Sunday 13th Feb.

Breakfast for Chew and Ward was salmon and scrambled egg, amazin according to them. Boob and Harry had less than amazin cereal. We drove with Kev, Dan and Sarah to Piha, a volcanic beach a 30minute drive away. The black sand left a lasting impression on Harry's pearly white skin while he flailed about attempting to catch a ball.

After a while bathing in the deadly "o zone free" sun we took a walk up a large hill to overlook the beautiful beach and surrounding areas. Boob was frustrated at being unable to climb further up the rock face due to lack of climbing gear.

Our last stop was to prove to be the most spectacular as we drove to Kiti Kiti waterfall. A 30minute walk through a mini forest led to a spectacular 3tiered waterfall thundering into a freezing pool surrounded by rocks. After a short moment of trepadation everyone was inside freezing their b******s off. Serious shrinkage was occuring, not pleasant but the view upwards made it all worthwhile.

Chewys original plan was to hunt some eel and exact some revenge for a previous family attack? Dunno the details meself. Ne way it didnt happen, probably for fear of messin his hair up.

We were late arriving back but this didnt deter Kevin from producing an absolutely marvelous Sunday roast dinner. Bloody brilliant, his cooking will be missed.

Monday 14th Feb

After the initial frustration of receiving no Valentines cards we bit the bullet and moved on, hoping the day would bring more success. We were given the car by Sarah an Kev (a Mercedes, cuz thats how we role) and were left with the responsibility of dropping Dan off st school before we could set out.

Chew began the trip full of confidence having practised the route the night before however things would soon become complicated. Whilst distracted preaching about somethin to the passengers he made a basic error and turned the wrong way. It took the small child 10mins to realise he wasnt heading to school and the fear manifested itself into action, luckily for Chew he piped up and explained he had gone the wrong way. As the realisation hit Chew he maintained a degree of composure and turned around. 15minutes of frantic reassurance to Dan later ("Dont you worry, were goin the right way, you wont be late on my watch") we made it and took a sigh of relief.

We then set out along the coast stopping at various points to admire the views and towns e.t.c Needless to say it was a great experience, Chew's driving was largely stable and impressive, boob on directions did not lead him astray and the destination was reached.

A stop at hot water beach proved to be incident packed. Whilst Ward attempted a fancy football trick a small number of sand particles found their way onto Christians shorts. The reaction was one of seething ANGER and frustration. A torrent of abuse emerged from Christians mouth before he took the manly high ground an walked and then drove away from his troubles. The 3 remaining wise men feared he had finally lost his mind and did not expect his return ne time soon, therefore they did what all good brits would do in this situation and played cricket. Boobs left arm spin deceived Ward, it was marvelous.

Finally Chew returned with the car claiming "I just got a Magnum?" We left it at that for a while until he finally emerged to speak to us 5hours later.

We spent the evening eating, drinking and relaxing with a couple of lady friends at the hostel, sadly no initial love blossomed to make our Valentines day complete.......Slaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggssssssss!!!!!

Tuesday 15th Feb

We checked out at around 10 and set off again completing the circular journey around a section of North Island. Lots more stops on the way back provided some stunning scenery. Driving was again comfortable, even through the Monza like passes. Chew and Boob fought off sleep to guide us through while Harry and Ward snoozed in the back. A combination of quality music and excess amounts of Coke (Vanilla and regular) helped the cause. Once the straight road was hit a small amount of competition emerged with other drivers to the sounds of Limp Bizkit's rollin, all rather excitin I must say.

Upon returning to Beachlands we spent a couple of hours at the local park playing some more of the noble sport of Cricket. Chewy led the batting scores whilst Boob triumphed in the bowling stakes. Unfortunatly his score of 14runs in 6innings did not match his bowling skills.

Evening meal was Chinese and Fish and Chips e.t.c following which we monged for the evenin, Chew fast asleep on the floor due to his driving efforts.

Ps Boob wrote this, my 1st blog a month after departure, expect another within the nxt month. All hail the mighty reds!!!!

PPS Giblets 4th, good stuff. Imagine what we could accomplish upon our return, big competition for places now though, the Bar has been raised!! Much love x