Maketu

We stayed the night at Maketu Hilltop Holiday Park in a self-contained studio with ensuite and small kitchen. It was quite comfortable, if a little small. The park is pet friendly - they even have several resident cats, dogs, horses and birds! (We only actually saw one cat and one dog, plus another visitor’s pet dog.)

Before dinner we drove down to the beach and checked out the memorial to the first Maori canoe arrival in the north and then one of the oldest churches in the region (closed, unfortunately, so we could only look from the outside). The sunset was lovely (the beach there faces north-west). Dinner was left-overs.

In the morning we left early for our long drive north up the east coast.