Three fabulous weeks in various locations around New Zealand. Unfortunately we did not have a house to return to – unreasonable tenants wouldn’t move out for Xmas – but friends and family came to the rescue.
Daniel collected us from the airport and whisked us straight to the Xmas party at the Leightons in Whangamata. Barry and Ngaire re-arranged their Xmas plans so that we could gate-crash – along with Daniel, Graeme, Mercedes and Kit (Mercedes’ Dad). Emily had returned from England (temporarily) and Sam and Amanda and their boys Jack, Charlie and Odin, were ready for the festivities.
Unfortunately, there is not a great deal of photographic evidence. But clearly Barry spent time at the BBQ and Graeme and Sam drank beer – they have been mates for quite some time.
Thank you Barry and Ngaire, it was great to catch-up with everyone and good to be meeting in Whangamata instead of the other side of the world.
Next stop Auckland and a visit to Margaret in Mission Bay. We stayed a few days and were introduced to the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial, just a short walk from Margarets’, and to the Auckland War Museum. We also found time to revisit the beautiful Karekare Beach on the wild, west coast.
Margaret generously lent us her son’s car. Miles could not be contacted so we were never really sure what he thought of this arrangement. Thank you Miles! Now we could head north to Taurikura but not without visiting Margarets’ sister at Pakari Beach.
It was peak holiday season as you can tell from the crowds.
While we were enjoying the New Zealand summer, Australia was suffering its worst bush fires ever. Despite being over 2,000 km away, the smoke managed to affect the light in New Zealand. Cars were forced to drive with headlights on at 5pm one day and we witnessed a weird pink/orange glow instead of the usual evening sunset. This was the scene from Tony and Jean’s deck.
Taurikura is only a small bay but we still had some exploring to do. A beach walk with the tide more than half way in meant a little bit of rock scrambling but we got to see parts of the bay that we had not seen before.
Nigel took an easier overland route the next morning to capture the sunrise.
A visit from Daniel and Erin meant fish and scallops were on the menu and we had an excuse to go and visit the section that Daniel had bought. A fabulous plot just one back from the water front in Urquharts Bay – just around the corner from us.
While they were here we took the opportunity to explore some of the coastline north of Whangarei Harbour. A short outing took us to Kukutauwhao Island overlooking Tutakaka and then on to the beautiful beach at Matapouri Bay.
We also managed some walks on our own. The excursion below is Ocean Beach. Just a short drive from Taurikura and on this day we left the ‘crowds’ on the main surf beach to walk the deserted beaches beyond the first headland.
The track to the top of Mount Mania is a favourite walk for all of us. Daniel and Erin ran up, of course. The sunrise pictures are theirs. We set off to walk it with Graeme and Mercedes. They had an appointment later in the day and soon got frustrated with our slow pace and raced on ahead. What is it with these youngsters. Slow down enjoy the scenery!
Nigel only managed one fishing trip with Tony and Daniel. But it was productive, as usual.
All too soon it was time to head back to Abu Dhabi. A couple of nights with Graeme and Mercedes in Auckland and then we were back on the plane. Thank you everyone. It was great to be back.
Weather is lovely, wish you were here 