We have brekkie, get ready and head off towards the edge of Ōhope’s peninsula

Port Ohope General Store & Cafe sorts us a coffee which we take and park up as far as a tarmac road will take us and wander along the beach

It’s within the Ohiwa Harbour Sand Split Wildlife Refuge and we come across a couple oyster catchers, little pied shags and some jumping fish before getting back to the car and heading north for our day

We have a brief stop at Kaputerangi Lookout – the weather isn’t great but we go get a view of Moutohora (whale) Island

Most of the way to where we’re aiming for today is Kaiate Falls so we take it as a little detour to stretch our legs

We have to drive through Te Puke which calls itself the kiwifruit capital of the world!

On arrival, we are met by a flock of chickens – it seems they sort of live here now (see the featured image)

There are a few walks that make a sort of loop track so we go for it

Sadly, the area has been damaged from Cyclone Gabrielle so some of the paths are suffering a little but we do get to see all of the waterfalls here

At the end of the loop, we get a semi-decent view of the mountain at the edge of Tauranga’s peninsula: Mount Maunganui

It’s almost check in time for our next stay so we head over there; it’s a lovely converted barn / shed on a local’s property

We chill for a while before getting out again in the car to grab supplies for dinner

Out of the blue, our car cuts all power…

A kind stranger helps us get to a safe stopping place and we call the rental place who tell us to lock and unlock the car with the key… a new way of saying “turn it off and on again” I guess!

We do make it to the supermarket and then back to the accommodation – with the car turning off and on a couple times in the return drive – and have a treat of making a homemade meal

Chicken fajitas

Pretty knackered, we go to bed not too long after