Active NZ north of Auckland

So we joined Active NZ who we went with 2 years ago. Like the last trip, the leader is more interested in adrenaline sports than we are. Young. We headed up to Opononi and the giant trees of the Waipoua forest. We were take. On a tour by a Maori named Bill as he sang to the various Kauri trees almost too big to believe. Oddly they are measured in board feet. BIG. 

We heard and saw a Morepork owl in the last light. As soon as you hear "more pork" you know what it is. The next day we went up the inlet to a boat that took us across to sand dunes where we were supposed to get our thrills sledding down on boogie boards. One or two slides was sufficient for everyone except the young leader. So we went walking up the sand dunes. 

Raining later in the day, we decided a hike and picnic in the forest was not a great idea. John looked at our map and found some hot springs close to where we were. So we bagged our other plans and went to the stinky muddy hot pools and soaked for quite a while. We found out later it was worse than difficult to wash the smell out of our suits and our skin. On to Pahia on the Bay of Islands. The Pacific side.