rewarded with some great views of the surrounding estuaries and sea. Mind you we sweated buckets in the process!

Californian Quail seen on our walk

Looking over the Puhoi estuary

Our accommodation for our last two nights in NZ is in Whangaparoa, which is just north of Auckland. Our intention was to be within reasonable distance of the airport but not in the city as we visited it last time we were here. Whangaparoa fits the bill nicely and is near another regional park with walks and birds. Our 3rd surprise is our lovely room and another lovely view. We can see the sea again and this time we are looking towards the Coromandel Peninsula and some of the islands in the Hauraki Gulf. You won't get a photo of that today because Steve seems to have gone on strike since we got here! I think he's a bit tired after our walk!

By the way, for those of you who are wondering about our fancy shower head from our last place - it worked very well despite looking like a hub with spokes!