Waihi - all kinds of wonderful

There's plenty of wonderful to be had in Waihi. For a start it's renowned as one of the safest surf beaches in the country. And with 9km of glorious coastline to explore you're sure to find a spot just right to suit you!

Whether hitting the beach on a body board....

......or kicking a ball down the beach into the twilight.

No visit to Waihi would be complete without a visit to the Big Hole otherwise known as the Martha mine. The mine is actually reaching the end of its life now - within the next year or so it will start being filled up - it's going to take 6 years to do so!

On the walk around the rim there are a number of interesting fact files hanging on the fence - we enjoyed reading every single one of them and found out some very interesting statistics, such as:

- the height from bottom to top is 250 metres
- the mine draws out $1 million in silver and gold each week
- each truck load coming out of the mine has 1 tbsp of gold and 20 tbsp of silver

After returning to the beach, it was time to hit the waves. Only after a good long dip had we cooled off enough to want to contemplate some beach cricket. All the grandparents took a turn playing too which the boys loved!

The following day we got out and about early knowing that bad weather was on its way. At the very northern end of the beach there's an invigorating 45 minute walk over the headland to the beautiful Orokawa Bay. Even leaving as early as we did a misty drizzle followed us all the way there and back but it was still warm though despite the grey day. We were so lucky to get back to the car just in time for the heavens to open and it then didn't stop raining for 24 hours!

And as for the two sunrises I crawled out of bed to capture on two consecutive mornings - holy wow they were amazing - but they will have to keep for another day!

Instead to end with here's a few snippets of real live action from our wonderful time in Waihi..... spot the crazy kids rolling down the hill in the middle of it all!