Mum's cafe.....

......found in Waikino, an area rich in gold mining history dating back to early colonisation of New Zealand. Today tourism and cottage industries are Waikino's primary revenue sources. There are a number of tours and walks around old mining facilities and rail tunnels and many bush walks surrounding waterfalls and scenic valleys. Today we stopped for lunch at the old Waikino rail station now converted into a lovely ole world cafe.

Nestled within the Karangahake Gorge are the Owharoa Falls. Just off the main road, a very short walk and this idyllic spot unfolds. It was rather gusty, cold with passing showers so just some quick shots before we were on the road again.

We had a short stop at Waihi, noted for it's history of a gold mining town. Currently there are gold and silver mines under part of the township producing approximately 100,000 ounces of gold each year. The Martha open pit is not currently active due to a slip in 2016 but continues to draw large tourist numbers visiting the pit and nearby Pumphouse (extra's).

On reaching Whakatane we unpacked the car before walking to a local cafe/restaurant/ dairy for dinner where we watched this stunning sunset unfold over Ohiwa Harbour.

Wednesday.....battling with the weather, mostly rain and lots of wind until we reached Tauranga where the sun shone non-stop for the rest of journey to our home town of Whakatane, our destination for the next few days.

Enjoying reliving memories of our North Island trip in August 2018 as I put these backblips up.