Our first couple of days were pretty dramatically terrible in terms of weather but this made for a good excuse to go visit Coromandel township on the other side of the peninsula and eat plenty of good food.

We stopped in to the Driving Creek Railway which is full of amazing art and also hosts a wonderful train ride into the native bush. Well worth a stop, especially with kids.

There was also a lot of wonderful bird life in the native bush.

These little guys are so fluffy.

A very small taste of the incredible sculpture at the railway. The pottery in particular is stunning.

There is no such thing as too much beach

Just ask Mr 6

Evening walks along Hot Water Beach and candy floss skies

These two had an awesome time once the sun came out.

Lucky for us it stayed out for the rest of the trip. Most of our time was spent on the beach, usually with a book nearby.

Occasionally we ventured away from the beach to visit some of our favourite spots. This place is amazing and does a huge range of delicious liqueurs.

And Eggcentric cafe is another place we always ensure we stop at. The food here is amazing and again, the art in the gardens is wonderful to be around.

There is always the little ferry ride across to Whitianga if you are in need of some serious shopping or a bit of night life (by that I mean the sports bar…)

This guy was sitting right outside the bach, just waiting for his photo to be taken.

On the way home we stopped at a wonderful hidden river spot, just by the state highway.

My 12 year old brother is much braver than I am.