We left the Coromandel Peninsula and drove to Whakatane on our way to the easternmost tip of New Zealand. Enroute we passed thru Paeroa where the “World Famous in New Zealand” L & P (Lemon & Paeroa spring water) soft drink was created. Then we drove thru the center of the kiwifruit industry. Originally kiwifruit was called Chinese gooseberries but they didn’t sell very well – so the name was changed.

In our previous travels in Canada visited the town of Chemainus (famous for all of the murals painted on the sides of buildings) on Vancouver Island. Today, when coming into Katikati we noticed that this city was billed as ‘Mural City’. When enquiring at the visitor centre about the murals we found out that Katikati got the idea from someone that had visited Chemainus. Of course we got a booklet which listed all of the mural locations and took photos of most of them.

Here are some of the highway slogans we have seen:
- Crash At Your Mate’s Pad - Not Here
- Too Fast – Lose Your Wheels
- Too Fast Today – Dead Slow Tomorrow
- Alcohol + Speed – Dead Ahead
- Driving Tired – Driving Drunk – No Difference
- Power Naps Refresh

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New Zealand words for the day:
Jandels: Flip Flops
Knackered or Clapped Out: Worn out
Westerly: West winds
Windscreen: Windshield
Tailbacks: Traffic jams

Pukeko with prominent royal blue feathering (also known as purple swamphens).

“Overload” mural in Katikati. Here we see Les Hume’s record load as he piled people in at Athenree to help them get to Waihi.

Owharoa Falls in Karangahake Gorge

Makes us feel right at home. We would have liked to see if the food tasted Texan but it was in the middle of the afternoon.