It’s the last week of our 6 week New Zealand campervan road trip! Before heading to Auckland we take some time to explore the Coromandel Peninsula including Cathedral Cove (Te Whanganui-A-Hei) Marine Reserve and Hot Water Beach(in Mercury Bay).

There’s also time to squeeze in one last quick hike up along Mount Paku Summit as well. While a beautiful lookout in it’s own right we can’t help but feel like after the Tongariro Alpine Crossing everything else just feels kind of...well...not the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. That might be something to keep in mind when you’re planning your own NZ trip.

To really cap off the NZ experience we spent our last night camping in a sheep paddock while we cleaned out our campervan. Not sure it gets more NZ than that.

New Zealand: You are a complicated, beautiful mistress. You reward visitors with unparalleled natural beauty but you punish with rain and sand flies. The price is worth it. (And, since we paid our speeding ticket from our friends in Hokitika, we’ll be allowed back to visit someday in the future.)