The day had a slow start, and it finished the same way. As the day was winding down, we headed down to the beach with our beach chairs and our books for a quiet end of the day.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. After a slow start and a light lunch, we decided it was time for some exercise. There are several well marked trails in the area, as is usually the case in New Zealand. We settled on the “moderate” Fairbrother Loop trail, starting just a few hundred meters from our hotel. The trail took us through a nature preserve, with a thick forest canopy protecting us from the afternoon sun.

There is a steep hill just behind Ohope, and the trail took us up. Fortunately the trail was well maintained, and the path wasn’t too steep.

The trail was manageable, but it did take us up, and then up some more. Near the top we had a view of White Island. When we visited the thermal wonderland in Rotorua, we learned that White Island, is an active volcano, and is at one end of the Taupo volcanic zone. You can see why it is called White Island – it almost looks like it is snow capped, but it’s smoke from the volcano.

On our Zealandia tour, we learned about the Kawakawa plant, which has medicinal properties. Apparently the settlers noticed that bugs loved to eat the leaves, so they concluded that the leaves must be good for you. Interesting logic, but it caught on, and the leaves are used in various teas. We bought some at Zealandia and I’ve been enjoying it nightly. Here is the Kawakawa plant, with many holes in the leaves.

While we were walking the trail, we were keeping an eye open for birds. We saw several birds, and managed to identify some of them. This is the North Island Robin … we think.

Which brings us back to our relaxing read on the beach. I was tempted to go for a swim, but settled for briefly wading through the surf.

And then it was back to our room to enjoy a drink on the balcony before walking over to the local Mexican restaurant for dinner.

That wasn’t quite the end of the day. After dinner, I sat down to blog about the day, listening to the surf and enjoying a goodnight beer.

Tomorrow … more of the same.