After breakfast we took a short taxi ride from the hotel to the Avis office, it was too far to haul the cases. We picked up a brand new Vauxhall Cruze, something akin to a large Astra but it has all the bells and whistles, leather heated seats, in-built sat-nav which is useful - better than using my phone screen, auto wash/wipe, auto lights etc. Traffic out of Auckland was quite busy until the turn off to the Coromandel Peninsula. We had originally thought we would end our holiday there with a restful few days but most of the places are outdoor pursuits orientated. We bypassed Hamilton which is halfway between Aukland and Rotarua and went on and stopped in Cambridge. Very nice place, we parked up and walked through a small farmers market which was just closing up but we grabbed a coffee and then walked up the small high street buying a couple of pies at the local bakery. We ate them watching a local cricket match. We continued onwards to Rotorua with the jet lag catching up with Fiona who fell asleep. We did have some light rain on the way but by the time we arrived it had cleared up, we checked in to the Regent of Rotorua. Everything is black and white, its more of a motor lodge than a hotel but the room is large, comfortable bed, satellite TV, all spick and span and its well located for the rest of the town. Wonderful view of the carpark from our room. We went for a walk along the lakeside, you can really smell the sulphur and hydrogen suphide, the walk took us around a point and the other side of the lake is milky white with minerals, there are steam vents and bubbling mud pools. The museum is a nice old building but closed off due to damage from the recent earthquake. Our hotel is around the corner from Eat Street, as the name suggests it a street full of bars and restaurants but we decided on an Indian restaurant The Lovely India Tandoori where we had a really good meal.