DAY 4
Week 1
PAIHAI (Northland, NZL) to ROTORUA (Bay Of Plenty, NZL)
Tuesday April 17th, 2018
TODAYS MILEAGE – 309 miles or 497 kilometres
TRIP MILEAGE – 2,616 miles or 4,210 kilometres
We left our Paihai AirB&B around 8AM and after heading south for about 20 minutes, on what we thought would be a scenic drive - it would have been if not for the road being closed late last night, we turned around and headed down the freeway towards Auckland.
While coming in to the city, I tried catching up with a good mate of mine - Bushy, but he was working out the other side of town so we'll have to put beers on hold, along with my disappointment.
Lunch of sorts was at the Autobahn Cafe ~ Papakura where they proudly advertise 'Open All Day - 6AM to 10PM' ..... those crazy Kiwi's huh??? 
Continuing southeast through the Waikoto region and into the Bay Of Plenty region, we arrived in Rotorua and were able to get squared away in our 'crack house' by around 3 o'clock. Whilst 6A Sumner Street, Rotorua is advertised on Air B&B as "centrally located, convenient & cozy" the sparse furnishings, threadbare linen, op-shop cutlery & crockery and obvious damage from multiple break & enter attempts, didn't leave us with the warm & fuzzy's.
That evening we all headed out to visit to the Tamaki Maori Village to experience the local Maori culture and heritage, which included a traditional Hāngī for dinner.
Highlight for the day was the ride home on the courtesy bus, where our driver - Rodney, was one hell of an entertainer. He literally got everybody on the bus involved, who I think all had a great laugh.
• BAY OF ISLANDS ~ Autobahn Cafe (Northland, NZL)
• ROTORUA ~ Tamaki Maori Village (Bay Of Plenty, NZL)