Bought a freshly caught crayfish for lunch on the way to Kaikoura. I thought they would be like prawns when I came up with the idea but they turned out to be quite a bit bigger than that - more like a lobster. We tried to convince the children that they were getting gourmet food but they were not impressed. Along the roadside were loads of seals (inlcuding babies). It was great to stop and watch them surfing in the waves and sunbathing. Found a great campsite...

After the last post we decided to concentrate on going Kayaking (Matthew helped with the spelling on Kayak as he knew it was a Pallandrome - too smart for his own good sometimes!) So we went for a lovely half day paddle down the longest river in New Zealand, stopping for the obligatory hot spring bathe along the way. I will upload the photos when we find a cafe with a USB access available. Needless to say Luca said he didn't want to do it and within five min...

Well we are getting further south now. After leaving Mr and Mrs V in Whangere first thing on Wednesday 21st, we got back to Auckland in order to swap the rental car for the 6 berth Campervan that will be our home for the next three weeks. First impressions were that it was huge and too large to drive, but its funny after a few days it seems far too small !Our route took us initially Eastwards to see the Coromandel Penisula staying the night in Whitianga (ion Merc...

We returned back to Mr and Mrs V (the perfect hosts) on Sunday 18th February. On arrival back we were treated to a boat ride arround to Urquharts Bay followed by an afternoon of boating fun. Both Matthew and Amelia were up for the Sea Biscuit and showed great determination and courage amongst the bumpy waves.Mr V tried out his new Wakeboard also to good effect. 20 years on he still has it ! Alas Mr P wimped out with his doctors note and thought better of delaying...

Well we have been busy over the last few days. On Friday 16th we drove up the East Coast heading North from Whangarei before stopping at the Bay of Islands. There we booked ourselves on a boat to see (and hopefully swim with) the Dolphins. The trip was great fun and we headed around the Bay and far out to see. We came across a pod of common dolphins who were swiming with two Brutus whales. These were so magical to see...one was about 15 meters long and the other ...