Never have our legs ached so much!

Getting out of bed this morning was a struggle. Our legs are definitely not liking us much today for what we put them through yesterday. Unfortunately as well today is the day we have a 4-5 hour drive to take us up to the last Top 10 site before Auckland. We decided we needed to take things steady and have regular breaks to give our legs a stretch. We packed up the car once more and began today's journey. Our first stop was just shy of an hour north to the Lava Glass centre. We visited here in winter and bought a stunning vase but unfortunately the glass blowing demonstration they show was closed due to renovations taking place. Its always been on the list to come back to with the hope that this part of th centre is running again. Walking in I was pretty excited to see the new pieces on display. We mentioned to the cashier how we'd been here before when it was closed and a manager who overheard us came out and gave us free entry into the garden when we bought our tickets from the glass blowing. She insisted we needed to see the new pieces out there. We luckily joined the demonstration at the perfect time because the guy Chris was just about to start a new piece. He was aiming to create 12-14 swirled vases that day. The technique we watched turned out to be pretty rare, two bands of coloured glass are spiralled around each other inside a clear glass vase. He went to Italy to actually learn this technique so it was a privilege to be able to witness him create it. It's an amazing process to watch in action and to see glass being heated into something that is so pliable was quite surreal. You almost forget that this material usually is so rigid and delicate. Once he'd completed the vase we entered back into the shop to have a look around. I couldn't resist buying two Christmas baubles for our future tree. Probably the most expensive baubles I will ever buy but certainly the most unique and beautifully made. The glass sculptures in the garden looked even more impressive in summer with the light reflecting through the rainbow of different colours. After a quick coffee we hobbled back to the car to carry on north. After a couple of hours we stopped in Hamilton by a lakeside cafe and garden for some lunch. We sat under a palm tree eating our food with about 20 optimistic sparrows, ducks and pigeons around us. It was a lovely tranquil spot. Once again we were on the move and eventually after a lot of windy country roads made it to Orere Point where we were to spend the night. When we arrived we decided our cabin was a bit rubbish, especially when they charge an extra $10 for some bedding. Instead of paying that we paid $30 to upgrade to a one bed apartment with it's own kitchen, lounge and bathroom. In comparisons it's a 5* suite. We took a stroll down to the beach to stretch those muscles and spotted several Tui birds on the way in their favourite red flower trees. We were half tempted to go swimming but the water didn't look the cleanest so instead we explored the beach trying to keep sand out of Nick's blisters from yesterday's walk. It's always nice if we can at least have an hour of exploring each day especially after a big drive like today.Read more