The place in which we stayed in Tirau was about a century old with huge rooms and high ceilings. We later discovered that it was formerly a Masonic Hall. You're probably envisaging a stone building with columns, but this was a wooden building, like most in NZ.
Breakfast was served on trays in our room. We had porridge, toast, fruit, juices and tea.
The day wasn't very remarkable. We did some pleasant shopping in Tirau, which as you may remember is notable mainly for being halfway along the journey from Auckland (to wherever you're going) and of course their corrugated metal theme.
We drove to the Coromandel peninsular, choosing the slightly longer route, believing it would be more scenic, whereas it proved to be a bit tedious as we were stuck behind camper vans on twisty roads.
But the destination made it all worth while. Our last place to stay is a delightful B&B run by an elderly couple, formerly British, who moved to NZ during the 50s and 60s. They have lived here so long that they now regard themselves as New Zealanders.
The house is built on a ridge so that the balcony where we were to eat breakfast had an amazing view over the Pacific Ocean. We were welcomed with cups of tea, home made cakes and warm conversation.
We took a walk to a nearby viewpoint (a 'lookout' in kiwi-speak) with even more amazing views over the Pacific, dotted with islands.
We met our fellow guests, who we discovered once lived ten minutes drive from us in the Netherlands. They recommended a nearby town as a place to eat. The journey involved a short drive and a ferry across a harbour. We had a good meal and journeyed back across the harbour at sunset.
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